Craig out indefinitely with two knee injuries

Lightning center Ryan Craig is out indefinitely with a partially torn anterior cruciate ligament and a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee. General manager Jay Feaster said "at this point no decision has been made as to whether he will require surgery.''

It is the continuation of a terrible year for Craig, who was awarded $850,000 in arbitration but sustained a herniated disc during training camp and did not play an NHL game until Nov. 10. In seven games he had one goal, one assist, but was a valuable checker who could play on any  line.   

Comments

[keith]

Too bad for the kid. Hope he heals. It can be a tough break for a young man fulfilling his life dream and goal of playing pro hockey to be snake bit once doing so. Just hope he's able to come back and play again. Not really sure if in the big picture it really makes much difference to the team though....Craiger has lots of heart and effort, but they all do dont they. In my mind he's grouped with about 6 or 7 others that all seem interchangeable at this point.
Its probably all DC's fault anyway. lol

[Alabaster Cat]

If Feaster keeps looking at the farm to replace Craig, he will continue to do the Lightning and its fan base an enormous disservice.

With the dissolution of Absolute hockey, there is no excuse for further inaction regarding payroll decisions bent on making roster improvements, and, if Jay cannot sell that idea to Davidson and Wilson, he ought to come out and publicly say so. If he got fired for chirping, his buy-out would be handsome, and he would, at least, preserve the respect that he has in the league.

Given this team's investment in superstars, it seems criminal to not provide them with the best possible supporting teammates when there is a good chunk of spending money remaining under the cap.

Anyone who reads the comments posed in these spaces can readily understand what needs to be done to repair the team's weaknesses.

How can any team owner (however hoary) and/or conscientious GM allow a team with such enormous potential to sink like a stone in water for the want of a few improvements, particularly when injuries occur to complicate the problems?

[nick johnson]

this is devastating news, this could be a year until craig comes back. Now he wasn't scoring like he did at the beginning of last year but he still provided some big forechecking shifts. he could play with anyone and i think you will find that he is a big piece for the lightning to lose. A word for this website VERY SIGNIIFICANT to lose Craig.

[nick of time]

Do you watch these games, keith? Craig is NOT interchangeable with 6 or 7 others. He gets his nose dirty, probably more than anyone on the team. We already have our share of light hitters and nonhitters. It's a big minus to lose him.

[Drew]

Uh, Alabaster, there is a salary cap in the NHL. That means there is a limit to how much you can spend. You can't sign superstars without trading them, we do not have a good chunk of cap room. Is that what you are suggesting? I love Brad, Marty and Vinny, everyone does and no one wants to see them leave. But when they occupy ONE HALF of the team's salary cap, you have to settle for Jan Hlavac and Michel Oullet. That's just how it works.

[Mike13]

I would define $9-million as a good chunk of salary cap space. Payroll: ~$44-million. Salary Cap: ~$53-million.

[Steve]

The way Craig has played this year, and yes I've seen most of their games, this is far from a significant loss. Now, if it were the Craig from a couple of years ago then I would agree. Craig has done nothing this season to set himself apart from McDonald, Darche (who I'd like to see stay), or Karlsson. Gratton has taken over the role of what Craig was a couple of years ago.

It's too bad though, hopefully he can stay away from the injury bug when he finally comes back.

[Mr. Hockey]

Ryan is a tough kid , but there is an axiom in professional sports, and that is , players that always get hurt, always get hurt(i.e. Peter Forsberg).
I really don't think Ryan had a very big impact on our team fortunes. I'm sorry to see him injured , but I don't think it will make much difference in our record.
Now, getting a consistant goalie, that's another story.

[ajax]

I believe the cap is 50.3 mil, not 53 mil. There is a Bonus cushion of like 3.8mil, but we have no players with any bonus clauses. By the way, this bonus cushion, is surely a way of letting the rich teams get even richer, but lets not get started on that!! So, still leaves the bolts with over 5 mil cap space. But, couldof, wouldof, shouldof. Alas, they ain't spending money to the last fricking moment. And, if it follows suit like last year it won't be a 5 star player, more in line with one to 1.5 mil. Feaster is a company man and has to be, that is understood. I just wish he would say nothing versus babbling on and on about how excited he is about the roster and how every new guy he finds is the newest thing since sliced bread. Sometimes I wonder does he really believe the stuff he is selling. These guys are not dummies though. They are walking a fine line on losing money and losing lots of money(no playoffs at all) Should be a very interesting couple of months. Let's hope management decides to really spruce up the franchise before they dump it!!!!!!!!

[Mike13]

You are correct Ajax, the Cap is at 50.3-million. Thanks for the correction. That's still a hunk of change though. 'Cat's point is still valid. It is a shame to see such fine talent (Vinny4 & MSL) go to waste on a franchise that won't pay to see these guys play deep into the playoffs.

By the way, not sure if everyone knows this, but Vinny has his own website. Check it out: http://www.vinny4.com/

[Fred]

Craig wouldn't mean much if this was a team full of grinders. But it's not, not even close. He will be missed.

[quick tuna]

The good thing about grinders is that they're a dime a dozen. I feel for the guy but it's not like he was a key component of the team. Best grinder on the team is Vinny, anyway. Just a consistent goalie and a dependable blue-line and we should be allright. Not too much to ask. Oh, wait, it is.
As for management, can we at least say that, no matter what, MacLean was going to stay in Tampa?
Can the same be said for the next cats who come to sniff the franchise?
Is there a "must stay here" clause?
Anything on the net about that?
Net yet. Net quick. Net tuna.

Don't think you know what a grinder is. You need to be canned.