The game is changing.

Everyone in the NHL can feel it, even If some teams have been slow to react. Hockey is now played at a breakneck speed, and while hits and physicality are still celebrated, they have all but fallen by the wayside for the league’s most effective teams.

In fact, the dynastic Chicago Blackhawks parted from their last “enforcer” type in the offseason of 2014, trading Brandon Bollig to the Calgary Flames. They went on to win the Stanley Cup that next season. The Los Angeles Kings, while known for being a heavy-hitting team, use it as part of an unstoppable forecheck, bouncing people off the puck as part of a dump and chase strategy.

The Tampa Bay Lightning seem to be heading in a similar direction as the Blackhawks, using their speed and scoring talent to overwhelm the opposition, instead of punishing hits. That isn’t to say the Bolts are a small team – Brian Boyle singlehandedly ensures that’s not the case – but the emphasis is on skill, not size.

This poses a problem for many teams looking to restructure. The third line is traditionally a “checking” unit, sent out to antagonize and delivering punishing hits in the defensive zone.

But it’s not so for the Lightning, in large part to the emergence of 25-year-old forward, J.T. Brown.

In just his third full NHL season, Brown has come into his own, stepping into a larger role and owning it, even in a year when the team had a rough start.

For a while, at the beginning of the season, Brown had put up more points than his captain, Steven Stamkos. Obviously, he couldn’t maintain that pace, but it was an auspicious start to the year.

In the end, he posted just 22 points, 8 goals and 14 assists in 78 games, a career high. But his real work was done on defense. Never spending much time with any one specific player – he had a high of 418 5-on-5 minutes with Valtteri Filppula – he managed to be extremely effective while on the ice.

This graph compares his production (both offensively and defensively) to other skaters who played similar minutes. So while Brown doesn’t stack up against the Crosbys of the world, he more than holds his own against other bottom six forwards. In fact, during the middle of the year, when Tampa Bay found their stride, he was clearly a large part of that push.

On top of that, he’s clearly still improving. In 2013-14, his rookie season, he had a 51.8 Corsi For percentage. Next year, which was restricted to only 52 games, it dropped to 50 percent. This year he hit another career high – 52.4 percent.

Tampa Bay has done admirably in their series against Detroit despite Brown dropping out of the bottom six, as he sustained an upper-body injury on Apr. 15. However, as their playoffs roll on, they have to hope he comes back sooner than later.

The Lightning have a difficult offseason coming up, and not just because of Stamkos’ impending free agency. They also have six restricted free agents to re-sign, including top-six guys like Alex Killorn and Nikita Kucherov, both of whom will demand hefty raises, especially if they continue having such a good postseason.

Also in the mix is Brown, who has certainly earned his $950,000 cap hit this year. While he deserves an extension, and probably a raise in the realm of $1.25-1.5 million, Brown could be the sacrificial lamb that allows them to re-sign the bigger names.

If that’s the case, any team looking to revamp their third line would be wise to make an offer for him. After all, we know that championship teams must roll four lines, and J.T. Brown is the prototype of the new bottom six.