After busy day, owner predicts division title

The Lightning had a busy day Monday. According to owner Len Barrie, it agreed to terms with veteran forward Mark Recchi (one year, $1.25-million with incentives that could bump it up to $1.5-million) and defenseman Andrew Hutchinson (a two-year, one-way deal that indicates he will be a top-seven player). The team also heard that big Russian Evgeny Artyukhin signed a two-year, $1.9-million deal and has sent it to the Lightning to be finalized.

But most fun, I think, anyway, was Barrie, taking a moment to admire new ownership's handiwork in remaking the franchise.

"I'll predict right now, Tampa Bay will win the division," he said of the Southeast. "That's how much we like our team."

The team took another dramatic step Monday, especially with Recchi and Hutchinson. Not to discount Artyukhin, obviously, but we've known he is coming for a while. Recchi, 40, a 19-year veteran with 522 goals appears headed for the third line with center Jeff Halpern and left wing Gary Roberts, but as Barrie said, he can jump up and be a top-six player if needed. Recchi had 14 goals last season split between the Penguins and Thrashers.

Hutchinson, 28, won a Stanley Cup in 2005-06 with the Hurricanes. Last season the 6-foot-2, 206-pounder had 18 goals, 64 points and 66 penalty minutes in 67 games for AHL Hartford. Considering the contract, it appears Tampa Bay is confident he will fill out the blue line that right now appears to also include Matt Carle, Filip Kuba, Mike Lundin, Paul Ranger, Shane O'Brien and Alex Picard, with Janne Niskala hanging around.

Consider this, though. One of the perks of finishing last is you get first crack at players put on waivers (or more likely recall waivers). And there is plenty of scuttlebutt the Lightning is going to be scouring the waiver wire as defensemen become roster casualties. Two names being whispered: Darryl Sydor and Bryan McCabe. Not that it will happen, and Sydor would be more likely than McCabe because of his contract. But it's something to think about, and as we have seen with this new ownership group, anything can happen.

"Every player I've talked to can't wait for training camp to get started," Barrie said.

One other note: long-time head scout Jake Goertzen said he was fired Monday after 17 years with the team. An original member of the organization (he began scouting in 1991, a year before the team played its first game), Goertzen said it will take a couple of days to sink in.

"I'll take a couple of days to reflect a little bit," he said. "I haven't spoken to anybody. I'd like to keep working, for sure."

Goertzen was up front that the team has not drafted well since it picked Vinny Lecavalier and Brad Richards in 1998, and didn't back away from blame the past several years in several stories in the Times.

Comments

[léo]

Lalime won a series as well, Ben.
So you'd take him before Huet, would you?
That concise enough for ya?
Yo.

[Ben]

i'm not gonna lie Leo, i can't even stand to read what you're saying anymore.

is it possible to maybe keep it to a paragraph?

Huet was good for us, Theodore will be good for us. You ask what has he done lately? Well, he's one a playoff series as of this past season, something Huet has not.

I'll leave it at that. We will still win the division...we did it last year with having Olie playing almost every game up until the trade deadline and having the worst stats in the league for a starting goalie.

and my bad about the third line thing, i thought it was you, but it wasn't.

[léo]

Sorry, I gotta add,
About my Boy,
To those who actually think that what happened to him at the end of the year was A BAD THING? To those who don't believe that this 20yr-old PHENOM did not BENEFIT from such a horrifying experience?
I say it is time for y'all to come visit Us. Come to Mtl. Come to HockeyCity; it would be an Honor for Us to welcome you. (As Hockey Chic will testify.)And you will Feel what hockey is and you will understand that in this particular case, Nietzsche's quote holds true: "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."
While that formula certainly doesn't apply to all players, it is Our Feel for this Kid and the knowledge Us citizens of the St-Flanelle possess, of Hockey and of hockey-aura, the aura surrounding players and teams, Ours and Our adversaries, the strategy and power, intimidation and trickery and Passion and Fury of the game WE invented. We SAW him. We WATCHED him. And what We've observed CONVINCES Us that the formula DOES and WILL apply to the Kid.
So while y'all were guffawin' at'im and preparing your salvos to Leo, end'o'the year, Our eyes were widening...
Because Conan the Cimmerian is being reborn as we speak, mark Our words.
But hey, whaddoo I know?
Yo.

[PD]

Not with that D he won't Leo

[léo]

The Hart, maybe not. He was definitely the most valuable player to his particular team that year...when We sucked...when We had Koivu and NOTHING else...when there was NO pressure. He played for HALF a season. He LOST the first 40 games. Why? Cuz there was pressure. A 0 and 40 record? No pressure. Anyone can step at that point.
So yes, he should return the Vézina.
I doth protest? I keep hearing Theo is great and gonna carry the team; I'm saying that ain't so and if you rely on that, yer gonna flounder, but ok, do what you want; I'm trying to help here.
And I disagree with you that Theo's contract is more in tune than Huey's. Let's say you pay a goalie 450 000, ok? He loses every game. EVERY one. Now is that a good deal?
Winning costs extra, PD. But let's agree to disagree on that if you don't see it that way.
But harping on the Kid... are you guys serious? You're serious, aren't yehs? No glove; he's a sieve; he stinks, ok! So what do you care? It's Our problem, isn't it? The Kid's 20 yrs old and The Book is out, huh? He's 20. Think you should all calm down.
Fleury got bashed last year, didn't he? Look what he did, this year. Well, my Boy is gonna put Fleury in his pocket. You will be witnesses.
As for Smith, I repeat, I'm lookin' on the bright side for TB, always have.
As for Biron, I was wrong, I admit it. Not about him not having what it takes, cuz he don't, as Pit showed us, but about not being able to outplay my Boy, which he did, brilliantly. I admit that. I bowed to the Flyers in Respect, as GP will testify.
But my eyes are wide open nonetheless and they don't look for cracks in other poster's reasonings but in hockey-players' performances.
So I will conclude with this,
Smith will blow Theo outta the water, nevermind my Boy.
Yo.

[pd]

Leo, me thinks thou protests a little too much on Theo.

"Theo didn't carry nuthin'. Theo NEVER carried anything. Ever" ..Leo

Guess he should return his Hart Trophy as the leagues best player and the Vezina while he is at it.How many goalies win the Hart?

Fact is he had a very solid year in Colorado especially 2nd half. Ask Lemaire.

For the money he is a way better deal for just 2 years @4.5 vs the crazy 5.6 x 4 Chicago gave Huet. Huet has never won a thing.

Your ravings last season about Carrey (Sieve, no glove),Mike Flopper Smith and dumping on Biron who beat your badly, say it all.

[léo]

Hey, Ben,
I didn't say NUTHIN about your 3rd line. Ya got me confused with another poster. Lemme just say that my knowledge of the Cappers is limited at best. I know My Boys, I know My Enemies and I know Hockey. Outer-divisions, obscure franchises, non-threatening teams? Feh, not as much, no offense.
Moving on,
The PAST, Ben, don't count for nuthin' either. Hey, Grant Fuhr won more in the playoffs than Huet too, but I'd still take Huet first now, wouldn't you?
Again and again, I repeat,
In hockey, it's not what have you done for me; it's what have you done for me lately! And lately? Huet blows Theo outta the water. Anyone says otherwise must give the name of their oculist.
We in Mtl do not boo Theo because We hate'im, persay. We boo him out've RELIEF that he's no longer wearing The Banner. "Whew! Booo! Haw-haw, you suck, Theo! Theeee-O, Theeee-O, Theeee-O! Whew, thank GOSH he's no longer here!" That's not hate, is it? Oh, it is? Oh. Sorry.
And you've perfectly described Huet's performance. A real Mensch, easy to fall in love with, reliable, accountable, humble...but not a Winner. You saw everything We saw, Ben.
But what do you base yourself on to categorically conclude that "Theodore will have a very strong season, just like he did last year,"?
I don't think he had a "very strong season"; he just didn't stink like did the year before, wasn't hard to outperform himself in that context. Hey, he played great, ok. Did he play BETTER than other goalies who played great? Was he better, or as good, as Leclaire, for example? Leclaire didn't even make the playoffs, yet who played better?
Heck, this year, Theo played better than Luongo, agreed? Yet, who would you take first?
Truth is, Theo went on a run because he was UFA. And that's it. He has NO grit. None.
And the bottom line is, whether he plays like a Titan or like a pile of steamin' crapola, it's no skin off Our noses. We are Above Theo. We are Above any who wallow in mediocrity and who are content with their limited impact.
If he plays great for you, good. We're happy for you, but We don't care. You'll be a good adversary for TB, but for Us...you pose no threat whatsoever.
So what does the St-Flanelle care about Theo? Lemme tell ya,
We are happy he will be visiting Us more often. Red light, red light!
Whew! Thank gosh he'll be giving back to My City after robbing Us of years off the Gainey Plan. (first and only time he came back, he gave Us 8 goals! guess you could say that We LOVE Theo now!)
Yo.

[Ben]

all the hatin on Theodore (mostly from Habs fans) is a little ridiculous. especially saying Huet is waay better and all this. How many playoff series has Huet won in his career? ZERO. he definitely got us to the playoffs last year, but once there he did not play the way he had up to that point, which probably cost us the series.

Theodore will have a very strong season, just like he did last year, and our young D, with a year under the belt, will be even better (we averaged right around 2.00 GA/per game the last like 2 months of the year). And the offense is going to be ridiculous.

and Leo - we don't have a third line to grind it out? How bout Laich and Clark on the wings with Fedorov in the middle? i think i'd take that third line because they can win pucks on the boards, play defense, and have the ability to put in 60 goals as a line. not too shabby.

GO CAPS.

[léo]

Ahhh, children...
Hiding behind anonymity, throwing out all-inclusive generalities on my knowledge based on ONE event. Nice.
Don't know what I'm effin' talkin' 'bout, huh?
Truth is, when a team is winning, they always say, "Oh, we wouldn't be here without our goalie playing so great." They SAY those things to keep their goalie's morale on high. Theo didn't carry nuthin'. Theo NEVER carried anything. Ever. It was Stastny and Wolski; a child of 4 coulda told you that, c'mon. "Theo CARRIED the team..." Haw!
Hey, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I'm blind. Maybe to me, what seems like an under-sized goalie playing with NO confidence is actually a superstar performance that I'm just not assimilating. Maybe. But I don't think so.
I don't know nuthin' 'bout goalies? Haw! Do me a favor and stay in Washington, ok? With the star-talent that you can apparently discern where we cannot in Theo.
I wonder if you'll be so bold on this blog when Theo's crap hits the fan. Little Capper...
Oh, and PD,
My Boy got FARTHER than Huet. By the time my Boy fizzled, Huey was already golfing in Bermuda.
Woulda,coulda,shoulda; NONE of us can dispute Mr. Gainey's wisdom. We are HAPPY the Boss threw the Kid into the Fire. GOOD! Gotta crawl before you can walk. Don't tell Us we shoulda kept Huet, PD; We know EXACTLY what We're doing, thank you very much.
Does TB?
Does Washington?
Not as well as We do and that's a fact alla yehs are gonna hafta accept whether you hate ME or not.
Thing is, a lot of folks are real good at slinging crap in anonymity, knocking others hockey knowledge while laying down none of their own. That's weakness. You wanna refute? Refute. You wanna disagree? Disagree. But BRING me something. Don't say, "You stink!" and then go hiding under the bed, all proud of your jibe. That's weakness.
In hockey, that is unacceptable. It means you have nothing. If you had, you woulda hit me. But you didn't. Cuz you got nuthin'.
I'm right here. Hit me! Tell me WHY the Kid is a Big Fat Zero and Theo is All That. Tell me! If you dare...
"...don't know goalies..." Little Capper KNOWS goalies, I guess...
Funny, cuz I was under the impression that nobody knows everything about everything. Scotty Bowman doesn't know everything about everything but you do? You saw it all, huh? Clear as day to you, huh?
Ok, little Capper, good luck with Theo.
(snort)
Yo.

[Mike From Tampa, Maryland]

I usually don't post but since there is some pretty good banter going on back and forth, even if it can get a bit (Unnecessarily) heated, I figured I would throw my 2 cents in. I have been a Bolts fan since they first announced the expansion, roughly the same day I found out what hockey was. However, after moving to Maryland I have been forced to go to Caps games, and surprisingly I loved it, great crowd here that is very proud of their team. I have nothing really good to say about the moves that Tampa has made (after the 1st of July) except for maybe the Boyle trade (I love Boyle to death, and hated the way he was thrown out but thats all personal), I really think Tampa won out on this one, we will see.
As for who has the better team this year...well, I am gonna have to go with my hometown boys the bolts. Without Huet it's going to be tough with theodore in net, although I'm not sure about Smith, I'm not going off of his performance last year since he had a beaten team that didnt try anymore in front of him, we will see. Both teams have a great offense, and I think with this revamp Vinny may play better than his lackluster year he had last season. And the Caps kept the same O intact and we all know what they are capable of. I think both teams have a shot at the playoffs, but neither team will make it past the first round, but if I had to choose one, I would say Tampa, they have the gritty 3rd and 4th line that it takes to go deep. And I don't see any improvement from Washington on what killed them in the first round, the ability to clear the net. As big as Poti is, he let the Flyers own the crease, it was like Poti wasn't there. So get a big d-man who can keep his crease clean, or teach Poti how to do it. And as good as the Caps O' is you need a good line (like the pens 4th line) that can grind it out, and I didn't see that from the Caps. Both teams have great potential when they can straighten out their D. I wish both teams luck this season, and we will see what happens. *all of this is my opinion and not fact*

P.S. The thing I miss the most when I go to the VC for games is a Cup banner in the rafters "GO BOLTS!!!"

[Razzman]

Give the guy a break GO Caps..he reads the Goaltenders Weekly and is an expert.

[GO CAPS!]

Leo, Bens post was nice and all, but if thats all it took to convince you the Caps are the team to beat, then you obviously had no f-ing idea what you were talking about in the first place, yo.

[JS]

Caps fan here...Just hope we can start to really start hating each other. i will no longer be bored watching the Bolts and Caps play

[PD]

Leo you are the source on some things but your goalie frame is through your heart. You've picked some bad lovers.

Should have kept Huey for insurance..could have won the cup with a goalie.

You bet all in on a rookie who wasn't tested or ready.Tough on the kid.

Like you said we all love Huey, so I get it. The Montreal converse is that we all all hate Theo.

The Cap blogger had had it right. Theo carried the Avs to the playoffs, with a decimated line up..no sakic, forsberg,smtyhe, stasny for great periods
THeo had a monster year. He got a nice paycheck for it too.

Smith went 3-11 and looked terrible with a better D than he will have this year. He isnt close to a #1 YET .

Leo you were brutal On Biron too. Ask GP. He got your jilted Theo treatment but ahem, he won a couple of series.

Please no goalie lectures.

I think the Caps could well win the east if things fall for them. Doesn't make me negative just realistic.

[léo]

If your not 100%, ESPECIALLY in Theo's case, you don't play him, mate. You play Budaj, who, in my mind, is JUST as good as Theo. EXACTLY as good.
As for Huey, if it's true what yer sayin', that you offered him what he wanted and he said no? Then you're absolutely right to hate him. Hate is GOOD in hockey. I'd want him to rot as well. Since We LOVE the guy (didn't scr*w Us...),We want him to do well!
Heck, I can be real, Huet ain't worth 5.6. It's more than Brodeur! But Paydays are few and far between for some guys and Huey saw a chance to...I dunno, Chickago or Wash, what's the dif? Obviously the dough.
But jeez, I woulda paid it, Ben. You had a chance to pay; y'can't deny that. You shoulda, no matter "future issues" that you can tackle when tackle-time comes. (look at Pit) You shoulda paid Huey. Better to Pay and Win, than to Save and Lose.
Cuz 4.5 is Craaaa-aa--zy for Theo. Crazier than 5.6 fer Huey.
Hope little Green can take some'o'that heat off.
Yo.

[Ben]

leo - im half way kidding about olie...he was a great capital and no doubt will we give him a standing O when he is between the pipes in washington...but he whined a lot after the huet trade when it was obvious huet was helping us more than he was. i'd definitely talk kolzig in his prime over huet, but that isn't even a question right now.

we will have to see about Theo, and i'm hoping he plays like he thinks he can.

and yes, go look up on the caps insider blog in the days leading up to July 1 and it will tell you, along with our GM after he didn't sign, that Huet asked for 3 yrs/$15 mil, we offered it, and he still didn't sign it. he wanted the money, and he got it. i hope he rots in the backup role in Chicago. he could've been a king here, the fans loved him that much.

the flu isn't much of an excuse, i know, but it probably isn't that easy to play goalie against the wings, and not being 100% on top of that.

[léo]

Don't get me started on the D, mate.
And Ollie, Ollie, Ollie, let it go, Ben; he's 62yrs old! Did he not serve you well??? Was he not The Man in Capperville for nigh on 15yrs? Jeeez, you dang well give this guy a standing O when he comes back, or We in Mtl will shake Our heads at you in disappointment.
I can't believe your knocking the guy, lemme ask ya sumpin': Do we agree, first off, that Huey is in his Prime? I say yes. He played just as Great for Us, but BEAUTIFULLY consistent for you. We are THRILLED for you, make no mistake. Consider that his FIRST game, a shut-out against the Devils, put Us DIRECTLY in the Hunt for 1st, with the consequences we all know. We will ALWAYS love Huey, even if We KNOW he's not a Winner. Why? Services rendered.
Leaving the MULTIPLE reasons aside as to why (don't get me staaaarted), We will ALWAYS boo Theo, even after the Vézina and his Glorious runs. Why? Services rendered.
So here's the question: In their Prime. Who would you rather have? Ollie or Huey?
Fuhgeddabowdit. It's Ollie by a dang landslide, so do me a personal favor and don't knock your Man's 62yr old 5-hole after all those years of services rendered.
As fer Huet, really? You SURE he asked for 5 and you said yes? You mean, he said, "I want 5!" and you said, "Ok!" and then he said, "Uhhh..no! Forget it; I'll wait!"
To me, he was going no matter what and to have kept him, you woulda hafta've pulled a "Malone Deal", shock him with too much, which, considerin' what you're sayin', wasn't in the plan, cap-wise. But still...heck, crazy as it sounds, I might've even entertained Emery... (hey! I didn't say Lalime!; I said Emery!) before Theo. Theo WILL falter. Ain't no "key". If there's no Pressure? Ok, he can be as good as anybody, I guess. With Pressure? His knees shake. The flu? What did Budaj have? Pneumonia? That's bull. He was hurt? Awww. Play or don't play. The rest is bull.
Huet gets hurt. Huet is KNOWN for his injuries, his machine rusts up, starts clankin' and grindin', and he needs some time in the shop. But he's consistent in his PLAY! In his demeanor, in his resolution and in his confidence. You can testify, Ben.
But when there's but a hint of Pressure, Theo has none of those attributes.
At least Emery had Confidence, stank as he might...
...From Russiaaaaaa, with loooo-ooove, I come to yooooouuuuu, hm-hmmm, hm-hmmmm, hm-hmmmm-hmmmmm, hm-hm...
Yo.

[Ben]

leo- Theodore is definitely the key to everything. He did lead a ridiculously injury-riddles Avs team to the second round of the playoffs, when he basically had to sit out with a horrible bout of the flu.

On Huet - we offered him what he asked of us, 3 yrs/$15 mil. plain and simple. he decided to test the market, and who can blame him (i guess). he got an extra year and more money. if we would have matched that contract, we would be in salary cap hell this season and next when we need to re-sign Semin and Backstrom. With the money we saved, we were able to re-sign Fedorov and Laich, and Morrisonn is soon to come with his arbitration date.

Like I said, Tampa has a scary good offensive squad, but that D is scary too, and not in a good way. you better hope that Mike Smith steps up, because if not, you WILL be seeing that gaping 5-hole of Olaf.

[léo]

Excellent post, Ben!
Two things,
1) Won't see Oldie Ollie's 5 or ANY other hole more than they have to, cuz if TB's got its head screwed on straight, Smith is their man.
2) I would TOTALLY agree with you (and DID, check few weeks back post, day BEFORE Huet trade) if you had paid Huet. But with Theo, you are DOOMED to fail. So now, I put TB up there, with those dang Caners as eternal dark-horses. (say what we will, they know how to win, and Brind'Amour left enough of his mojo for them to be dangerous)
Y'got a great team, Ben. Your post totally convinced me of that.
It's too bad Theo's gonna gum up yer works...
Yo.

[Ben]

bottom line is that had Washington not had a horribly offensive-stifling coach until thanksgiving last year, the Caps would have RAN AWAY with the division. People are on here only talking about OV, Backstrom and Fedorov. But how bout Semin? He was injured for basically the first 2 1/2 months of the season and he finally showed in the playoffs what he was made of. We pushed the Flyers to 7 games in the playoffs, when basically none of our team had even been there before. If anybody thinks this team is going anywhere but up, they are crazy. Boudreau won't let them. The only question we have is on D, but it's nowhere near as much of a question as it is in Tampa. Alzner is going to step in and be a top-4 defenseman this year, mark my words. With Poti, Green and the improvement of Schultz we are going to be solid, but not spectacular.

Caps win the division this year again, but Tampa will be improved. You gotta keep the puck out of your net, and I just don't see how Tampa's current situation is going to do that.

Enjoy the gaping size of Olie's 5-hole.

[léo]

PD,
If you had the choice between The Priceberg, Jonathan Bernier, Pascal Leclaire, (David?) Ellis and Mike Smith, ok, he's your 5-horse.
But you know what that means. Hey, Anze Kopitar is your 11-horse. Lidstrom is your 271-horse. C'mon. It's an order of judged-talent. Doesn't make it the Lord's Truth.
Was it the TB scouting team that decided Stamkos was num1 in the draft? C'mon. If you had had the SECOND pick, would it have SHOCKED you that another team might've taken him first??? Course not, you woulda taken the SECOND-BEST "judged talent".
Same goes for goalies. Though I might want Bernier before Smith; I'd take Smith before Tukka Rask or Justin Pogge and THEY aren't slouches.
But a choice between Theo, Smith or Olaf now? Haw-haw! (Seriously?)
Smith!
In a friggin' heartbeat, mate!
Without EVER looking back. Anyone says otherwise in the selection... I'm sorry for your losses.
Yo.

[PD]

Leo now you tell us about Smith.
Are you like the tout at the racetrack?..take the 5 horse it had a good workout last Tues.

[Steve R]

One game for the marbles
Who do you want in your net?
Theodore
Smith
Olaf

Pretty simply really , no one said he was Patrick Roy.

[Ken]

Don -- for all the talk, you surely have very little hockey knowledge.

The Caps were "spanked" by Philly in 5?

Try overtime of game 7, with the entire world agreeing that the referees really screwed Washington out of that series.

And that's not homerism -- nearly every major media outlet mentioned the poor officiating in that series.

We'll see when the season starts, but I'm pretty sure Washington will end up higher in the standings than Tampa Bay. Actually, they'll probably be the consensus favorite to win the East.

Fedorov as a THIRD line center? Semin on the second line? The 2nd highest scoring defenseman in the league?

And Ovy-Backstrom? Forget about it.

And Kolzig had better not be your starter, or this conversation is moot because the 'ning will be celler dwellers again.

[léo]

Hey Washington fan,
I feel your enthusiasm towards your team. I share it.
But don't you dare tell me that Washington is better WITH Theo. That is a monumental joke, to which Washington will wise up to by X-Mas.
They have an "edge" with Theo? Yeah right. You mean the edge of the PRECIPICE, I presume.
Not paying Huet (even after all I said about HIM) was a BIG, BIG mistake. They should've paid Huet. A 1.5mil dollar difference? Ok. Pay it! Cuz THAT'S what CONSISTENCY costs! Theo can THRILL you. Great, for 6½ minutes. That's NOT ENOUGH. If Theo was EVER the goalie who won the Vézina, well, he ain't no more.
Right now? A choice between Huet and Theo ain't no choice at all.
And you'll be witness to that, buddy-boy. So feel free to rub it in should Theo turn Magic. (snort)
..."incoherent ramblings"...indeed!
What does Leo know about the Priceberg? The Kid fell apart??? He floundered? Really?! Mwa-haaaa-ha! But STILL, the Kid performed like a ROCK compared to Knock-kneed Theo, c'mon! The Kid was a Wall in comparison. Kid NEVER let in 8!
Theo was sick? Sick, my heinie. You're sick; you stay home. "I was sick." is what all weaklings say.
Plus, you'd fall over yourself trading your Theo for my Boy, wouldn't ya?
Oh no, no, right? To save face? You'd NEVER trade Theo for the Priceberg, right? Course not, Kid falls apart...we want Theo. Huh???
Ok, mate.
As fer Smith, hey!, I'm trying to look on the BRIGHT side ,here, for TB. I SAID that I had "read up on him", remember? Not that I knew the whole deal on him, did I? Remember? Goalieworld Magazine? Prospect Watch? Rated num5? Remember? Hello?! I quoted! And then!, from what I SAW, I say Smith is BETTER than Denis and Ramo. Was that so WRONG for me to say that?
I said he was gonna be a Star for TB. Never said he was gonna be a SuperStar in the league. Did I? Ever?
No.
I said the PRICEBERG was gonna be a SuperStar in the league.
And I stand by that.
Incoherent as that ramble may seem to you, it makes a HECK of a lot more sense than relying on Theo, ferpetessakes!
But good luck with that.
Maybe the WHOLE Washington team is HIS "missing variable".
You do however score a point,
And Don, this is for you too,
As much as it pains me to admit it, I'm... uh... not right all the time. With efficiency in "reading the future" marked at 89%... uh...the 11% tends to show up...
From time to time.
So place yer bets, sure, cuz I got the straight dope.
But not yer HOUSE, ferpetessakes!
Yo.

[D.C.]

C-A-P-S

GO CAPS!!!

[Callejo]

I am a CAPS Fan and not a Troll and just want to wish you guys good luck this season. You have a lot of old forwards but who knows what can happen. I for sure will enjoy the 4 games at VC when your team travels north win or lose they are always fun games to be at.
Good luck guys.

[HenSmith]

Cant we all just get along?!

[David]

Don,

There may be more fact than fancy in your supposition of who PD is!

For all their plusses, both Richards and Boyle had significant weaknesses as well. Weaknesses I believe outweighed their positives. I don't find Ouellet's improvement after Richard's left to be a coincidence.

Boyle was an unfortunate casualty of Feaster giving an offensive defenseman too much money for too long when we needed stay at home defense. Brad I think was just phoning it in, even at the trade Scotty Bowman said he didn't know if Richard's heart was in the game anymore.

[Don in St. Pete]

Bolts, PD is for the Pillsbury Doughboy, aka Jay Feaster. He will go to his grave defending Boyle, Ritchy and Torts like the good little lackey he now finds himself.

good one flasher

[PD hates the Bolts]

Trade PD.
Is it pole dancer, pud drooler, or pervasively dense?

Trade PD.

[PD]

Have a good yuck Riley..you start off down about 150 scoring points.
I think playing with Blake et all in SJ rather than AHL partners will help Boiler a bit too, but heh thats just me.

[jiffy]

Riley to the rescue!! This really is some funny stuff. Thanks for breaking up my day folks!

[Riley]

Richards' wafting around avoiding hits, waiting for breakouts, and sulking over having no one to play his tune, leaves us wanting for what, exactly, PD?
Boyle's rash of penalties in his 28th minute on ice and chronic, yes CHRONIC defensive lapses no longer here hurts us how, precisely, PD?

This isn't tomato---tomahtoh here. This an abject and horrifying absence of hockey wherewithall and worshiping the name on the back of the sweater (or in your closet) that the crest on front.

Why do you persist in provacative red herring bulls**t ??

[PD]

Sure Does Don and Bolts are short Richards and Boyle from last year.

Much improved...how Don do tell?

They finished a gazillion points in front of us and stunk until Christmas.

please

[Don in St. Pete]

PD, The stats don't entirely backup your contention that Washington is better than us. Granted they were 6-2 against us last year but 4 of their 6 wins were by one goal. In addition the overall goal differential was only +3 for the Caps over 8 games. In addition when Boyle was out we won 2 of 3 against them. We are much improved since then while they have basically the same team. I don't buy the argument, except they may be slightly better than us on defense. Sorry but hockey is a teams sport and while Ovechkin is an awesome player it takes the whole team to win games.

[PD]

Don Morrison is the anchor/shutdown of that D and he's heads and tails over anything we got from SJ. Green one of the best young D's in the league.

We are the worst team in the league and need major help on the back end.
Thats not negative folks..just reality

Yes Flasher AO and Backstrom are better than Vinny /Marty get over it
Marty's best days are behind him.
Go Bolts

[Don in St. Pete]

Flasher is right. Caps defense is ancheored by Green who is good offensively, but suspect on d. Morisonn and Jurcina are castoffs who literally stunk up the place on their last teams. perhaps they are coming of age, but I see them as similar to us. They were spanked by Philly, out in 5, see ya!

[PD hates the Bolts]

Trade PD

[Boltflasher]

or as I see now, that combo AO and Backstrom is better than say Vinny and Marty? As Marty becomes older the Wash duo will be better, not sure about that yet...the Wash duo still need to show something in playoffs and win a Cup just to say they are AS good, much less better at this point...

[Boltflasher]

PD, you're saying Backstrom is better than any Bolt forward...Lecavalier? Stamkos? St.Louis? Prospal?

[Boltflasher]

No, I would have to disagree about the Caps defense, in fact none of the SE teams have good defense. Only Huet standing on his head got the Caps in the playoffs a year ago and he wasn't enough once they got there...Caps have Green who can pile on the points when out there with Ovechkin but is not a good positional defenseman..Stinkinn Panthers have some good defenseman now in addition to Boumeester but can't score now with Jokinen gone..

[PD]

AO and Backstrom as a combo obviously

[PD]

Not giving up Don but its later than you think. Who is going to give up a dman without a ton back?

Not a Caps fan but AO and Backstrom are both better than any forwards we have. And they have a defence, a deep good one.

Were in tough in the Division this year

[Don in St. Pete]

PD, Some good points there and agreed that at this point Theo is better than Smith, although I like Smith's potential. You can throw out the 3-11 record at the end of last year as the team had pretty much thrown in the towel. I'm sorry but other than them having Federov and Ovechkin, I don't see them as that much better than us. I agree there are some questions still about these owners, but I remind you there is a long time until training camp, and like it or not they've already made us a better team. 1 solid defenseman could change the whole complexion of the team so I am not yet ready to give up on them.

[PD]

Don, my entire point was that Theodore gives Wash an edge over our bargain bin goalies. Thats all. He carried the AVS to the playoffs last year with Sakic, Smythe, Stasny , Forsie, all out for extended periods..to great acclaim by many and a little bitter for Leo but THeodore owns a 910 save percentage lifetime and a good GAA.

Leo is a great guy but he doesn't know goalies..see Careys spiting of the bit in the playoffs and Mike Smith floppin his way to 3-11 for proof.

BTW he was also telling you Wash had the better team mostly cuz they do. Thats all I said too..reality bites but denial is worse.

Give me this Don the handling of the team seems to be weak and if there is a master plan they are hiding it well.

They have to get it right because they can't financially survive an empty barn.

[Don in St. Pete]

Deal with it, Leo knows more about hockey that you could even dream of knowing. Obviously, the saddest part is that your on the Lightning blog to try to boost your own spirits and try to trample ours but it won't work. Seems you guys didn't go far in the playoffs this year if I remember.

[your owners an idiot, thats why were here, deal with it.]

Don, HA, youre citing leos incoherent, misinformed, semi-psychotic ramblings to help you prove your point?!

Now thats sad :(

[Don in St. Pete]

Pd, I stand corrected on Theodore's record. However, I'm sure you also read Leo's post above. Just give the team a chance. After the season's started and if they're suckin' wind then let fly! I'll likely be right there with you, except you'll be able to say I told you so. Leo, I agree it's hard to see a leopard changing his spots overnight, but training camp hasn't started yet, so I will remain optimistic, perhaps to a fault. last year I don't think we won a game all season when we didn't score at least 3 goals and that could very well be the case again this year, but I'm hoping it's not.