Only 26 in training camp

At least the Lightning was honest when it said financial considerations were part of the equation of its plan to bring invite just 26 players to training camp. That is 28 fewer than last season and a bow to a tight hockey operations budget that will not see payroll cut but remain a stagnant $44-million.

But let's take that out of the equation for a second. More interesting to me is the lack of a look Lightning brass will get of its minor leaguers. General manager Jay Feaster was strong when he said training camp is not a right but a privilege, and the team, right now, has few in its system that deserve that invitation. There also is something to the argument that with just 26 players in camp (and remember, that number could go up depending on free-agent signings), the guys there will have a much more intense and targeted experience.

Still, coach John Tortorella has always said the best way to prepare young athletes is to give them a taste of  the real world and send them back down to the minors. Then, when they come back up, they feel more comfortable in their surroundings and know what to expect and the level at which they have to play. On the other hand, that didn't work too well last season with Blair Jones, who showed so much promise in his first NHL go-round but floundered when he went back to Springfield and then was benched after being re-called to the Lightning for, as the scuttlebutt goes, coming late to a team meeting.

Perhaps it boils down to this: 2007-08 is a huge season for the Lightning and the direction the team goes in the future. With Dan Boyle's contract up, the Big 4 may be together for no more than another year. In that sense, the team likely feels urgency to concentrate on the now. The guys in the minors, well, they can wait, for now. And if they start to believe performance is the best way to the NHL, so much the better.

    

Comments

[speedibmuniv]

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[Tim A]

I'm assuming that the lightning have decided that they have to be extremely serious about who and what they take with them to training camp next year. I believe that the up-coming season will be the tale of the tape for the Head Coach and the GM. If the lightning fail to make the play-offs or fail to clear the first round again, I believe you could possibly see some heads roll.

26 players is sending a message to the team that they want to start the season with the best players they have. The quest for the Cup will begin in camp with the focus and intensity and it will begin evaluating the bad habits and problems with the roster players before problems become insidious. By the time the season starts, all of the focus should be on winning the Stanley Cup. If this philosophy works, this will truly be the makings of a great team again.

[KenB]

The way this team came out of the gate slowly last year, perhaps this will help. Removes most of the evaluation of many players and camp can get right down to season preparation.

[Manny]

I think only inviting 26 players to training camp is a big mistake. Yes it cuts cost, but it doesn’t give these future prospects any NHL experience to look forward to. I always enjoyed going to training camp to see what these future prospect had to offer. Now it looks like that opportunity has been taken away.

What I think the Lightning should do is invite 39 players to training camp, that way they can cut some costs and still give 13 of the most deserving prospects an opportunity to experience an NHL training session. That would give them 3 teams of 13 players, so while two teams scrimmage; one team could be getting special training.

[Mike13]

So many of the guys at last year's training camp were clearly not good enough to get much more than a sniff. I think that this is a good call to narrow the selections this year.

If Jay and his boys want to see the minor leaguers, then they can go watch them in Norfolk.

On a different note, if the Bolts are out of playoff contention next February, Boyle would have great value (assuming he continues playing like he did this year). Maybe we can swing a solid d-man and some draft picks. Then again, I wouldn't be too terribly surprised to see teams being a bit more conservative next year. I read in The Hockey News that the teams that paid dearly and brought in highly coveted veterans at the deadline last year were all playing golf after the first round was over.

[F.T.B.S.]

Intensity is the essence of this game. That's why other clubs take us out behind the barn when the Adam Creighton's, Svitov's, Alexeev's, Prospal's, etc. just waft around the ice for 50 second shifts.

But develop the farm too. Steve Sterling needs help to make the Norfolk Admirals the envy of the AHL, or our well will run dry.
Need water to make ice; and a good Zamboni driver to make fast ice.

I'll leave this notion out there and open for attack: since Billy Barber and Jay Feaster are turning us into the Tampa Bay Flyers, why not try to acquire the guy we lost in the draft when we picked up Ruslan?
If he can remain healthy, and I think Torts' conditioning demands may help, Pitkanen may have struggled in Phil. because he craves a system such as ours. (Or he may have had one sour season like our Mr. $7.8M.) We could get Philly picks in '08 as well, in a swap for Boyle---whose value is highest right now and replacements in hand.