This summer marked the end of the Andrej Sustr era for the Tampa Bay Lightning.
 After playing defense for five seasons in Tampa Bay, Sustr signed with the
Anaheim Ducks, meaning that the Lightning fanbase will have to find a new
player to blame all their defensive shortcomings on.

Yes, a majority of the fanbase will celebrate Sustr';s departure as addition
through subtraction. The 26-year-old Czech defender';s performance last year in
 Tampa Bay was much maligned, as he only played in 44 games and was the lone
defenseman on the roster who posted a negative plus/minus along with other poor
 statistics.With the addition of Mikhail Sergachev, Andrej Sustr became the odd
 man out on the Lightning';s line-up. (Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports)

Take this, along with the fact that Sustr had been thoroughly passed over by
younger, more talented players like Mikhail Sergachev, and you were left with a
 player who was under constant scrutiny by the fanbase.Sustr Once Represented
the Future of the Lightning

With the struggles of his final season, it can be easy to forget just how big
of a signing Sustr was for the Lightning back when he joined the team in the
spring of 2013. Coming out of the University of Nebraska-Omaha, he was a highly
 sought-after college recruit due to the potential held within his massive
six-foot-seven-inch frame. Along with the Lightning, Sustr drew interest from
the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers.

By choosing to play for a bad Lightning team that had little defensive depth at
 the time, Sustr was able to take on NHL ice-time almost immediately out of
college. While he was far from a refined player out of college, he had a raw
potential that seemed like a perfect fit for a weak Lightning blueline. After
he became a full-time starter in the 2013-14 season, many thought that it would
 be a matter of when, not if, Sustr would reach his talent ceiling and take up
 the mantle of a top-pairing defenseman.After three years playing in Tampa Bay,
 Sustr appeared to be making strides towards becoming a top-four defender on a
relatively thin Lightning blueline. (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Nowhere was this seen more than during the Lightning';s run to the
2015 Stanley Cup Final, where Sustr started 77 regular season games, and 26
postseason games, logging an average ice-time of 17:42 and 15:14, respectively.
 Early on in that playoff run, he started looking like a true top-end
defenseman who would be ready to take on big minutes each night alongside
Victor Hedman.Sustr';s Career Suddenly Stalled

By the end of the 2015 playoffs, however, Sustr regressed heavily. He went from
 a workhorse to a liability on the ice, often appearing slow and out of
position on key plays that cost the Lightning goals. While he was far from the
only Lightning player to struggle against the Chicago Blackhawks in the Final,
it seemed like from that series on, he stopped progressing as a player.

Even if he scored more points in the 2015-16 season, he was more of a defensive
 liability for the team, indicated by his drop from a plus-10 in 2014-15, to a
minus-two in 2015-16. Yes, this statistic doesn';t show the full picture, but
when a defender is able to score a career-high 21 points (all while on even
strength) and still see a significant drop to their plus/minus, something is
clearly off. By the end 2016-17 season, Sustr was a minus-10, while only
producing 14 points on the year before becoming a consistent healthy scratch
for the majority of the 2017-18 season.Sustr Struggles Showcase Bolt';s
Improving Blue Line

In many ways, the fact that the Lightning were able to keep Sustr as a healthy
scratch showcased just how far the team';s blueline has come since 2013. When
they signed Sustr, he was supposed to be a sure-fire top-four fix to an at best
 lackluster defensive unit. When he failed to reach his potential, this could
have been a devastating loss for the team.While he was often a scapegoat for
any underwhelming play on the Lightning';s blueline, Sustr';s five years in
Tampa Bay will still be remembered. (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Instead, the Lightning were not only able to replace Sustr, but they did so
with a mix of veteran and youth players who brought more flexibility and pure
talent to the franchise. Now, a team that once had one of the worst bluelines
in the league have one of the best, even with the loss of their former
high-potential free-agent signing.

So, in a weird way, Sustr will always have a legacy in Tampa Bay as that
stop-gap defender who helped the team transition from being a defensive
laughingstock to an elite unit. Even if this wasn';t the plan for Sustr, it
still represents an important part of the Lightning';s recent history.

The post Sustr';s Weird Legacy With the Lightning appeared first on The Hockey
Writers.

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