Bolts remain proud despite coming up just short of their ultimate goal

There's one word resonating throughout the Tampa Bay Lightning organization roughly 36 hours after a season-ending loss in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final: proud.

"At the end of the day, I'm so proud of this team," said Bolts defenseman Victor Hedman. "I can't say enough words. So proud of the group, the way they responded, the way they battled.
"We just fell a little short. The fans feel that too. I'm just super proud of what we've done this year."
Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, who had another tremendous playoff performance, echoed Hedman on Tuesday.
"I'm really proud of what we've done the last few years," said Vasilevskiy. "We were fortunate enough to play in three Stanley Cup Finals.
"I can't ask for a better team and, as I said, I'm extremely proud of what we've done and what we've been through.
"Guys in the room, they're all warriors. We have to do sacrifices for our team and for our city to reach the ultimate goal. They're warriors.
"I can't ask for a better team and I'm really proud to be a part of that team, but we're not done."

Julien BriseBois and several Tampa Bay players addressed the media on Tuesday morning and shed some light on the Lightning's trip to a third-straight Stanley Cup Final.
As expected, BriseBois revealed some of the injuries the Bolts were dealing with throughout the postseason.
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare had a meniscus injury entering the playoffs.
Anthony Cirelli suffered a shoulder/AC joint sprain in the Eastern Conference Final and dislocated his other shoulder against the Avalanche.
Brandon Hagel's foot was fractured when he blocked a shot in the Second Round against the Panthers.
Nikita Kucherov played through an MCL sprain that he endured in the Stanley Cup Final.
Like Cirelli, Nick Paul went through a shoulder/AC joint sprain against the Rangers and proceeded to play through an MCL sprain he suffered against Colorado.
Corey Perry was the third Lightning player to suffer a shoulder/AC joint sprain against New York, joining Cirelli and Paul.
Brayden Point's injury in Game 7 against Toronto was revealed to be a significant quad tear.
Ryan McDonagh played through a mangled finger that came from blocking a shot against the Rangers.
After rattling off these injuries, BriseBois added, "To be honest, every player on the roster had multiple contusions along the way."

He also noted that all players are expected to make a full recovery. Bellemare is set to have an arthroscopic cleanup in the coming days. Cirelli is being evaluated by specialists to see if he will require surgery for his injuries.
"When you do all that and you win, it was so worth it and it makes some of that stuff easier," said Tampa Bay captain Steven Stamkos. "When you don't accomplish your goal, it's tough because you realize some of the sacrifices the guys made were unbelievable.
"I know how hard it was to get to this Final, especially this year, like I said, with the circumstances of some key injuries.
"It shouldn't amaze me because I know what we can do without certain guys in the lineup. We've proved it during this three-year stretch.
"Of the three runs, this is the one we didn't win, but we might be the most proud of, in terms of how hard it was to get here."
If the captain of the team stands up and says he might be the most proud of the team that didn't win the Stanley Cup, that just goes to show how much this group had to fight through. The warrior mentality throughout the postseason was extremely admirable. Guys were parading from the bench to the locker room to get treatment for injuries, but they always came back and did whatever they could to finish the game.
"This past year, for me personally anyways, has been amazing in terms of how I've felt physically, mentally, emotionally going through this run," sad Stamkos. "This group was really special. I'm so proud of the group and to be the leader of it is amazing."
After all that, it's incredibly impressive that the Bolts were just two wins away from a third-straight title.
Following the quad tear in the First Round, Point returned to the lineup in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final and also played in Game 2. After that, Point was unable to play for the remainder of the playoffs. It wasn't a re-aggravation of the injury for Point, but rather a realization that he may not be able to help the team as much as he'd like while playing through an injury that limits his style of play in so many ways.

"I've had tears in the past that you can still find your stride and you can still play and still be effective," said Point. "This one's different and just the power wasn't there and the tight turns and all that kind of stuff.
"It was tough. That's what you play for.
"The guys did a great job to get there and they got me the chance to play in a couple games.
"It was tough, but just watching the guys and seeing what they did, seeing the effort they put in, it was extremely special to watch."
There's nothing worse for an injured player than sitting on the sidelines and watching the games, knowing there's nothing you can do to have any impact on the result. Point had to deal with that for the majority of the postseason, but there weren't many times where he was feeling overly nervous watching his team.
"Watching those games and seeing what the guys did and seeing how much they put themselves through to give us another chance, it was a special run," Point said. "You fall short, but I think looking back, we'll just remember the sacrifice that the guys put in to give us a chance.
"You just want the control, right? You're out of it, so you're just watching.
"But watching the guys, I had confidence. There's times where you get nervous, but I just had such a confidence in our group that I really didn't feel that way."
The Lightning certainly missed having a fully healthy Point in the Final. His speed, presence on the power play, and 200-foot game would have provided a big boost for Tampa Bay. You look at a player like Kucherov, who led the Bolts in playoff points, but has had so much success and chemistry playing with Point in the past. While he missed having his teammate in the lineup, he's confident that Point will be back with a vengeance next season.
"He's a tough guy," said Kucherov. "He'll be back stronger, mentally and physically, and we'll see the best of him next year."
Point will certainly be back next year, but the Lightning have some other players that may or may not be suiting up for Tampa Bay for the 2022-23 season.
Entering the offseason, Ondrej Palat, Nick Paul, and Jan Rutta are all set to be unrestricted free agents, along with Riley Nash.
BriseBois said on Tuesday morning that the team has been in contact and had preliminary discussions with the agents of Palat, Paul, and Rutta over the last 36 hours and would like to have them back next season.
"We're going to do our best," said BriseBois. "I know all three of them would like to stay here and we'd like to keep them.
"We'll know more in the coming days, weeks, but we'd like to bring those guys back."
Palat and Rutta didn't speak to the media on Tuesday, but Paul did step to the podium and was asked about his thoughts on returning to Tampa next season.
"Obviously, I love it here," Paul said. "I'm a free agent this summer, but Tampa is definitely a spot that I really enjoy and really like the guys on the team.
"Just leave it to my agent right now. He knows my thoughts and we'll see."

The Bolts will do their best to bring back Paul, who they acquired from the Ottawa Senators at this year's trade deadline. Paul was a huge acquisition for the Lightning. He scored both goals for Tampa Bay in Game 7 against Toronto and recorded at least one point in each series this postseason, including two goals in the Stanley Cup Final.
When Point went out, it was Paul who stepped up and took over a lot of those minutes. After Cirelli suffered his second injury of the playoffs against Colorado, Paul was the one to fill in at center and take over faceoff duty.
Paul was primarily playing on the wing when he was acquired by Tampa Bay, but ended up leading the Lightning with 382 faceoffs during the postseason. Not only did he lead the team in faceoffs taken, but he was very good at the dot for the Bolts. Of players who took 10 or more faceoffs, only Stamkos and Bellemare fared better than Paul, who finished the playoffs with a 49.7% win percentage.
After playing in the Senators organization since the start of the 2015 season, Paul's first professional playoff experience came this year with the Lightning. Asked again about his experience this season, Paul had nothing but great things to say about the organization, which the Bolts front office and fans alike will hope bodes well for a potential contract.
"The organization is just unbelievable, not just how they treat the players, (but) how they treat the family," Paul said. "Everything about this organization is first class. Coming here, I definitely had a first-row seat to that in how I was treated and how my family was treated.
"The leaders they have in there, all the way down to the staff, is just unbelievable.
"Everyone's main goal is to win. It doesn't matter what you have to do. If you need to get called out for putting the work in, it's going to happen.
"All they want is success and it's pretty easy with how close the guys are in that group. The way you feel as a family, there's no cliques. There's no groups. Everyone's all together. Everyone has a voice. Everyone can step up. Anyone can say jokes. Whatever your personality or what you need is definitely there in that room and is definitely accepted.
"I couldn't say enough. My change here just showed what a first-class organization Tampa Bay is and how bad every single person wants to win. It's just contagious."
Bringing back all three of Palat, Paul, and Rutta won't be easy, but there's still a chance for the Lightning. The appeal of winning and playing for a first-class organization will certainly play in Tampa Bay's favor, but we'll have to wait and see.
The 2021-22 season was a hell of a run for the Bolts. They fell just short of their ultimate goal, but they still have all the reason in the world to hold their heads high heading into the offseason. When next season begins, they'll be right back at it in pursuit of another Stanley Cup.
"At the end of the day, we know what it takes," said Stamkos. "There's going to be ups and downs, but we haven't used any of that as an excuse before, so why start now?"
With a core of Stamkos, Hedman, Vasilevskiy, Kucherov, Point, Cirelli, McDonagh, and more under contract for next season, there's no way you can count this group out. For now, the Lightning players should kick back, relax, and recover with some well-earned rest. They're going to need it before the journey starts again in just a few months.
"I don't think we're done chasing Stanley Cups here," said BriseBois. "We're set up to be a really competitive team for the foreseeable future."