The long wait is finally over for Chris Paul, plus the Lightning continue to look unstoppable against Habs

Another Stanley Cup Final game, another Tampa Bay Lightning win. The Montreal Canadiens definitely threw everything that they had at the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday in Game 2. They even outshot the Lightning 43-23. 

But Tampa Bay still managed to come away with a 3-1 win and take a 2-0 series lead.

Lightning forward Anthony Cirelli and Canadiens forward Nick Suzuki traded goals in the second period. However, the Lightning were able to regain the lead in the final seconds thanks to a highlight reel goal from Blake Coleman. Tampa Bay added an insurance goal courtesy of Ondrej Palat in the final period.

Here are a few reasons why the Lightning are now just two wins away from their second straight championship:

• Vasilevskiy stands tall: If you outshoot a team 43-23, you’re going to come away with a win more often than not. However, Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy absolutely stood on his head throughout the night as he had an answer for just about every Canadiens shot attempt. In fact, the only Montreal goal came on the power-play, so it’s hard to truly blame Vasilevskiy for giving up that kind of goal
• Coleman’s insane goal: Game 2 proved to be a very different script than what we saw in the series opener. The Canadiens even appeared to have the upper hand at times. However, Coleman certainly had the play of the night when he scored arguably the most impressive goal of the entire NHL playoffs. As he was falling to the ice in the final seconds of the second period, Coleman was able to score on a diving goal that got past Canadiens goalie Carey Price. While it may not quite be that Alex Ovechkin diving goal from back in 2006, it was still pretty phenomenal

3. Why sitting out the 2021 season could be a huge mistake for Aaron Rodgers 🏈

One of the biggest NFL offseason storylines has been what is going to end up happening with Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers has made it clear that he isn’t a fan of the team’s front office and could be looking to leave the franchise. On the other hand, Green Bay has stated that they aren’t planning to move Rodgers anytime soon.

Joel Corry, who is a former agent, took a closer look at the Rodgers situation and where he/the Packers stand financially if he elects to opt out of the 2021 season.

• Financial cost: “By opting out, Rodgers would make $6.8 million thanks to the roster bonus. A lengthy holdout would cost Rodgers $15,816,666 if Green Bay exercised its rights to the fullest extent with recoupment and he complied through payment. The difference in the two approaches, opting out versus a holdout, is $22,616,666.”
• Salary cap ramifications: “Rodgers’ existing 2022 cap number is $39.852 million. Since Rodgers’ 2021 contract year would become his 2022 contract year with tolling, his 2022 cap number would be $30.402 million. Green Bay would pick up an additional $9.45 million of 2022 cap space this way. Green Bay’s combined cap swing through tolling would be $39.852 million. Although Rodgers would have already received payment of the $6.8 million roster bonus and it wouldn’t be part of the 2022 cap number, the Packers would have recovery rights with a contract breach occurring next year.”

As the offseason drags on, it doesn’t appear that Rodgers’ stance is likely to change. I truly don’t see Rodgers playing another down for the Packers barring any organizational changes. Whether he sits out or forces a trade, I just think that we’ve seen the last of Rodgers in Green Bay.

Much like Brett Favre, I see Rodgers playing out the last few years of his career in another uniform.

4. Determining which NFL team passed on Tom Brady in free agency 🏈

What team in their right mind would pass on the chance to sign Tom Brady? Well, there was definitely one team that drew the ire of the G.O.A.T. In a recent appearance on HBO’s “The Shop,” Brady claimed that one team wasn’t interested when he was finalizing his decision last offseason and had a less-than-stellar option at quarterback at the time.

“One of the teams, they weren’t interested at the very end,” Brady said. “I was thinking, you’re sticking with that [expletive]?”

Now, Brady is probably never going to reveal who this mystery team was, but trying to make an educated guess is definitely a fun exercise. In fact, CBS Sports NFL insider Jason La Canfora took a shot at dissecting the entire league on a division-by-division basis in an effort to come up with some teams that may have passed on Brady.

Here are a few teams that do fit the criteria:

• Miami Dolphins: “For me, any potential marriage ended when Miami chose Chan Gailey to run the offense (not a fit with Brady, and, well, he was gone in a year anyway). The Dolphins had not drafted Tua yet. You could connect a lot of dots and talk yourself into it making sense. Two games a year against Belichick would have been wild.”
• New Orleans Saints: “I wouldn’t downplay the Saints’ odds here at all. Drew Brees was done and Brady and Sean Payton would have been an amazing combination and they were loaded and in win-now mode. Cutting the cord with Brees would be tricky, but Brady just went through a messy divorce himself so I don’t think that would have held him back here.”
• Las Vegas Raiders: “And the Raiders obviously are being looked at with much scrutiny here, too. Is Derek Carr that guy? Iconic franchise in an international destination opening an amazing new stadium? Hmm.”

I personally think that the Raiders make the most sense and they definitely could’ve used Brady. I obviously don’t think that the Raiders would’ve won the Super Bowl if Brady had signed with the franchise, but they aren’t competing against Patrick Mahomes and now Justin Herbert with Derek Carr. The Raiders were entering their first season in Las Vegas and what better face of the franchise would there have been than Brady?

📝 Odds & Ends

📺 What to watch tonight