Gratton needs surgery

Center Chris Gratton will have surgery next week to repair a torn labrum in his left hip. There is no timetable for his return, the team said, but at this point in the season and with the team out of the playoffs, doesn't make any sense to rush him back, so figure he's out for the rest of the season.

The release issued by the team said Gratton sustained the injury in November. He said Wednesday he was injured in December. Not that it matters, really.

Forward Junior Lessard was called up from AHL Norfolk. He has 16 goals, including seven on the power play, and 36 points in 55 AHL games with Norfolk and Iowa. He was acquired by the Lightning from the Stars for Dan Jancevski. Lessard has six goals and 15 points in 19 games with Norfolk.

Other tidbits from today's practice: Defenseman Filip Kuba (right knee) sat out. ... Left wing Andre Roy missed practice to be with wife, Karine, who was having the couple's second child. ... The team spent almost the entire hour working on the power play that was pathetic Wednesday, going 1-for-7 in the 3-2 loss to the Wild.

Just FYI: The face on the side of the mask Mike Smith wore for the Stars, and which he wore Wednesday, is of Garth Brooks. Smith said he has been a long-time fan. He said Brooks did a private concert for the Stars a while back. Smith said he and Brooks got to be kind-of friends and Brooks once gave him a guitar. He put Brooks on the mask as a "tribute.'' Smith said he does not have much of an idea yet what his design will be on his Lightning mask. "Maybe some lightning,'' he said.         

Comments

[Lisa]

Good luck to Gratton. I hope he recovers and is signed back (for a reasonable amount) for next season. He has setted into the system.

Congratulations to Andre and his wife.

[Hockey Chic]

Lisa,

I agree here is wishing Grats a speady recovery and we definitly need to sign him.

Congrats to Andre and his wife.

Go Bolts..

[mike]

Too bad... hope he recovers fully. Such a shame... slow start to the season and i just started liking him again :D

[Marv]

Congrats to Andre and Karine.
Hurry back Grats... get well as you will be missed.

[Badbud]

Gratton has played pretty good last while on a bad wheel,I like the way he stands up for teammates.Yeah he takes some dumb penalties,but if he does like he has lately you can deal with some. Good on face-offs. Get well Big Guy.

Congrats Andre & Karine

[Casper]

What a horse bleep year for Grats.

I wouldn't doubt the eye still bugs him (it would me) and ripped hip ligaments are a cast iron b!*ch to sleep on, much less hop the boards. Nov/Dec, whatever; it's still over to months of banging around on a real hurt. Had it, hated it.

He humped hard to get in to everyone's good graces and the hockey gods cleared their nostrils at him.
A true warrior like that has earned my respect and I sincerely hope he climbs back up the mountain again so I can scream my turnip off cheering him on.
Heal well Sluggo.

Another little Roy spraddling around! Great! Congratulations Andre and the Missus.

Lessard is here, yes! Keep your head up, hit as hard as you can, don't be afraid of bellywash for doing your best, and show everyone you want to be here or somewhere in the Big Barn this Fall. Go get 'em Tiger!

I recommend Big Mike paint a chainsaw no, no good; a flame thrower on the mask. Symbolize what our defense needs beneath their hind ends to keep you from essentially 60 mintues of shootout hockey.

Rest up, you new guys get settled into your own beds, then come out for some angry ice play. Don't worry about being a Tortorella hockey Brainiac, keep it simple because help is on the way. (Meaning: you can't defy gravity forever.)

Pithy, moi? ;-)

Go Bolts!

[Voice of the Turtle]

Chris Gratton is an anachronistic lean mean hockey machine. This guy lives to play the game and to win like the players of yore. No NHL player has more heart than this warrior. Get well quickly 77, we want you back with the Bolts ASAP!

Andre Roy is going to be a daddy again. All the best to Andre and his family. He needs to remember that when his wife yells "change," it is not time to jump out on the ice. Instead, he needs to grab a diaper and come running.

Mike Smith ought to dump the Garth Brooks image on his new helmet, why not place a picture of the goalie-hating, PsychoCoach, on there. It might be worth a few brownie points.

As for Junior Lassard, given the way the Lightning have been playing, he, as an AHL player, might have very little adjusting to do in order to fit in.

By the way, Mr. Lessard's promotion speaks for itself in terms of any estimation of player depth in the Tampa Bay Lightning organization. All of this thanks to the Goodyear Blimp in the GM's office.

[zepdog]

given the Bolts porous no-D D, suggest that Smitty simply put the word ...... 'I N C O M I N G !" on his new mask.

[Herb]

Just please end this crappy season already. Grats was one of the only players that fought hard every night. He will be missed and I hope he resigns here but I wouldn't hold my breath if Torts is still around next year.

[TJ]

I would like to add my well wishes also to you Chris. I hope the surgery goes well and you heal quickly and completely and be ready to come back and kick some a@@ in a Bolts uni next season!

Also congrats to the Roys for their newest addition to the Lightning family.

btw, Casper, that was very eloquent! I'm impressed! :)

Kind of scary to think of little Andres running around!!!! Just joking. Congratulations to him and his wife.

Wishing a speedy recovery for Chris Gratton. Hope he comes back next year, and that next year is a major improvement.

I wonder how many other players are playing with some injury or other that we are not aware of.

[Not The Marlboro Man]

Gratton definitely made those kids on his line play like studs. I enjoyed watching his line better than everyone elses this season. Gratton and Tarnsky strike allot of fear in other teams when they play together. I hope Gratton resigns with the Bolts and finishes his career here where he began. I'd still like to see him score 30 one more time.

[Nan]

Good Luck Chris with the surgery and hope that you have a speedy recovery. I agree with NTMM that it would be great to see Chris resign over the summer and end his career here whenever that is.

Congrats to Andre on the new arrival.

[bingo]

Second Shift - Richards picks up assist.... but he really should take a pay cut.

[Rudy]

We should be hapy for him, he is beter of

[bingo]

Check out the video class interview in Dallas for Richie and he talks about current and old teams.... One has 3/4 people limited money the other wants to spend money..... to win a cup.

What a steal for Dallas, they gave us nothing for this player except used parts and we cut salary.... nice deal for them.
Section 116 center ice season tickets available.....

[bingo]

Sorry left out the link...

http://stars.nhl.com/

[manchester, duke thereof]

hey bingo, what row? how many seats?

[Herb]

Some fans....jeeeezz Brad had a assist in a game...big freakin' deal....at $7.8 million he damn well should do something... I have no remorse to see him go. He handicapped this teams payroll so no other players could be signed. Dallas can afford him and the Bolts couldn't with Boyle and Vinny4 in which I would rather have. That is just my opinion and it's worth what you paid for it....nothing to you Brad fans.

[cj]

get fixed up grats we need ya!!!! how about richards already has 3 points middle of the 2nd.!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Nan]

3 assists for Brad so far and only half way through the second period. Good for him! It seems he just needed some wingers!

[poledancer]

Heck he's even blocked a shot and won 2/3 of his faceoffs
+3 after 2 periods.
Who knew?

[TJ]

3rd period....Richie has 4 points! See what he's capable of with good wingers? Way to go Brad! I hope you have the best of times in big D.

[bear]

Heh Herb
What say you about Ritchies 4 points (so far)?
thats a good 7.8 nights work, no?

[Herb]

Hey I Bear I could care less about Brad and the Dallas Frickin' STARS. This is a TB Lightning blog and HE IS GONE. Go to Dallas and be a Stars fan and give up the Lightning. I am a Bolts fan from the first season and NOW. The Bolts need Boyle and Vinny4 and Brad couldn't cut it HERE because the money owed to him made it impossible to get anyone else. Screw the Stars. They are not MY LOCAL team. I will not change because he is gone.

[ajax]

I think I will be hiding for a couple days. 4 pts +3 I can honestly say, good for him.

[bear]

Come on Herb just joshin a bit.
Its 5 points now..Ritchies Revenge.

[TroyB]

Richards ties Stars franchise mark for assists in one game: 5 Assists. Good for him....It must feel good...

[Leanmean43]

5 points for Richards!!! Ties a franchise assists record for the Stars in his first game! What do you say now Richards haters?

[Joe Schmo]

OK just got done intensely watching the entire Stars game on HDNet....

First things first. I owe an apology to bloggers and Mr. Brad Richards.

I am not a basher by nature and I am a Richie fan, but have busted on him recently. However, it is now clear... Brad was not the issue, it was clearly his line and his coach. So be it.

Good luck Brad.

On the other hand, and as a small bit of consolation....I strongly suspect that we acquired the best goalie in Dallas. Turco's inability to stop 2, maybe 3, soft goals left me thinking Smith is were it's at, specially considering they all wanted him #1 in Dallas.

Good luck Brad. Good luck Smitty. Go Bolts.

But...Dallas will win the Cup in 08.

[mike]

good to see Brad doin well... im with herb on this one... hes a distant memory already in my book and im not goin out of my way to follow him. yep... this is a lightning blog... lets get back to Smittys mask ideas. How bout a suck up to OK... paint some "Saw" looking stuff on there... "Saw 5: Jigsaw vs. Fantastic 3" lol...

[Jason]

Good for Richie, good for the Stars, and good for the Bolts. There is no way that Brad does that here with our line up...and we couldn't afford a better one with his contract. I don't think anyone seriously thought Richie wouldn't be successful elsewhere. Hagman gets a hat trick and Brad still was the 1st star!

[boltflasher]

Clearly, Brad is getting what so many of his exTB teammates need...a fresh start, a fresh approach, and a fresh coach...I hope that the coaching staff is being scrutinized as much as Smith during the remaining season...

[Leanmean43]

Every Hagman goal was a tap in setup by Richards. Just shows if Hlavac and Ouellet could hit the net they'd be Thirty goal scorers and Richard would be on pace for 90- 100 points

[Herb]

OK Bear fair enough. I am glad to see you didn't take it the wrong way. It was only my opinion anyway and no one is really wrong. I am just tired of the Brad talk. I am sorry if I offended anyone.

[Casper]

Way to go Richie, bon chance in Big D. There, got that out of the way...
Coaching, and the GM failing to fill out an NHL and AHL roster after doling out to Brad**. Plus being stabbed in the back by the flints in the Ivory Tower. Gee, ya think? Like I said, everybody in skates stays, everybody in suits leaves.

**Another car analogy: I could not buy my wife a Lexus and sparkly diamonds, whilst living in a Clearwater 'tornado alley' mobile home park. Ya think?

I wish to hear no more of this "core" crap. Here's one for #41's mask: instead of 'An Army of One' how about a 'Core of Twenty' ---narly looking Lightning Bolts. I can't believe I just used the word 'narly'.

Go Bolts!

[mike]

herb... yer just too damn nice... lol. way i see it... ya gotta have thick skin and a good sense of humor to be wadin in these icy waters (no pun intended)

[C]

I think I meant 'A Corps of Twenty'.

We need a new Gunny.

[boltflasher]

The fault in Jay's logic on the
"Core":...it makes sense if you have the supporting players and minor leagues, not if you don't. If you don't then you move an asset to build a better supporting cast...Its like a movie with Oscar winners in the cast but a poor supporting cast and no plot...(how's that for an analogy for OK?)

[Patrick]

I'm essentially repeating an early post because it can't be said enough:

Richards debut - 5 assists. Looks like his new linemate, Hagman is having a career night. What is it we heard SO many times? For Richards salary, he should make people around him better?

The topic of Richards on this blog is basically the litmus test of who on this blog knows anything about hockey. There are those who simply didn't like him because the physical side of his game is unquestionably weak - and that's fine. And there are those who thought his salary couldn't work with our cheap owners, and that's fine. But for all the haters who tried to say Richards was not a #1 center or was washed up or "sucked" and all the other ridiculous bashing - I think he's going to be proving you all wrong for a VERY long time.

He was +2 for the game as well. All this and he is playing with their 3rd line wingers!

And yes I will admit, despite his wonderful debut, it is safe to assume he has not thrown a body check tonight. But you know what he has done? Help his team win in spite of that. And that is something he always did for us and many people took for granted.

Hah, seeing someone post they are tired of the Richards talk. You have no freaking idea how tired those of us who knew Brad was a great player were of listening to all the Brad bashing the last TWO YEARS. Get used to it. I for one intend to give regular updates on his future success.

And just to make something clear - Brad Richards was never my favorite player on the lighting - he was after Vinny4 (who's jersey I wear to the games) and Marty. But after I got tired of reading all the ridiculous criticism about him on forum, I decided to give the guy the defense that he had earned after doing so much for this team that so many so easily forgot because he signed a big contract - that he freaking deserved!

[mike]

patrick... all good points... but when ya look at the big picture and Brad welcoming the change or excited about the change... whatever words he used... thats talk for i wasnt very motivated because of the situation i was in. Which no one can blame him for that. Not surprised at all by his performance... and thats one game... time will tell... like i said b4 i do wish him well.

[boltflasher]

Its more than just the players Brad played with tonight. Brad had plenty of opportunities this year with Vinny, MSL, and Prospal on power plays and the ice time. Something was wrong, and it seems to have now affected Vinny as he has had no impact on a game in a couple of weeks. Brad could not get it going even when on a line with Vinny and MSL (much better than anybody he can play with on Dallas) so there's something else...how about a coaching system that has grown stale and easily picked apart now by opposing teams...first smile by Brad that I seen in quite a while...

[Mike sullivan (not the coach)]

Brad Richards. When a guy said he feels “let out of a cage,” you know he’s happy to be out of a situation. The forward was on a Tampa Bay Lightning team that was struggling in the standings and in the midst of a sale. Now Richards is with the Stars, the winning, stable Stars, and he’s thrilled to get the chance at the postseason once again.

[ajax]

Hockey idiot here. I can acknowledge a mistake when I see one.
Feaster, you idiot!! How could you let "MY" man Brad go.
Watched the game and Dallas looked like they had 10 Brad's on the ice.
Kinda of a sad measuring stick of how far away "we" are. For one night, congrats Brad, after 2 years of torture, I am sure the glass of wine will taste just a bit sweeter tonight.
And he only played 19 minutes, imagine how many assists(8!) he would of had if that idiot Dallas coach would of played him 27 minutes!!!! Anyone want to guess what is going thru VL4's mind right about now??

[Mike sullivan (not the coach)]

That was a quote from ... uh... star-telegram.com.... yeah... there is more going on there.... we got some mopey dudes sliding around out there

[Mike sullivan (not the coach)]

i really really really hope brads performance is going to wake some people up

[Arthur]

Not that I would wish this on anybody, especially Richards, but he doesn't hit or like to get hit. This is a contact game and somebody, somewhere in that Western Conference is going to do him up, and it'll be a knee or something. It would not shock me if Keenan was involved.

Great to see his mojo was on and wish much success to Brad, he was and is a class act. I don't know how much $$ he contributed to the Rascals, but the figure should have been publicly known and repeated often, to offset some of the 'overpaid' type bashing. We paid him $2M/yr too much. If he gave that much to the kids (??) he should be canonized a saint. If not, then what took so long for the boot?

[ajax]

A buddy emailed me and said the City of Tampa had an egg shortage. But if you need some, you probably can find some on about 850,000 faces in the Tampa Bay area. Mine Included. I'm retiring til my wounds are healed.

[Chris W from Dallas]

The people in Dallas are as giddy as the Bay Area folk are ticked right about now.

Just commenting on a few of the posts here, and the DAL-CHI game in general. Chicago played the night before at home, was on the bad side of a back-to-back night. They looked flat for the first two periods. That said, Richards was FLYING around the ice the first part of the game -- I had no idea he was so fast. And, he did get a little physical, too for a shift or two. What a way to win over the home fans, although I hope he didn't blow his wad in one night.

As for the "third line wingers" he was playing with, both Miettinen and Hagman were at career highs in goals / points before Richards' arrival. Dallas is in LOVE with Hagman, and he's probably cemented a healthy raise over the summer (he's a UFA).

Joe Schmo, you guys got a hell of a stopper in Smitty, but if this was your first Stars game to watch, you saw quite an off-one from Turco. Coming into the game, he's been 11-2 since the break, with a goals-against under 2. Definitely a couple of softies, but if you're gonna pick a night to give those up, do it when your team hangs 7 on the other guys.

Finally, there's no egg, yet. TB needed to get some upgraded goaltending AND shed some salary. Missions accomplished.

[Patrick]

Chris,

I haven't seen any dallas games this year, but I plan to start following them. I said Richards was playing with Dallas's third line wingers because that was what Melrose said on ESPN. I assumed he knew what he was talking about. I looked at their stats and neither one had scored 20 goals before this season. Doesn't look like Miettinen will this year either.

Richie was a hell of a playoff performer for us. I'm looking forward to see what he does this year.

[wiggy]

Patrick I like your posts but no real hockey fan takes the Mullet seriously.

[Nils]

These posts have been incredible-focusing on minutiae--like the merits of a nonentity like Lundin and how an ex-player is performing--instead of the bigger picture of the mess this franchise finds itself.

The blowback from the ownership antics is that LeCavalier won't re-up. I can guarantee it. I can also guarantee ticket prices will increase whether its PSE or OK.

The players are hating this situation. They have, to put it kindly, tuned out the coach. The GM is in over his head--isn't it wonderful we want to re-sign our inept goon. The owners, either present or fantasy, are going on the cheap. In the past week, Vinny has been given no shortage of reasons to sign with another team when he gains UFA status.

It's not what we want to happen: a new GM, a new coach, a new committed and well-financed ownership but what will happen. Most of the posts are based on hope, not fact. That's how we elect (and re-elect) incompetent presidents.

The only thing that can derail this disaster is a 180 degree change of heart by PSE and it's just not in the cards.

Many of you have lost sight of the puck.

[Badbud]

Hockey idiot here. I can acknowledge a mistake when I see one.
Feaster, you idiot!! How could you let "MY" man Brad go.

Hey, FYI He didnt let him go,Brad could have said NO,but Brad knew it was time to get out of here.

This team don't even know who it owner will be,and the one all are touting,maybe the worse one they have ever had.

Brad,Good for you man.

[Not The Marlboro Man]

Brad's chemestry is better suited for the Stars, they were never going to be able to afford anyone worth a flip to go on his line.

There are still too many question marks in Tampa Bay. For one, we have a GM and coach that have out lived their usefulness. Two, we have an AHL defense along with piece-mealed lines. I never thought our Goalie situation was all that bad. The truth is this team hasn't been a team since 2004. They have managed to demonized and rid themselves of all kinds of talent. They should have built from the goal out when they found that Khabibulin wasn't coming back. Too late to cry over spilt milk but you can definitely see the trends develop over the last 3 seasons.

Next season nothing will have changed from this one if they don't fix that terrible defense.

[Tackleberry]

What are the reasons V4 will stay:
-Friend around the bay area
-Local community work/charities
-Loyalty to those reamining team-mates that have been around for the last 4 seasons. (that's what, 3 or 4?)

Reasons for him to move:
-Better coaching
-Better ownership
-Better players (from a skill aspect)
-A fresh start
-Retirement of his # (wont happen in TB)
-Likely more pay (but I dont think he's greedy)
-Oh ya A CHANCE AT THE CUP IN THE NEXT 5 YEARS!

Does anyone else see the TRAIN WRECK coming this summer?

[Tackleberry]

Great job Brad, awesome night. It is amazing what a fresh start will do. One thing is for sure, his name will be in the TB record books for a long time to come in many stat areas.

[Lisa]

I had said that Brad needed a change. I don't necessarily think it is just coaching: I don't think he was playing with the same motivation here as he is doing in Dallas. I think many have given up on this year, and the enthusiasm isn't there. Also, I had never seen Brad hitting: even the year we won the Cup. I think the shakeup with the trade was something he needed. Good luck to him, and I hope Smith succeeds and that both teams some out of this winners.

[bear]

Here's to Ritchies Revenge.

He was just flying on the ice last night.

The rebuild can't even start here until the ownership scenario plays out..where the hell is Bettman in all of this as the franchise swirls around the drain?

Agree with Tack..V4 gets his money anywhere and by watching him the last few weeks, he is pretty despondent about the current state of affairs.

[Nan]

I also agree with Tackleberry that Vinny may be looking for the door. The one thing that may keep him here other than the three reasons Tackleberry gave is if they fired Torts. I think that they are getting along fine now but it is looking like V4 needs to find some spark somewhere and maybe a new coach would provide that. Vinny is going to see Brad's success and want the same thing. How long will he be willing to wait?

[bear]

Nan I'm guessing that the over/under on that one is 19 games.

[ajax]

Amazingggg. One night and so many bloggers just might see how VL4 might not want to spend the prime of his career on a rebuilding team. It took 5 assists to see that? chuckle chuckle.
10 more UFA's left to sign, yup still got plenty to clean up after trade. If Brad gets 30 points in 18 games it was still a good trade. We need bodies, as in multiple NHL bodies. He was never going to get 5 assists with us, never. One night doesn't change the status quo of our inequities.
Richards was flying!!! I even saw him cut a guy off behind his defensive net and advance the puck. First of all he was never behind our goalie. He was not on the third line guys. They were calling the Modano line the "checking line" all night on TV. Hagman has 25 goals. Anywho, what I really saw was a team with 9 interchangeable talented forwards. Maybe that is why they have 87 points and we have 57. Jokinen looked really talented to me, and he was getting 13 minutes with them(20+ our first game) Good for Brad, but does it really have anything to do with what we have to do going forward? Need players. The definition of players are guys who can make plays at this level. Lots of shoes to fill.
It will be posted a zillion times in the next 4-6 months, so everyone chew on it, digest it and come up with some solutions. Do we or don't we trade VL4? You get probably 2-3 "players" and at least 1/2 #1 draft choices. And if VL4 scored a hat trick his first night with his new team, I will say great for him, but I think "our" team is alot better too. One more little hint. Agree with 137 posts the last few weeks. Get rid of coach(and GM) Need an infusion here.

[poledancer]

Agree about the coach and GM getting gassed finally but like someone said earlier I bet neither side (Palace/Koules) wants to eat the payout.