Yzerman thinks Cooper doing 'excellent job,' wants to add to core
The Tampa Bay Lightning are on the outside of the playoff picture halfway through the season, but general manager Steve Yzerman wants it known that it's not head coach Jon Cooper's fault.
"I think (Cooper) is doing an excellent job," Yzerman said Tuesday, according to the Tampa Bay Times' Joe Smith. "Our team competes really hard, and I think (Cooper) and his staff have done a really good job.
"I like the way we play," Yzerman added. "I like the style. We've got to improve in some areas."
Tampa Bay's style of play has the team three points back of Ottawa for the third and final playoff spot in the Atlantic Division. The Lightning are six points out of a wild-card spot, thanks to the Metropolitan Division boasting four teams with over 50 points, and with Philadelphia closing in on the half-century mark.
Yzerman's been open about wanting to make a move, while saying the market is "really, really quiet." He also spoke about wanting to keep the core of his club together.
"We have our core and I want to add to that core," he said. "Over time, your core has to change, that's the reality, you can't afford to keep everybody. They age, they mature. Are players untouchable? Yes. Because I want to build around the core. But at some point, to address needs, if there's something really good out there, you're probably going to have to give up somebody really good in order to do that."
Tampa's issues are at the back end. The club's allowing three goals a game, which ranks 25th in the league, while its penalty kill ranks 24th at 79.4 percent.
Andrei Vasilevskiy's had to play a lot with Ben Bishop injured, but both goalies haven't been at their best this season. Vasilevskiy has a .904 save percentage in 23 games, while Bishop has posted a .907 percentage in 22.
Bishop's in the final year of his contract ahead of unrestricted free agency, so his name will likely be involved in a number of rumors as the trade deadline approaches.
It will be an interesting few weeks in Tampa Bay, no doubt.