Lightning re-signs Ryan Craig, signs Niskala

As expected, the Lightning announced the signing of center Ryan Craig to a two year deal that pays $1.575-million ($775,000 next season and $800,000 in 2009). Defenseman Janne Niskala, acquired from the Flyers for a 2009 sixth-round pick, was signed to a one-year, $600,000 deal. The Lightning has an option to re-assign him to Europe if he does not make the big club.

Craig is trying to make a comeback after back and knee injuries shelved him for all but seven games last season. A force in front of the net, Craig likely will be fighting for a fourth-line gig and a place on the power play.

For those who don't know Niskala, here is some background from the Lightning's announcement:

Niskala, 26, was acquired by Philadelphia last week from Nashville for forward Triston Grant and a seventh-round pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. The 6-foot, 200-pound native of Vasteras, Sweden recorded 19 goals, 44 points and 81 penalty minutes in 80 regular season games for the Predators’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals, this past season. He led Admirals defensemen in goals (19, second among AHL defensemen) and points (44, tied for 11th among AHL defensemen). Though born in Sweden, Niskala is a Finnish citizen and was the leading scorer among defensemen for bronze medal-winning Team Finland at the 2008 IIHF World Championships.

Prior to joining the Predators organization for the 2007-08 season, Niskala played parts of the previous seven seasons with teams in top European Leagues, including Lukko Rauma (Finland - 2000-01 through 2004-05), EV Zug (Swiss - 2005-06) and Farjestad (Sweden - 2006-07). He registered 72 goals and 92 assists for 164 points and 369 penalty minutes in 296 regular season games during his final six seasons in Europe (2001-02 through 2006-07). He has led his teams’ defensemen in goals in each of his past five seasons. He led Swedish Elite League defensemen in points with 49 (19-30) in 2006-07. Niskala was drafted by Nashville in the fifth round (147th overall) of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.
 

Comments

[jiffy]

Disagree with you Josh about any contract being 2-ways. This has to be in the contract- if not the player must clear waivers to be sent to any minor league team.
Good call on the Halpern injury. IF he is able to recover will add depth for the 2nd half of the season. Probably more like January at best.

NTMM: Who in the league plays 35+ minutes a game?? Come on... the players on the ice (per game avg) were Ranger and Kuba. St. Louis at 24+/game and Lecavalier was at 22+/game. This was no where near the league leaders Jay Bouwmeester and Dan Boyle's 27+ minutes a game.
And if the MVP line carried the team until November (2nd month of the season)- what happened during the other 5 months?? I believe the standings were pretty close during March if the Lightning got it's act together and could have won the division.

[LightningRod]

I generally agree with Don and NtMM, you can judge the D-men we have, based on last year probably 2 yrs. There are way to many other factors. With a solid set of 4 lines, how would those D-men have played, let alone developed? That's the real question to me. Then there are the injuries; and the fact that even their own coach was beating on some of them, as things got worse both on and off the ice. If things had been different how would they have played, and what is the potential of the young D-men? I think those are the most real and relavent questions.

[josh]

Why does evenryone keep penciling in Halpern as our third line center? Dont forget, he's out until DECEMBER at the EARLIEST!

As for roster spots, guys like Ward, Niskala, and probably Darche are all gonna end up in the AHL, Giving us depth for an injury callup. Remember, just about any contract can be sent to the minors and it doesnt count against the cap anymore. Thats waht ou Lamoriello did last year to get under the cap. No one knows whetehr Arty will make the team, or if Halpern will even be able to play this year! So stop the sepculation until something actually happens

[Bingo]

OK - I'm a bit worried know. My agent keeps calling for me to re-up the ticks and I'm interested. Then I see they are looking to dump 8mil from the salary which means players need to go. So you bring in Malone, VP, Roberts, Vbrata and Kolzig then dump Kuba, Boyle, Jussi, Oulette and Gratton/Ward not to improve the team but to dump salary! Yes they need to move some to get in at around 51-52 mil to leave money on the table for the trade deadline but 48 would meand dump dump dump. We can argue on these 3 players, Kubu 3-mil, Oulette 1.2 mil, Jussi 2.1 but boyle 6+ mil and you lose the ONLY guy who can get the puck out of the zone. We would move from a position of being much better to oh well more of the same.
So this would be the true Hollywood move - get the red carpet out generate excitement then you see the cast and it sucks just like before.

I've been so excited about this group and the signings now it looks like they pulled the wool over my eyes. I guess I need HockeyChic Rosey glasses.........

What is going on Oren??????

[Don in St. Pete]

Twine and Marlboro, I agree for the most part. I don't believe they'll be giving up on Ob. When he came over at the trade deadline 2 years ago he played like a stud. He was also very good early this past season. I have a hard time picturing Jokinen as a checking line wing. As much as I like Tarno, I think him am Ward for sure are on the way out. Hate da redsox seemed to have a very close take on where I see the lineup right now though things will undoubtedly change. I think we would be foolish to pass on Gratton, especially if Halpern has any issues. Hall still could be part of a trade they are working on, you can't be sure with these guys. I'm not totally against trading Dan Boyle because he could come back this year as good as new. However, If I were the owners and management I'd have to be looking at the possibility if it presented itself. Metzaros would be intriguing, but he is also an RFA and might be asking a pretty penny as well. Ottawa definitely has some room under the cap and has only 1 left wing on the roster with any experience. Could be a blockbuster deal in the works perhaps. It will be interesting to see how all this plays out.

[Twinebulge]

"the hard reality that nobody is even asking where all this money is going to come from to pay for it"

Hard reality? Hardly

Why the assumption that multi-multimillionaires view money and access to it and how to gain that access to it in the same way that we regular folks do? Could anything be less accurate a priori. If they did they wouldn't be who they are and where they are, doing what they're doing, having what they have and creating the life experience they're creating. Here's a novel idea, a tip of the cap to the rich - way to go fellas, right on, do it MORE and get RICHER

Just let go, enjoy the ride of success and abundance and prosperity for a change, here on the eve of American Independence Day (a belated happy Canada Day BTW to all our friends way up north), just trusting in the fact that the money people who are now spending money - as we've been hoping and praying and begging for someone to do on this team - know their butt from a hole in the ice and will move the pieces and the dollars around to make it work and fit under the cap - smart people who know what they're doing appear to be in charge, IMHO they have earned the benefit of the doubt by keeping their promises and showing class so far

Personally not speaking for anyone else I feel like my only task right now is just to outright REVEL in this (yay, we got a real goalie just in case!!!!!!! etc) while it's fresh, new and exciting and look forward to three months from now smelling that ICE

[Not the Marlboro Man]

Ward is probably on his way out along with O'brien their issues with skating make them a liability. Tarnasky is expendible but his size and tenacity make him a coveted commodity on any checking line. I'm sure that they are going to hold on to as many players as they can, because although allot of these players are good as gone you never know who's who until after training camp. Hall, who was signed for $600,000 still has to earn his keep along with every defensman on this team with the exception of a few. The only players that I can say for sure that are automatics are the $2 million plus players. The rest will be seen as expendable trade bate or buy outs. There aren't too many players right now but there will be after Camp. Management has already made provisions for all of this I'm sure. Remeber some of these player will be retained as roll players, only seeing work on special teams situations. Roberts is a good example of that I'm sure that he won't take that many shifts and will likely be a healthy scratch every other game or so. Ryan Craig will be in the same boat. Where you are mistaken is on your checking line you have Craig and Roberts and R2. R2 and Tarnasky will be skating on opposite wings together on the same line to impose as much blunt force trauma as they can. I then imagine that reserve centers will be taking turns on the shift with them, Roberts, Halpern and Hall. I still wish that they could pull off a Gratton signing before someone else nabs him up. He would be the logical addition to the Blunt Force Trauma Line.

[Hate da Redsox]

Good point not the marlboro man. But I still don't understand where the lightning will make room for players like hall, tarnasky, and ward. Here's how I see the lines playing out.
Prospal-Lecavalier-St.Louis
Malone-Stamkos-Vrbata
Jokinen-Halpern-Ouellet
Roberts-Craig-Artyhukhin
This new depth will definitely help out Smith as the puck won't be in our zone as often. I am also happy to see the new owners being so aggresive in free agency, yet I think they might have overpaid for kolzig and roberts. Their cap hits combined are about 4 mil.Trading Boyle would be horrible aswell.

[Not the Marlboro Man]

Don in St. Pete and I seem to be on the same sheet of music as far as the defense. This team had enough talent to compete in every game until the injuries and fatigue set in last season. This team had no depth up front and relied on AHL quality players and broken injured players to round out 4 lines. Most of the players we had were 3rd and 4rth liners. V4's line carried the team until late November when the team just got tired. V4 and Marty and V20 were playing 35 minutes a game, minimum. There was no pressure from lines 2, 3 and 4, except when Gratton and Tarnasky's line got on a roll. Richards was weak physically and was better suited playing the center on a finess line...something we haven't had here since Modine and Stillman left. Pressure was missing from the forecheck and the Blue Liners were asked to pinch in to create more offensive pressure, when they did it resulted in odd man rush after odd man rush putting shot after shot from the slot in the goalies direction. Although the goalies didn't face as many shots as the opposition, they faced quality shots from the slot and the crease. The results were terrible for the Bolts who were facing superior talent game after game on all but one line. The Defense was adjusted and the results were almost as bad. Since the lock out, the absence of the 2 line pass created a void in the Lightning's ability to play the pinching defensive style that they enjoyed success with in 2004 when they won the Cup. Tortarella refused to adjust his defense to the new style of play the NHL adopted after the lock out. Tortarella also refused to trap no matter how close the scores got or no matter how much of a lead that he maintained. I know that safe is death as Torts always said, but sometimes safe is better when you have a 4 goal lead going into the third period with 5 minutes left. Any team can still add offensive pressure off a left-wing lock or trap with out compromising their over-all style of play. I hope with the new boss in town that he won't be so stubborn and rigid. Sometimes you have to change to prevent disaster or you find yourself on the outside looking in. What I'm saying with all of this is that this group of defenseman will be just fine and management knows it. Thats why they didn't go after any more big name defenders at $6 and $7 mil a pop. Once this team dedicates themselves to crushing the other teams in the neutral zone they are going to be just fine. Dan Boyle will still be able to score 15 or 20 goals and Kuba won't look weak anymore. If anything the Bolts need one more puck mover besides Shane O'brien who has skating and weight issues. Hopefully this new kid Niskala is the answer, if not they can trade before the dead line and get what they need before the play-offs. I feel with what they have right now they can compete with anyone especially the South East Division which from my point of view looks much weaker.

[Stacey]

"Hmmmmm. Offered to every team in the league?"

Yeah, I know that would give ME a warm, fuzzy feeling.

[Tony]

Wow i'd almost make that deal for Meszaros...

[john]

http://www.ottawasun.com/Sports/Hockey/2008/07/02/6039686-sun.html

Boyle rumors won't go away. This one is great.... Talking about the Senators:

" If getting a blueliner in free agency doesn't work out, a trade offer from the Lightning to send Dan Boyle to the Senators is on the table.

Ottawa has reservations about making the deal because Boyle, 31, has six years remaining on his contract at an average of $6.67 million per season.

The Bolts would likely want either winger Antoine Vermette or defenceman Andrej Meszaros in a deal.

Boyle would have to approve any deal because he has a no-movement clause in his contract.

The Bolts haven't approached the Ottawa native about being moved yet, but league sources say new owners Len Barrie and Oren Koules have talked to every team in the league. "

Hmmmmm. Offered to every team in the league?

[Don in St. Pete]

The new owners can net a cool $1mil+ for every home playoff game. The further you make it...the more it pays back. The players get the same money whether you make the playoffs or not unless they have incentives in their contract, the same with the salaried management.

[Boltwatcher]

I am having a hard time reconciling the excitement of all the on-ice potential of these signings and new moves going on, against the hard reality that nobody is even asking where all this money is going to come from to pay for it. This seems a lot like spending to your credit card limit, and ignoring the fact that you can only make the monthly minimum payments on it. This team drew reasonably well at the gate last year and lost money doing it, so there is not even that much upside in revenue from expecting 100% sellouts. Now the payroll is $10m-15m higher, not to mention all the new coaching & front office salaries on top of that. We all know that Palace Sports chose not to embrace those kinds of operating losses, even though they had the means to do it. But who is expecting the new owners to be able to absorb any losses, given the fact that they don’t have the cash to even buy the team in the first place (isn’t PS&E financing much of the sale price anyway?)? Don’t look behind the curtain, or we could end up seeing PS&E back in charge in the not too distant future when the bills come due.

[jiffy]

Waaahhh! Don't be a hater!! Games still have to be played. Detroit's front office has been there since the mid 80's and after years of being the "Dead Wings" during that first 6 years or so they are now one of the top organizations in all of sports.
Tampa can do the same thing if someone stays commited to this team financially and supports the team through the years that they tend to struggle and not dump them at a low.I was a big Davidson supporter, but after last season seeing what can happen to a good hockey team if mgt is not behind them 100%.

[Geografer]

Feeling bad for Richy now - Dallas just signed Avery to a 4-year $15.5 million contract including a limited no-movement clause.

[jason]

Detoilet just signed Hossa to a 1 year deal worth 7 mil or so

lets just hand them the cup during the preseason and get it overwith.

sigh

I hate detoilet's deadwings a lot!

[jiffy]

Agreed denfense was not the only problem last year. However what was done to correct the problem there? It seems the thought is to throw more offense at the problem and maybe we will not allow the most goals in league again this year- I don't think it will work unless something is done to solidify the back end.

[Don in St. Pete]

Our defense alone was not to blame for last seasons debacle. We had players out of place on almost every line. O'Brien was very good early in the season. Suddenly he stops bringing the puck up ice, stops joining the rush and starts turtling on the puck in the corner. I think it may have been the Tortorella syndrome, getting called out on video one to many times or something of the like. Fact: We played our best hockey last year when Danny Boyle was out. Everyone knew they had to pick up their game and they did. By the time Danny got back they had all given up on the season. There is some talent there but some tweaking is needed to make us a CUP contender, not just a playoff team. We don't need the best defense to win a cup, just one of the best. Better 2 way forwards like Malone, Stamkos and Vrbata to go with Halpern, Ouellet and Darche will help immensely.

[Bob]

Craig? Not excited.

[Bryan]

Roy is not coming back, and thats a good thing.

[Slapnuts]

Ahh David Koci. I can still see him getting his nose broken and his face rearanged by Zdeno Chara last year and I can still see the way he handled Derek Boogard in a scrap..

[jiffy]

All of these talented **experienced** guys up front?? What about the blue line. Other than Boyle and Lukewich how much experience do we have back there? Lundin, O'Brien, Picard, Ranger, Kuba, Niskala, Smaby, Lukewich. I believe Kuba is the most **experienced** guy back there after the first two guys. Guys like Lundin, Niskala, Smaby (shouldn't even be considered an NHL'er), and even O'Brien should be given time in the AHL to work on their game before being ready for the big show.

[Not the Marlboro Man]

I don't think the Lightning will be making any moves on defense until they can make an assessment of what they have in training camp. Niskala sounds promising...Picard all but stole the show when he arrived here last season and Boyle being healthy along with a healthy Ranger and Kuba should be enough. I still advocate putting Shane O brien at the Enforcer slot. He can't skate good enough to make a difference on defense. He shoots the puck pretty well but when forwards skate at him his feet get crossed up, he then compensates by hooking then he sits in the box too much. Smaby although he looked unsure of himself at times layed some big hits that were impressive. If this defense hits instead of stick checking like Tortarella wanted them to do, they will cream the opposition. This is a big defense. With the exception of Boyle all of these players are big guys. The scheme has changed since Torts left, so I say the defense is better on that premise alone.

[Geografer]

Better question is how do we know Niskala will honor this contract when he signed with Atlant Mytischy in Russia in June? If he is sent to Norfolk does he just pack up and leave?

[LightningRod]

Sitting here today, I am trying to wrap my head around everything that has happened/changed with the Lightning since the draft; and I don't think anyone, including the OK guys, really knows the depth and result of those changes.

To me, the dynamics of all of the changes are just to great. Do I think the team is much better now, you bet I do. I give credit to OK for what they have done; yes sir I really really do. Again, how can you really understand and put in proper perspective all of the changes? We now have new and obviously aggressive and committed ownership, a new coach, a real deal 1st round draft pick, solidifying of the team's 1st line for 3 to 4 yrs., have the makings of a good 2nd line along with more depth at the forward position, a character guy like Roberts, and add in an experienced goaltender?
It's just to much for me; but I believe that it's going to great watching it unfold.

At the end of last season, what did we have? We had a team that was beaten black and blue physically and psychologically, both on the ice and by their ownership and coach. I see now Tort's greatest asset, his unrelenting drive and will, also turned out to be his greatest weakness, as it was him who couldn't adapt on the way down. The team was on the way down, due mainly to the lack of ownership commitment.

Given all of that, how can anyone really evaluate all of the players left on the team from last year, especially on defense? To me, just the overall changes in the psychology of the organization, make it difficult to tell, if guys O'Brien and Lundin can be good d-men or not, and can Craig live up to some of his potential. I do know this, they can't get rid of everyone; nor should they.

To me, evaluating all of these changes, along with who from the old team can play, will be OK's greatest challenge before the season begins. In particular, defensively. In the end, I believe that everyone will just have to wait and see them play. That's where it will all shake out. I can't wait.

[Don in St. Pete]

DC, Any word on whether Niaskala's deal is 1 or 2 way? On a Flyer's blog it claims they traded him to us because he wouldn't accept a 2 way deal. Interesting if they plan on him wearing the Bolt, who will be the odd man out.

[Don in St. Pete]

Tackleberry, Both Gary Roberts and Adam Hall have played a LOT of Center in their careers. Tarno is not a 3rd line center, he's not talented enough defensively. It's going to be a battle for some of these longtime Lightning players to even make the team. Some are almost certain to be dealt for picks or help on defense. We dealt 3 draft pics the past two days but we had 3 extra pics coming in the 09' draft so we're in good shape there.

[Tackleberry]

Koci may be our enforcer.

He has 27 career games and a blazing 5 career shots with 0 goals and 0 assists.

He does have 156 pim in his career. Oh ya, he's 6'6" and 238lbs.

Imagine putting Roy and Koci on the same line?

[Tackleberry]

line 1: Levac
line 2: Stamkos
line 3: ?
line 4: ?

There will be a good battle for the 3d and 4th line (Center) between Halpen, Tarnasky, Craig and McDonald. I would like to see Tarnasky in the 3d line as Center.

Whatever happens, Craig needs to make up for lost time. Good luck Ryan!

[slapshot]

Lightning signed David Koci to a one-year two-way deal worth $525,000 in the NHL, and $100,000 in the Minors.

[greg]

I see this as a non issue, Craig has been part of the 3rd and 4th lines here the last 3 years, and that has been our problem. I would like to see these lines with total new faces.

Ringo

Bold move

Hope Craig is able to step up

[Tony]

Hope Craig can finally get over the injury bug and stay on the ice.