Lightning sign Janik

The Lightning resigned defenseman Doug Janik to a one-year, two-way deal that will pay him the league minimum $475,000 if he makes the club or $100,000 in minor league salary if he doesn't.

Janik -- who made the team out of camp last season -- will complete for the sixth defenseman spot with youngsters Dan Jancevski, Jay Leach, Dave Schneider, Bryce Lampman, Matt Smaby and Vladmir Mihalik.

Janik was looking for a one-way deal, but in the end decided that a two-way deal to remain with the Lightning was his best option.

Now all that remains is for the Lightining to sign forward Ryan Craig before his Aug. 3 arbitration date.

Comments

[Another Joe]

Good signing to provide some depth. I like him as a 7th d man on the team if a yound guy can step up and win a job! If that doesnt happen he can be our 6th guy.

[Joe]

Albeit that Doug has been found wanting as a regular contributor at the NHL level, his experience does seem to, at very best, warrant his status as a swing guy who can be carried as a seventh D-man or play in the minors until such time as needed (perhaps due to injury).

Last year, Doug took some bad penalties; failed to contribute much offensively; and, often showed outright weakness defensively at the NHL level.

He has reached that point of age where hockey people stop talking expectantly about another year bringing gain in experience but start talking about the guy getting another year older.

Of course, we would like to be surprised, but Doug Janik does not appear to pose any significant answers to the problems of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

[Eric]

Janik played well last season. I hope he gets the 6th D-Man spot as I was sad to see him benched when O'Brien arrived. He was easily more reliable both offensively and defensively than O'Brien. He was more productive offensively than Pratt.

He could work on his strength and defensive game overall, but hes the best choice for #6 in my mind. The rookies or AHL vets are better suited for the emergency 7th you guys mention.

[F.T.B.S.]

Glad we have Janik in the fold.
I hope he starts to take his game seriously now.
No way somebody like a Pitkanen is worth $2M more than he. Now is the time to prove it.
Each and every shift, you hop over the wall to make your highlight portfolio bigger.
More ammunition for next year's negotiations and help our netminders bring the Cup our way again.

Don't slack off on a single dad gum shift guys, isn't Rumble teaching this?

Go Bolts!

[mbab]

i thought janik showed signs of being a player.....but by the end of the year he was on his heels the whole time he was on the ice.....gave up the blue line way to easy.....i remember shot after shot from 25 feet and janik somewhere in no mans land between the puck and the goalie.....this is where coaching should of helped......he has the speed to close the distance between him and the puck....but he was always backing off off off....yet at other times his skating ability....which is his biggest asset......and his aggressiveness was a welcome site.....let's hope he can get his confidence back......80 games has a way of eroding that if you are a rookie......skating is such a part of the game now a days and the kid can skate....if he doesn't make the team that is good news in a way.....that means one of the new guys stepped up to the plate......go bolts

[Nan]

I am glad that they signed Doug. I like the guy as a sixth or seventh D-Man. He made mistakes but didn't they all? He took too many stupid penalties for sure. If he can clean that up and be more agressive, he has a shot at one of those lower spots. I think he has the talent, it is a matter of execution. Go Doug! This is the time to show'em what you got!

[Sadie]

I really like him! Hes a defensive player who actually does the job. He just needs to get a little more physical.

I'm so glad we signed Dougy. He had some bad moments but so did every D-man including Boyle. I think he deserves to be a BOLT.

[goldenbolt]

MB - I agree he has some speed and that can be useful for the team. However, I do see him as a 6-7 guy and that would be good.

glad he was signed - now if we can get Craig done we would be sort of set except for mid-season pickups if the team is in contention. Ownership did that in 04 and I think they will do it this year if appropiate.

[Steve]

There is a rumor out there that the Lightning may be about to get purchased. Eklund on hockeybuzz.com is reporting this, who knows how accurate it is, but thought it was worth mentioning.

[Tony]

I am always surprised about all the negative comments surrounding this guy. He made some bad passes in our end last year * Also see Boyle and Ranger. He was caught out of position at times * see entire defense. He took some bad penalties so did alot of players and especially R2 but all people want is him back.

I thought Janik played decently defensively has a decent first pass but lacks confidence on it to use it well. He has potential to be a 5 or 6 guy in the next couple years but has some learning to do to get there.

On offense we have Boyle the forward that skates backward for that, and Kuba has done nicely as well. I would like for Janik to play better in our end and leave the offense to the other guys for now.

[Debbie]

I'm thrilled to have Dougie back. I personally like him as our 6th defenseman. Given, he did take some bad penalties last year, but it was still his first year in the NHL.

[Fred]

I think that Tony may be Uncle Feastie in disguise: "Makes a good first pass..." If he had mentioned either "sees the ice well" or "good guy in the locker room" I would bet an express dozen that it was Feastie. You know we're heading into the bottom of the depth chart when we don't even hear those comments made about our signings anymore.

[Tony]

Did I forget to mention he is a great character guy and good in the locker room?

We have had our eye on this guy a while.

Yes he does see the ice well.

The Fresh Light is on baby - bring on those donuts!! :)

[mbab]

janik is 27, I thought he was like 24......makes a difference when you use the word development etc etc.....at 27 i think we are pass the word prospect......still hoping they pull the trigger on some kind of trade.....i have read so many negative comments about pikaten sp?? from philly.....the guy started at age 19 in the nhl and was named to the silver medal winning finland olympic team....like everyone in tampa i can't say i saw him play alot......but an olympian at age 21....somehow i think the guy can play just a little itsy bit.....i sure wish we were signing 22 year olympians over 27 year old career minor leaguers....we have about 6 of those chomping at the bit..torts system requires skating well......hope janik finds his mojo...i think the guy has the legs....i think it is the rest of his game that lags.....

[Steve]

Janik adds a little depth, that's it. If he is our 6th defenseman when everyone is healthy, we are not going to be any better than last year. Hopefully one or two of the young guys can beat him out. Pratt as our #6 sounded better, but either way we need the young guys (includng Rogers) to step up.

[Tim A]

Last season was Doug's first full NHL tenure. If you compare Doug's 1st full season to Pavel Kabina's, Paul Ranger's or just about any other rookie D-man 1st full year, I would have to call it a success. This is good signing and a quality depth guy that we know can play. Now all we can hope for is that he elevates his play and becomes a more physical presence. There were times last season when Doug was flawless and other times last season...well that he was quite mediocre at best. When doug was finally allowed to play in the play-offs, I thought he was quite up to the challenge and was just as good as any of our other faultering blue-liners that the Bolts exhibited. The Defense is still questionable and if the Bolts are going to be successfull they are going to have to make adjustments from last season. Improvements are there, now only time will tell.

[mbab]

i hope they experiment thru out the year. incentive does wonders for the soul. I remember the year we own the cup, pratt was sitting until cully got hurt....and then he played his butt off the last 20 or so games of the year......he did not want to go back to sitting.....i hope this motivates alot of these unknown guys.....and unlike last year i hope if they start to falter he quickly makes changes, to get everyone back on their toes.....this new coach has to help....i thought ramsey was the nicest guy in the world....but it was obvious after about 150 straight games of non-physical play that he could not or would not get them to be tougher...........we just gotta get tougher down load........no more 10 pokes at the puck........we get tougher down low and i think alot or at least some of our goaltending issues go by the way side......at least i hope......

[JB]

He earned this opportunity. Now he must make the best of it. Worst case scenario is we have a reliable d-man in the minors who can step in at any time. What's not to like about that?

[Another Joe]

I agree JB. I like they way the team is looking for next year.

[Mike13]

I thought Janik played well last year and it was a little unfair that he sat out much of the end of the season & playoffs. Especially after learning that Pratt was playing hurt.