Changes coming to Tampa Bay's defensive core

It's a new year and a new look for the Tampa Bay Lightning, particularly on the back end. Ryan McDonagh is in Nashville. Jan Rutta is in Pittsburgh. Zach Bogosian will likely miss the first six to eight weeks of the season as he recovers from offseason shoulder surgery.
So how will the Bolts defense core look to start the 2022-23 season? Let's take a look at some potential pairings for opening night.

THE TOP PAIR
One thing we know for sure is that Victor Hedman will anchor the top pairing for Tampa Bay after spending most of last season on a pair with Rutta. Hedman, who has been nominated for the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the league's best defenseman six times and won the award in 2017-18, is coming off a career season in which he set new highs for games played (82), goals (20), assists (65), points (85), power-play goals (6), power-play points (38), game-winning goals (6) and shots on goal (219).
"So far, so good," said Hedman when asked about this year's group of defensemen. "We brought in some experience, obviously, and some of the younger guys are going to get a better look. We're excited about that opportunity.
"I think we have a great D-core that's going to challenge each other for ice time and spots on special teams. I'll try to lead the reins back there and hopefully we'll have a great season."
Whoever plays on Hedman's right side will benefit from playing with a sure-fire, future Hall of Fame defenseman. He already leads all defensemen in franchise history in nearly every statistical category, including goals, assists, points, plus/minus, power-play points and more.
But who will earn that spot on that top pair?
Lightning head coach Jon Cooper indicated on Friday that the early lines in camp don't mean too much in saying, "More often than not, that's not how you start the season." But with that being said, Hedman's partner over the first few days of camp has been Cal Foote, who spent some time on a pair with the big Swede at different points throughout last year's regular season and playoffs.
"Anytime you get to be paired up with, in my mind, the best defenseman in the world, it's obviously really special," said Foote. "Playing with him the past couple of years and even watching him on the bench, you learn so much."
Foote, who was drafted 14th overall by the Lightning in 2017, will turn 24 in December and is still a very young player. Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois was asked about Foote's progress when he spoke to the media on Wednesday.
"Cal's the youngest player we have that's projected to be on our opening night roster," BriseBois explained. "He's still young, especially for a defenseman. He made a lot of progress last season.
"He's established himself as an NHL defenseman and now he's going to be given the opportunity to be a player that is in the lineup consistently. That's probably what his next progression is, is to establish himself as a guy who's in the lineup every night and we don't have to ask ourselves if he's in the lineup or not."
With Bogosian missing the start of the season and Rutta signing with Pittsburgh, the opportunity is there for Foote to supplant himself as the second half of Tampa Bay's top defense pairing.
"Footer's made huge strides from last year," Cooper said on Saturday. "It was unfortunate because he wasn't in training camp last year. To me, that sets you back, when you are not afforded a training camp, and it took him months during the year to get himself in a position where I thought he should have been at the beginning of last year.
"Now, looking at this training camp, we've only been here three days, but I've really liked what I've seen from him and so he's farther ahead now than he was, I think, all last year. That's a good sign for him and us."
Following the season-ending loss to the Avalanche in last year's Stanley Cup Final, Foote only took two or three weeks to rest and recover before he got into his summer routine with skating and training.
His goal was to get eight weeks of training and skating in before he made his way back to Tampa for camp. Much of that training was focused on gaining speed and adding muscle.
"It's the same thing really every summer, just get faster and get stronger," said Foote. "I think I did that. I think I feel pretty good one the ice. I'm feeling faster and keeping up with the speed of all these guys."
After starting last season with a five-game stint in Syracuse, Foote went on to skate in 56 regular season games and 13 playoff games with Tampa Bay. He finished the regular season with nine points (2G, 7A) and a plus-six rating before adding two more assists in 13 playoff games. Now he's looking to show the improvements he's made and earn more responsibility as an everyday D-man.
"I'm just trying to come in and impress the staff, the coaches, the management," Foote said. "It doesn't change from year to year. You just try to come out and perform your best and try to establish yourself in a better role than you were in last year."
THE SECOND PAIR
With the departure of McDonagh, Sergachev feels like a shoo-in for the spot on the left side of the second defense pairing. He signed an eight-year contract extension with Tampa Bay this summer and will look to take another big step after the departure of McDonagh opened up a big opportunity.
"I would expect that Mikhail Sergachev will be called upon to play a bigger role," said BriseBois, following the announcement of the contract extension.
Sergachev is embracing the extra responsibility and has been looking forward to carrying more weight for his team. He spent a lot of time this offseason working on his strength and endurance in preparation for his role this season.
"I'm going to have a little bit more of an extended role, so it's a big opportunity for me to kind of show what I'm about," Sergachev said. "[This summer] I was trying to get stronger a little bit. I was working on my endurance, so I could play more.
"I was working on everything - skating, shooting, battling, working out and stuff. The one particular area is endurance, for sure."
Following the announcement of his contract extension, Sergachev spoke to the media and emphasized his dedication to continue getting better as his responsibilities expand on the ice.
"I'll do everything in my power to be the best I can be," said Sergachev in July. "It obviously means a lot because I've been waiting for more responsibility.
"There's a lot of trust in me now and huge responsibility to play that second left side, so I've just got to be consistent and confident."
Sergachev had a strong postseason for Tampa Bay, scoring two goals and adding eight assists for 10 points in 23 playoff games to go along with a plus-seven rating. He was instrumental in the Lightning's win over the Rangers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final with his two wrist shots from the point.
The 24-year-old already ranks fifth all-time in points by a defenseman in Lightning franchise history with 174 (36G, 138A) in 358 games. With nine more years on his contract in Tampa Bay and still more room to grow, Sergachev earning an increased role should excite Lightning fans.
On his right will be one of the many warriors from last year's postseason run in Erik Cernak, who also signed an eight-year contract extension this summer with one year still remaining on his current deal.
"It means a lot," said Cernak when asked about his extension. "I really wanted to stay here in Tampa for a long time. I got the contract and I'm really happy for that.
"My teammates, all the organization and the fans have been amazing since day one. I'm so grateful for that."
What can you say about Cernak that hasn't already been said? He's one of the best second-pair defensemen in the NHL.
He's big. He's strong. He defends well and puts his body on the line. He's a defenseman that nobody wants to play against.
No defenseman in last year's playoffs had more hits than Cernak's 84 and only McDonagh and Jacob Trouba had more blocked shots than Cernak's 45.
"I guess I'm a magnet for pucks," Cernak joked after blocking a shot on day one of camp.
He eats up about 20 minutes a night and just turned 25 this year. After this season, Cernak will have a cap hit of just $5.2 million for the following eight years. That's a bargain for everything he brings to that back end.
Cernak's 633 career hits already rank second-most among all Lightning defensemen in franchise history and his 295 blocked shots rank 13th.
THE THIRD PAIR
As previously mentioned, it's still early in the year to read too far into lines and pairings, but the third pair on the back end over the first few days of camp has consisted of Ian Cole and Philippe Myers, who were both acquired by Tampa Bay this offseason.
Cole signed with the Lightning on the first day of free agency. A veteran that plays a hard, physical game, he defends well and had multiple teams interested in signing him this summer. Cole chose to come to Tampa Bay in hopes of doing something he's already accomplished twice - win the Stanley Cup.
"We were fortunate to have some options, which was great, but I think it was the chance to play with this group of guys, a team that's had this much success," said Cole. "As a professional athlete, the whole point of playing the game is to win. In terms of teams that have a chance to win, this team has been right up there for about a decade.
"The opportunity to come here and play and try to win another Cup, for the Tampa Bay Lightning and myself, it was an opportunity I couldn't pass up."
Like Cernak, Cole isn't afraid to put his body on the line for the better of the team either. He's averaged over six blocked shots a game over the course of his 670-game career. He's steady on the back end, will play a physical game and has a career plus/minus of plus-131.
In his first training camp with Tampa Bay, Cole is working on getting himself ramped up and dialed in for games, so he can be as consistent as possible throughout the season. As one of multiple new faces within the Bolts D-core, the veteran defenseman isn't too worried about adjusting to a new system.
"We try to get up to speed as new guys as quickly as possible," Cole explained. "The systems here are a little bit different, but then again, most teams in the NHL do pretty much the same thing.
"There's nothing earth-shattering, just little tweaks here and there and [we'll] get up to speed as quick as we can.
"I try to get to that midseason, late-season form as quickly as possible and build that consistency throughout the course of the season. That's how you win hockey games over time, is consistent effort, doing the little things and doing the right things, more often than not. That's what the plan is."
Cole was drafted 18th overall in the 2007 NHL Draft and brings a resume with 110 playoff games to a room already filled with postseason experience. I think he'll be a solid, steady player on the third pair for the Lightning throughout the year and you can never have too much playoff experience.
In my eyes, the early leader to be paired with Cole is Myers, who was acquired in the McDonagh trade back in early July.
"I was really excited when I got the news," said Myers. "It's obviously a great organization. It speaks for itself over the last five years. I'm just really excited and I couldn't be happier to be here."
Like the 6-foot-4 Foote, Myers is another big, right-handed defenseman at 6-foot-5. He was undrafted but impressed at the Flyers Development Camp in 2015 as an invite and now has 142 career NHL games under his belt between Philadelphia and Nashville.
Following the acquisition of Myers, BriseBois shed some light on what the Bolts front office sees in the big D-man.
"Our plan at this point is to work with Philippe Myers," said BriseBois. "We've liked him going back to his junior days.
"He's only 25 years old. He's a 6-foot-5 defenseman with size and some physicality. He's a quality skater, can improve his skating. We think we've, in the past, been able to work with players and provide them with resources and help them become better skaters. He has a huge shot."
We've seen the Lightning have success over the years with defensemen moving up quickly and joining the rush. Mikhail Sergachev sees some of that in Myers, along with his size and stick length providing some ranginess for the big defenseman.
"He's big," said Sergachev. "He's a big, strong guy. He has a long stick and plays really well defensively.
"He's always up in the rush. He wants to be everywhere. He's a really good player and a really good guy. His long stick stands out for sure."
Myers has been moving around the ice pretty quick throughout the first few days of camp and I think he'll be the one to start the opening night on the third pair. He's another player that will have a great opportunity to showcase himself at camp with Bogosian missing the start of the season.
"I think I'm a two-way D," said Myers when asked to describe his game. "Good skater. Good shot. I'm big and physical. I think I can contribute a little bit everywhere.
"I just want to make a good impression, have a great start to the year and get a spot to the lineup."
SEVENTH D
Another defenseman that the Lightning signed on the first day of free agency is Haydn Fleury, who inked a two-year deal with Tampa Bay this summer.
"It was an easy sell, honestly," said Fleury. "Being a part of this group and coming to this city is something I'm extremely grateful for and I'm really proud to be part of this team. All the guys have been great and I'm just looking to continue to build."
Standing 6-foot-3 and weighing 208 pounds, Fleury is a left-handed defenseman and played in 36 games with the Seattle Kraken last season. He was selected seventh overall by the Carolina Hurricanes in 2014. I asked Fleury to describe his game for Bolts fans that have never seen him play.
"I'm a big, rangy, two-way defenseman that takes up ice," said Fleury. "I use my skating as best as I can to take away time and space for opposing forwards and then get the puck in our forwards hands as fast as I can and join the rush when needed."
Fleury has 215 career games under his belt with Seattle, Carolina and the Anaheim Ducks. He was claimed by Seattle from Anaheim in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft. Now he has another fresh start with Tampa Bay and he's another player looking to showcase his talent and grab a spot.
"You want to earn the respect of your teammates and your coaches," said Fleury. "I just want to come here, work hard and help the team win.
"We've got a really good group of defensemen here and it's a really deep group. We're going to push each other and compete for those spots. I think, at the end of the day, it's going to make everybody better."
Fleury has a lot of talent and a great attitude heading into his first camp with the Lightning. I'm excited to watch him push for a spot on opening night.
He also brings postseason experience to Tampa Bay after skating in 17 career playoff games with the Hurricanes. He was also an alternate captain with the Charlotte Checkers in the AHL in 2018-19 and picked up six points (2G, 4A) in 11 playoff games to help Charlotte capture a Calder Cup Championship.