Lightning re-sign Holmqvist

   The Lightning on Saturday re-signed goaltender Johan Holmqvist to a one-year contract, Executive Vice President and General Manager Jay Feaster announced in a press release.

Holmqvist, a 6-foot-3, 195-pound native of Tolfta, Sweden, played in 48 games with the Lightning in 2006-07. He posted a 27-15-3 record and led the team with a 2.85 goals-against average, and his 27 wins ranked fourth in franchise history for wins by a goaltender in a season. He also ranked fifth in the league in shootout save percentage as he stopped 29 of 33 shots and recorded a 6-1 record. Holmqvist established career highs in games played, wins and goals-against average and earned his first NHL shutout January 1 at Carolina with a 31-save performance. He also recorded two five-game winning streaks during the season.

"As we said at the end of the season, Johan Holmqvist is one piece of the puzzle for us in net, and it was one of our top priorities this off-season to get him re-signed at a number that made sense for us," Feaster said in the release. "By signing a one-year deal, Johan has demonstrated that he intends to build on last year's performance and firmly establish himself - once and for all - as a legitimate No. 1 goalie in the NHL. Holmer recognizes that there is still work to be done and a great deal of unfinished business, both for himself and for the team. We are excited to welcome Johan back for bigger and better things as we embark on our journey together."

After going 3-1-1 in Tampa Bay’s final five games and posting a 17-6-3 record after January 7, Holmqvist was named as the Lightning’s starter in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He played in six playoff games and posted a 2.92 goals-against average. He made 30-or-more saves in three games during the post-season, including 34 saves in Games 2 and 4.

Holmqvist, 29, started seven games for his native country at the 2006 World Championships in Riga, Latvia. He posted a 5-2 record with a 2.00 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage en route to winning the Gold Medal and being named top goaltender at the tournament. He spent the 2005-06 season with Brynas IF Gavle of the Swedish Elite League and led the league in goals-against average with 1.95. He also ranked second in save percentage at .928 and was tied for sixth in shutouts with three. The former Swedish Junior of the Year (1997-98) was selected to the 2006 Swedish All-Star team.

Prior to returning to Europe Holmqvist played two seasons (2002-03, 2003-04) with the Houston Aeros of the American Hockey League and posted a 23-27-4 record with a 2.56 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage. Before making his North American debut in 2000-01 he led Brynas to the 1998-99 Swedish Elite League Championship.

    He played in four NHL games between 2000-01 and 2002-03 with the New York Rangers, posting a 4.32 GAA and a .868 SV%. He was a seventh-round pick, 175^{th overall, by the Rangers at the 1997 NHL Entry Draft.}

During the 2002-03 season the Minnesota Wild acquired his rights and assigned him to the Aeros where he backstopped them on their way to the 2003 Calder Cup Championship and was awarded the Jack Butterfield Trophy as AHL Playoff Most Valuable Player. During that post season he appeared in 23 games and recorded a 15-8 record with a 2.00 GAA and a .928 SV%. He appeared in eight games with Houston during the regular season with a 2.88 GAA and a .900 SV%. He began the season with the Hartford Wolf Pack and appeared in 35 contests with a 14-12-5 record. Holmqvist has played in 193 AHL games in his career with an 87-69-23 record.

Comments

[Tim A]

I think this a quick band-aid to a sucking chest wound. Holmer, though being the better of the two goalies aquired in last year's free agency, has allot to prove and is in no way the answer to all of the team's goal-tending woes. If Feaster, Cambell and Davidson want to impress the fans now, it will be by adding the right answer on defense. They need to provide a shot blocking and clearing element to the defense and then aquire the right scoring answer on the first and second lines, until then, this is all just small happenings.

However, congratulations to Holmer, I thought he played very well last year under the circumstances and gave the Bolts their best chance for success in the play-offs. Hopefully the Bolts will now find suiters for Marc Denis and get some cap space for a better Free agency.

[Joe]

Karlsson and Holmqvist were both standouts in the Swedish Elite League and signed contracts with the Thrashers and the Rangers repectively. Neither enjoyed earlier success in the NHL. Both found their way to Tampa where meaningfully good results eluded them; yet, these gentlemen, replete with their new diminutive salaries, will be counted on to play significant roles in the fortune of the Lightning in 2007-8.

All of this has been choreographed by the managerial intelligensia responsible for disposing of Freddy Modine (a real Viking warrior) in favor of the highly overcompensated Marc Denis, a former minor league luninary with the Hershey Bears of eld, a team also overseen by the very same Jay Feaster. From this familiar source now comes assurances that the Bolts are on the improve.

The General Manager may still enjoy the confidence of the octagenrian owner of the Bolts, Bill Davidson, but he certainly has eroded the support of those local people who are paying attention to his egregious errors in judgment.

[Bud]

Anyone who thinks this is the answer,Does Not Know the Question.Call me when they sign a Real #1 Goalie.
Till then,they are One and Done,Team.

This team has to have a bad Rep with Goalies thu out the NHL,Goalie Killers,You Think?

[Another Joe]

I like Holmqvist and am glad we resigned him. I think if we end up going into the year with the same goalies, only the roles reveresed I think we will be fine. I think Holmqvist as the #1 and Denis as #2 would be pretty good.

However I prefer to trade Denis and have a Holmqvist/Ramo duo and use Denis's money to get another scorer or improve the D in front of our goalie.

I dont think there will be a top goalie out there we can get so this is our best chance. If Holmqvist can up his save % to .900 and a GAA of @ 2.50 then he should win 30-35 games.

Go Bolts!

[John]

30 teams start the season in the playoff chase. 16 teams make the playoffs. 1 team wins the cup. ONE TEAM !!!

We won the cup with hard work, over-achieving players and a lot of LUCK !!! The same as it is every year.

Feaster and Torts have done an admirable job with the financial constraints placed on them by a savvy business owner.

Denis was a good sign at the time for a reasonable amount of money. His upside seemed to outweigh the enormous expectations placed on him when he signed with the BOLTS. It didn't work out. It happens all the time in sports. Its not an exact science guys.

Holmer exceeded expectations and had a great year considering he was signed as an afterthought to compete for the back-up job. At 1 million, he is still a great value with a ton of upside. A little positioning work and he can be a solid goalie on a consistent basis. Well worth the small financial commitment.

Good job Jay, keep up the good work.

[Phantom]

I am delighted to have another (this one, key) Svensk in the fold.
My dementia envisions a more relaxed and productive pair with the possible addition of their elder homey, Mats Sundin.
He can do- an Andreychuk redeux, as the aging sniper now asked to kill penalties on a third line and impart wisdom and work ethic.
How magnificent would it be, to see him on our power play? Kuby's #13 is just waiting for him. Give him Denis' money.

Marc Denis is a pox. He may very well have an upside.
But we'll all sleep better if we read about it with a team far, far away from here; not watching him try to hold a 2-1 lead for us. You know what'll happen.

[Tim A]

I don't think that just because Feaster re-signs Holmer that he's off the hook for the immense blunders he's achieved for the past two years. Signing Holmer was an easy no brainier for $1 million. Feaster has to understand that just because he was the GM for a successful AHL team that won the Calder Cup, he doesn’t owe everyone that produced in that organization a shot at a spot on the Lightning roster. Loyalty is one thing and listlessness is another. It would be favorable if Feaster could get the opinion of someone who recognizes talent before he tries to make another simplified lazy solution to filling another critical roster spot. Either Feaster needs to get some better scouts with allot better judgment or learn to judge talent allot better than he has. Face it, since winning the Stanley Cup, Feaster hasn’t done that good of a job, and there is a large number of examples that can be listed. I myself would keep the "good job" accolades in check until the results are in after some significant free agency acquisitions are, or are not made. I have a hunch that either Feaster will make it or break it 2007-08. After a $7.8 million over payment to an under-achiever and $3.0 millon to a waiste for three years, his career with the Bolts could very well be circling the drain, as it should be.

[Tim M]

Holmqvist is a good signing, especially for a 1-year deal. Last year was his real first season in the NHL. Now, we get to see what he is capable of without the big commitment. I still think we need to get another veteran goalie for him to compete against for the starting job. Gerber is available, yet carries a hefty price tag. Maybe trade Denis and that disgruntled forward from Russia in a deal. I thnk Denis would like to leave Tampa for his benching in the playoffs. Most fans would love to see him go. Go Sens Go! Win the Cup for Canada!!!

[Mike13]

Alas, this could be a significant re-signing --but not because Holmqvist is our number one netminder. To have a goalie named the number one guy in Tampa would lead one to believe that we made a change at the Head Coaching job. No, this is a potentially critical move becuase Feaster finally did not overpay a player.

Alright, that's a little unfair. He didn't overpay Ward or Karlsson either. Perhaps we're seeing a whole new Jay Feaster. Or perhaps we are just seeing what Jay can do when he is re-signing a player with whom he and John are not in love.

The deal to watch will be the re-signing of Shane O'Brien. If Jay can stand strong and not overpay this promising young player, then we may have seen the dawn of a new era in Tampa.

Would someone please tell me why I have a horrible, uneasy feeling deep within?

[slapshot]

did you guys hear about the rumor that san jose wants to trade one of thier golie's. they should trade toskala to the lightning.they also said that guerin is not expected to sign with the sharks. we could use him on the 2 line. both does guy are what we need.

[Phantom]

I agree, but the lightning should get nabakov

[slapshot]

I wish the lightning could get nabakov ,but he makes $5,ooo,ooo per season and the lightning can't afford that. as for toskala, he makes only
$1,375,000 per season.

[JB]

So we got our backup. Now, what about the #1? What on Earth will we do with Denis? Maybe he rebounds and has a stellar season? Not a gamble I'd be willing to bet on. Is there a GM out there who is willing to make it? Let's hope so. Toskala, Guerin...great ideas, but I have my doubts that Feaster could pull something like that off. Hope he proves me wrong. And then, with all our money spent, there is still that gaping hole on the blue line. What a mess

[Tim A]

Hey Mike13, I have a horrible feeling within as well. Its not because of the recent signings, its about the need for a real defense and another scoring forward, with no money to aquire them. Now that Ron Cambell, the president of the Bolts, says that the orginaization is not willing to pay more than they did in 2006-07 and is self imposing a cap of around $40 mil for 2007-08, because they are loosing so much money (my heart bleeds for them.) It's going to be tough (for the fans.) This would probably be OK if Feaster knew how to work within a budget (haha.) But at some point durring next season the front office will have to choose between making the play-offs (backing in again) and going out in the first round, or decide that the Bolts want to play for the Stanley Cup. At that point they know they will need to go out and get talent to augment 3 weak lines and an anemic defense, this will highlight the first 3 quarters of the season.

Presently, I don't see allot of commitment or dedication here for winning, but its still early. If the Bolts front office want to truly impress me then they will go out and get someone like Willie Mitchell or Paul Kariya, then I wouldn't care who they signed after that. If Feaster plays big doofuss (again) and has a another Publishers Clearing House Give-away for some of the RFA's and Fa's they need to sign, then you can bet your bippie that it's going to be three-in-a-row for the "Early-out Bolts" from the play-offs.

Now, I would like to tell the Bolts front Office this, don't whine about money to the fans if you're not dedicated enough to put a winning product on the ice, dedication works both ways. So far we (the fans) have filled the stands and kept our end of the deal...you have not. So here's a challenge...put up or sell to someone who's give-a-damn isn't broken.

[Mike13]

No offense folks, but Toskala is not the type of bonafide number 1 netminder that we need in Tampa. He's got decent numbers, but he's a backup. We already have a backup.

[Another Joe]

What GM hasnt made more mistakes then success stories in any sport. Most Gm's make more moves that dont pan out then do. Thats just a fact if you look at it. We have won a cup and made the playoffs 4 straight years. I like Feaster. Everyone at NHL.com,TSN,ESPN, was saying the Denis trade was good when it happened. It just didnt work out for whatever reason. Here is why im optimistic about the bolts this year.

I really think Ward is going to be a big help for this team having him the entire year. He probably wont be a big point guy but he is an awesome penalty killer and wont be a liability on five on five hockey.

I think Holmqvist is going to improve and earn the #1 spot. He's playing for his NHL career this year and he knows it.

If our young guys step it up and improve even more that will solidify our team. Tarnasky , Ranger, Obrien, Craig,Jones. If these guys improve just a little from last year thats five solid players.

We need at least 90 points from Richards and I think he will deliver. If Vinny and Marty play like they did, and theres no reason to think they wont, Brad will be the added scorer we need.

My one free agent wish is to add another D-man. If we could add a top flight D-man I think that will help this team more then a winger. Alot of what we do depends on if we can dump Denis. I agree he needs to go and that is going to be a big part of what we can do. The bolts can contend with a 42 million or so payroll but we cant waste 2.8 of it on Denis.

Anyway even if people dont agree lets agree on one thing. Whatever they do Ill be there next year at my 20 games cheering them on. GO BOLTS!

[slapshot]

I agree another joe about the fact that
the lightning need to dump Denis, and they should find a better golie to fill his spop. There are many golies earning less than 2.8 million who are better than Denis.

I also agree that the lightning should add a d-man that is great deffensivly and who can control the puck well.

If richards wants to make 90 points then he needs a good goal score on his line. There have been rumors that the lightning might add Zubrus, O'niell, or Guerin to playon the 2 line with richard.

[willy]

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Bolts suck
Flyers rock

[willy]

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[willy]

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[Mike13]

Yeah, the Flyers rock alright. They fell like one too. They set an NHL record for biggest drop points falling from 101 points in 05-06 to 56 points in 06-07. Go Flyers! Keep up the great work.

[slapshot]

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bolts rock
flyers suck dick