Payroll going down

Not right away but next season if the team doesn't make significant inroads in the playoffs. Team president Ron Campbell said ownership has approved a payroll of $40-million. That is $2-million less than this season's current cap number of $42-million. It is $4-million less than the current league-wide cap. How much less it will be than next season's cap will be determined after the league calculates this season's revenues and sets a new bar.

Campbell said the $40-million number allows the team to keep its star players but also run the business more responsibly. Campbell estimates without a playoff run this season, Palace Sports & Entertainment, the Lightning's parent company, will lose $9-million on its entire Tampa operation.

Even so, there are no plans, Campbell said, to cut salary this season, and the team is looking for ways to improve as it strives to get to the playoffs. The equation changes, of course, if the teammakes a deep playoff run. Then, Campell said, things can be reassessed.

Campbell said the team is not for sale but it cannot sustain such losses. Campbell said the only year the company turned a profit in the city was the 2004 Cup season when it made $3.8-million.

Hey, at least it won't be a fire sale at the trade deadline.

Artyukhin reunion

So, it looks like the Lightning will make every effort during the summer to sign Evgeny Artyukhin. A fan favorite because of the way he hits, the big Russian has spent this season with Yaroslavl Lokomotiv in the Russian Super League. GM Jay Feaster was very upset when Artyukhin, saying he wanted to hone his skills in a situation where he would get more playing time, turned down one-way contracts of one and two years.

Anyway, it looks as if both sides want to get together, and the Lightning could sure use the physical presence. Arty has had a tough go in Russia too where he began the season on the forth line and drove referees crazy with his physical play.

I'll have more on this in tomorrow's paper, but I know I liked watching Arty play. Bet you can't wait to see him back with the Lightning either. It sounds like it might happen in 2007-08.

Let's get physical

We have all heard coach John Tortorella bemoan the lack of physical play in the game. You don't even have to ask him about it sometimes and the conversation turns in that direction. Well, it was interesting timing Friday, when the coach went on a pretty colorful rant and called the league a "ballet'' and "soft.'' That night, the Lightning lost to the Devils and defenseman Dan Boyle said he wants to see the team be more physical, especially with the opposition's defense.

A nice thought, and one Tortorella acknowledged. But how can the players possibly be physical with the way the game is being called. The game that night against the Devils was a case in point. Considering the lack of physical play, it was possible zero penalties could have been called. But the refs found the smallest transgressions to call. Andre Roy's penalty was bewildering. Nick Tarnasky's slash a love tap and when the refs finally got around to calling a penalty on the Devils, a trip on Patrik Elias, it was as bogus as the calls made against the Lightning.

I grew up watching the Islanders on Long Island when guys like Gary Howatt, Bobby Nystrom and Gerry Hart hit everything that moved. It was a slower game back then but man it was fun to watch the physical play. There has to be a happy medium between letting the players skate and calling absurd penalties that have no effect on the game other than making players afraid to play physically.

I know we've discussed this before. I've written at least two stories about it, but after Friday's game I just think there is a disservice being done to the players and fans. Don't know how to solve it either. The powers in Toronto and New York seem to like it. I agree with Tortorella, though, in an attempt to bring in new fans by showcasing scoring and speed, the league is losing the die-hards. It's too bad.

Interesting moment: I recently spent an evening in the NHL offices in Toronto where they make the video reviews of all disputed goals. There wasn't much going on that night so the guys were free to talk and critique the games and the way the penalties were being called. At one point, NHL senior vice president Mike Murphy was disappointed a call was made against a player during a battle for a puck. The transgression was a shove. Said Murphy, "you should be able to shove in this league.''

Yes, at the very least.

For anyone interested, check out hockeyfansunite.com. It's a site run by an old-time hockey fan who hates seeing what the game has become.

Real or smoke and mirrors?

Here's the good news: the Lightning has won seven of eight games and is taking aim on sixth in the East. The bad news. Every one of those wins was by one goal, including two in shootouts. So the question is, as Jay Feaster put it, is this a real trend reversal or just a blip?

There are arguments to be made on both sides. The Lightning is getting better goaltending, from Johan Holmqvist, anyway, and that is the most important aspect. It also has better bought in to the team defense thing which is best illustrated by the amount of blocked shots. Brad Richards is playing better and he always excels in the second part of a season and even Vinny Prospal has started to chip in. Confidence is soaring

The bad news: Marc Denis is still letting in goals by the boat load, and the team, overall, is still way unbalanced. Ruslan Fedotenko, Nikita Alexeev and Eric Perrin really need to score more.

So what is it, a solid turnaround or a fragile move forward?   

Guaranteed deals?

Thought coach John Tortorella was interesting today when he spoke of coaches contracts. He said in the new NHL, in which teams are trying to adopt to the way games are being called, it takes several years for a coach to sufficiently gets his system installed. He said it took he and associate coach Craig Ramsay about three years to get their system installed to the point the players understood all the ins and outs. That is why, he said, coaches should get guaranteed four-year deals.

The observation came during a conversation about how teams have fallen back into old habits such as using the trap in a time in which the game is supposed to be getting more wide open. Torts said coaches have to win now, and, as described above, installing a more offensive system, takes time, especially when doing so means, in the short term, anyway, more goals in one's own net.

So, is it workable to commit to a coach for four years? It would take a patient owner, general manager and a fan base. And how often do we see that nowadays?

Ridiculous trade rumor

It is one thing to talk about trade rumors. It is another thing to put something on the Internet so without basis it is embarrassing. There is some notion out there the Lightning is trying to trade with the Blackhawks for former Tampa Bay goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin. There also is the thought the team would have to give up either Brad Richards or Marty St. Louis to do it.

Let's look at this logically. Why, in heaven's name, would the Lightning trade St. Louis, who is one of the best, if not THE best, player in the league right now? As for Richards, I keep saying it and no one believes me. He is as much a leadership commodity as a star on the ice. Yes, he is having a down season. But so did St. Louis last season. If you want to know what Richards means to the Lightning, check out the story in tomorrow's paper that describes how he and St. Louis took the lead in getting greater autonomy for the players from coach John Tortorella.

As for Khabibulin, someone out there expects us to believe the Lightning will trade two of its best players for a goaltender it did not think enough of to sign after the Cup season and who has lost seven straight games with an .838 save percentage.

Look, I understand these are just rumors and they are fun to talk about. But, geez, at least give us something plausible.            

Feaster weighs in

This quote was just too good to wait for Sunday's paper. When asked about Dan Boyle's exclusion from the All-Star team, Lightning GM Jay Feaster said:

"My initial thought was that I was really disappointed for Danny. My second thought was that I hope he shoves it up somebody's backside tonight.''

Vinny, Marty in; Boyle out

As expected Vinny 4 and Marty were named as reserves on the East All-Star team, but defenseman Dan Boyle was left off in favor of Zdeno Chara, Tomas Kaberle, Brian Rafalski and Jay Bouwmeester.

That last one is a little tough to swallow. The NHL has an unwritten policy that it tries to get one player from each team represented and that can be the only reason Bouwmeester was selected. As for Boyle, he was apparently hurt by having two teammates already named and being part of a team that so far has underachieved.

Still, it is a shame Boyle was not recognized. He has played well enough and crushes Bouwmeester in almost every statistical category expect plus-minus. In short, he has played better than Bouwmeester and should have been recognized.   

All-Star selections

It's that time again, when the NHL's hockey operations department decides the reserves for the All-Star team. The Lightning has two locks (Vinny Lecavalier and Marty St. Louis) and one perhaps (defenseman Dan Boyle).

Boyle is an interesting case. The guy gets zero credit. Say what you like about is sometimes sketchy defense and the way he occasionally falls when he skates, the guy can play. And considering he's tied for fifth among defensemen with 36 points, I say he should be there.

But the Lightning has struggled and the power play, for which he is supposed to be a quarterback, has been up and down. Also, the Lightning scratching around .500 and in and out of the top eight, makes it tough to justify three players.

Boyle says he has battled the "lack of respect'' thing all his career. Reputations die hard but I say he has overcome. He should be in the All-Star Game. We'll find out today.

Back to backs

When he is in the right mood, Lightning coach John Tortorella is one of the NHL's most engaging personalities. Get him on a subject he likes and you can expect a conversation with passion and insight. Take his pregame meeting with reporters before Sunday's game with the Penguins.

The Lightning plays Pittsburgh again Tuesday at the St. Pete Times Forum and Tortorella was asked if he liked playing teams back-to-back. Not only does he like it, he said the league should schedule more. This ties in very well, of course, with Tortorella's long-standing belief that games (because of the way games are called and the inconsistency of how obstruction rules are applied) have lost their passion.

That lack of passion is something Tortorella has talked of before, and readers of the Times are well aware of his views. But the back-to-back element adds a different twist. "That way you get a little blood involved and some intensity,'' he said.

Tortorella pointed to a recent back-to-back between the Maple Leafs and Bruins in which Toronto's Darcy Tucker fought Boston's Paul Mara (two former Tampa Bay players, by the way). Tucker basically challenged Mara to a rematch in their next game. It never happened, but as Tortorella said, "There was a lot of hype about what would happen in that second game. At least there was some hype which is lacking in this league right now. ... My overall beef, and whenever I have an avenue to talk about it, I don't think the game is intense enough. I don't think there is enough battling. I don't think we're going down the right road the way we're going about it.''

Why not try back-to-backs, he said. "You get more intense battles. Maybe us and Philly a couple of days in a row, or Calgary, it doesn't matter.. I'd like to see it happen that way because it isn't working this way.''

My buddy Mark Everson of the New York Post made a very interesting suggestion recently: Why not play mini tournaments within a season between three teams. For example, get the Rangers, Islanders and Devils together for a round robin with all games counting in the standings and a trophy awarded at the end. I actually like that idea.

The question for the Lightning, which really has no rivals other than the Flyers (though that is waning) and Thrashers (though that is still in its infancy), is who would it play?   

Mid-season notice

My pick for first half MVP is Marty St. Louis. I know, I'm really going out on a limb.

Biggest disappointment: Marc Denis. Works hard, cares a lot but considering the hype and who the Lightning traded to get him (ask Brad Richards how much he misses Freddie Modin), the goaltender gets the nod.

 

Watching Kuba

There was a really interesting moment Thursday during our meeting with Wild coach Jacques Lemaire after Minnesota's morning skate. Asked about Lightning defenseman Filip Kuba, who played his first five seasons with the Wild, Lemaire told a story about how Kuba, who has five of his seven Tampa Bay goals on the power play, lost his place on Minnesota's first power-play unit because he regularly failed during scoring chances.

"I remember his shots hitting skates and sticks and I don't know if he does that again,'' Lemaire said. "Every time we had a scoring chance he either breaks a stick ... and after a while you give another guy a chance and that's how you lose your job. Then you go to a coach who doesn't know that and he gets his chance, so good for him.''

Couldn't tell if this was just Lemaire being matter-of-fact or if he was actually downgrading Kuba, who never had more than nine goals and four power-play goals for Minnesota.

Whatever, Kuba took the high road and said how much he enjoyed his time with the Wild and that his relationship with Lemaire was "good.''

As for losing power-play time because he blew scoring chances, Kuba said, "Things like that happen all the time. If that was the reason, I can't comment. He's the coach. ... I'm always trying to get the puck through, always trying to hit the net, always trying to get the puck past the defender. It's not like I wanted to hit somebody. It's not like I wanted to break a stick. It happens.''

What did it sound like to you?

   

Training camp in PEI?

The city of Charlottetown apparently has invited the Lightning to move part of next season 's training camp to the Prince Edward Island city. Stu MacFadyen, Charlottetown's deputy mayor, told the St. Petersburg Times he is expecting an answer either later this week or next week.

"I think we have a lot to offer here in our city and our province,'' MacFadyen said. "I think it would be great for the team and I think it would be great because Brad is there.''

Lightning center Brad Richards, the MVP of the 2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, is from the Prince Edward Island town of Murray Harbour.

McFadyen said a group of six to eight representatives from Charlottetown traveled to Tampa in late November and made the pitch. MacFadyen said the camp (likely the first week before games are played), would be at the city's new two-rink facility.

"The problem is we're waiting for them to say yes,'' MacFadyen said of the Lightning. "That's all we're waiting on.''

   I'll have more on this in tomorrow's paper.

Team chemistry

It is an interesting part of the trade equation, I think. Should a team worry about how a certain player will fit in with his teammates or just worry about the production he can bring. Hockey is indeed different from other sports in its sense of camaraderie. But when does, if it does, that notion inhibit a team from a broader goal?

Perhaps it has to do with how or why a team will acquire a player. If the player will be a short-term rental, then perhaps the character and chemistry issues don't matter as much. I bring this up because of what GM Jay Feaster said on Monday, that a good locker room makes trading more difficult. I also recall what Rob DiMaio said earlier in the year, that Tampa Bay's locker room was so tight, he felt it difficult to at first to feel comfortable.

The bottom line is, should this really matter to a GM trying to find a catalyst for what goes on on the ice? I think there is a place for that to be part of the equation. I'm still struggling to figure out how much.