Two on two

Just a quick note to acknowledge Andre Roy's signing with the Flames for $550,000 for one season. Seems the Flames now have as many players from the Lightning's 2004 Stanley Cup team as Tampa Bay.

Roy and Cory Sarich play for Calgary, which lost the seven-game final series to the Lightning. Tampa Bay has only two players left from that team: Vinny Lecavalier and Marty St. Louis.

Comments

[Boltflasher]

Costello's line from that article about the Leafs is pretty funny no matter what you think about them...

[léo]

You see this?
http://thehockeynews.com/articles/17473-THNcom-Top-10-Contenders-in-the-John-Tavares-sweepstakes.html
P.

[léo]

But where's the article that says "The ONCE proud franchise..."?
Can't find it anywhere.
It's like...it's like...it's like it NEVER EVEN EXISTED!
Weird.
Funny that, even in Huggies, I saw more Cups than you.
Oh!
Zing!
P.

[ajax]

Don't let yer pride choke ya son.
Once proud franchise from a once proud blogger. Humbling this game of hockey. Go Shabs Go!!!
All joking aside Mr. Leo, I would have to rate Montreal as definitely top 6 hockey franchises, (in Canada!!)

[léo]

Really, Ajax?
SHOW me that article please.
Jabbing is Ok; lying isn't.
P.

[ajax]

Leo (padawan)
When thinking about the Shabs it reminds me of my favorite song's from the "past" key word being "past"
Don McLean said it best, "A Long, long time ago, I could still remember...
Leo you were probably still in huggies when the Shabs last hoisted the cup.
Me on the other hand has a more recent pic of me and my boy, with our hand on the cup. It is my screensaver and probably will be til the next hoisting of the cup.
The only people with Canadien screensavers have taped Poleroids on the side of their monitors (and they are a tinge of yeller)
What do I hear from the echos?? Go Shabs Go, GO SHABS GO.
When reading on Montreal the article usually starts like this,
"the once proud franchise....."

[Hockey Chic]

Leo funny you should mention that as the last game of tennis I saw Martina play was against Sabatini and it went three sets. It was at Amelia Island outside of Jax, FL. Martina won of course it was quarter or semi-final.

I know the history or a part of it leo remember I did see the hockey hall of fame and all those banners. LOL As well as the replica locker room.

Can't wait for the start of hockey I am over this heat and the summer. Tacks hang in there. You should be home soon and then we can all celebrate the start of hockey and your return home. Be safe my friend.

Go Bolts!

[léo]

I hear you Hockey Chic. Martina was indeed a terror, unbeatable.
The 1977 Habs lost only 7 games. 7!
Some say the X-Mas77 Hab vs Team Russia 3 -3 Classic was the best game ever played. I certainly would tend to agree. Tretiak was a God; it should've been a thrashing.
Point is, in THAT scenario, We WERE the big bad russkies. We became the CCCP.
Losing only 7 games, Chic? Think that record'll ever be beat?
In that respect, no one can deny that Martina's power will a benchmark for all time.
As for the cutie aspect, gotta admit that as a kid, I had a MAJOR crush on Sabatini.
What a hottie!
P.

[Tackleberry]

Only on this blog would an analogy of Hockey and Tennis be made. lol I would rather see how Jimmy MacElroy and Chazz Michael Michaels to the Habs and Flyers. Or any other team.

Cant wait to get back from Qatar to see the practices and pre season games.

[Hockey Chic]

Ok Leo I love ya man but I got to put a stop to it. Calling Martina an equivalent to the Habs makes me crazy.

Martina was of course the shiz in tennis and Chrisy to me was the Habs of the US tennis at the time.

Chrisy was Americas sweetheart and Martina was the Big Bad $#$$*() who would kick anyones tail on grass for sure. I really got sick of hearing just how sweet and great Chris was supposed to be. It gave me more to shout about when Martina was on the court.

Where else but on a hockey blog could we be talking about tennis versus hockey in the freakin summer..

Go Bolts!!

[léo]

Oh, and in their Prime? Martina Navratilova moiduhs Sharapova.
Sharapova = Red Wings?
Who's the girl what retired a champ last year? Was it Henin? Foget. But you know who I mean.
Who is she?
The Oilers of the 80s?
Martina's the Habs of the 70s, what?
And Anna Kournikova? Looks good, everyone believing she's real good, but it's all false hype and she sucks?...Who could we compare her to? Hmm...
Oh, and Crissy WAS a hottie.
P.

[léo]

Little side note,
Up north, INSIDE the country where there's waaay more insight into the leafs than PD, a new season on TV is being promoed. From the CBC.
Do I need to explain the Toranna CBC bias? Good.
New season on TV. They're showing clips from all the shows that are bound to get viewer's attention. CBC. So you got clips of this show or that show, an american show, a comedy, reruns, oh! a Senator bodychecking a Sabre, I think, you got "Little Mosque on the Prairie", you got Rick Mercer. CBC, you understand? And then lo! A Cheering Frenzied Hab crowd! Oh ho!
But you what you DON'T have? A SINGLE leaf clip. Not a ONE; may the lord strike me if I lie. Not one shot of leaf.
My WHOLE country PLUS the fat cats in Toranna KNOW the leafs suck and won't EMBARASS themselves on their OWN network with FALSE attributions.
But they have a GREAT shot of Us Habs.
The CBC.
Hmmmm...Think about that, folks.
P.

[Boltflasher]

Thanks guys for providing some humour relief during a dead boring part of the summer...

[PD]

That's right Leo, Habs stink and Carey choked big time. Untested, no kidding.

By George I think you got it.

No one here needs to take any crap from a Montreal Canadien fan.

[léo]

And yet, Toranna has become the biggest farce in the history of hockey, PD. Odd. Oh well. But they're better. Oh, they're better. Oh satisfaction knowing they're better. Toranna is a Loser but better.
And everybody knows it. Right?
Ok.
But keep repeating that the greatest sports team in the history of the World is "a complete joke". It's like watching a drowning man hanging on to a Ritz cracker. Funny, but pointless.
Ok, Toranna sucks NOW. But that's not important. What's REALLY important is how much better than Us they were from fraptember 1969 to zignomer 1970. That is Tor's claim to fame. What'd they win? Zero.
Woo, what a team!
As for tennis, seem to recall the new rackets changing the game a bit: no more wooden butterfly-catchers.
P.

[PD]

Sharapova is the Detroit Red Wings, no one is close.IMHO
No slight on Chrissy!

[Don in St. Pete]

PD, you must be almost as young as Leo if you're dissing Chrissy. I won't even go there, but you need to check youtube or something. Leo, you need to just settle in and wait for the dominos to fall. Matt's ain't coming there and the glaring lack of a first line power center will unfold in the playoffs if not before.

[PD]

Chris Evert a Babe?
Maria Sharipova..now that's a babe.

[PD]

Leo your problem is your logic never is.
You call Toronto a joke franchise yet the complete joke has been Montreal.
Projection anyone?

Leafs have been more than respectable last 15 years, especially when matched with the heros of Montreal:

Montreal Canadiens

453 regular season wins
Qualified for the playoffs seven times
Winners of three playoff rounds
Zero trips past second round of playoffs

Toronto Maple Leafs

498 regular season wins
Qualified for the playoffs nine times
Winners of nine playoff rounds
Appeared in three Conference Finals

Personally I doubt that you are even old enough to go back that far.

[Don in St. Pete]

Ajax, a wonderful post filled with great points and Chris Evert was a Babe wasn't she? I disagree in that I think Leo is only wrong about 75% of the time. It's almost time to put him and PD in the ring with boxing gloves.

[ajax]

OK I'll bite and chirp in.
ESPN sports classics sure does open up a can of worms.
Any of you watch the tennis greats of the past?? When watching Chris Evert play I swear she would have a tough time in NCAA let alone a grand slam. Just totally different athlete's and speed and pace, but could anyone hit the ball cleaner than Evert?? By the way, Martina was the greatest grass court women's player of all-time, not the greatest women's player. Anyone ever do the homework and find out that excpet for Wimbleton, Evert won like 5 more slams than Martina, and low and behold in slam finals other than Wimbleton. Martina was like 9-12. Ouch..anyways, where was I?
Every generation is getting bigger and stronger. When I went to high school (no not Hickory!!) 6'4 was a big kid. Now the girls are 6'2 in HS.
You ever see the Jimmy Brown replays?? He was gettng tackled by 5'8 165lb cornerbacks.
I have been watching hours of Gretzky this week and I swear the one real big change is the goalies. They were horrible and the pads were half the size. Scoring did seem a tad easier in the expansion years. One year I believe 7 guys scored over 125 points, and 9 scored 50 goals.
I do think the size and speed level is a huge difference as the years go by, but not so sure about the skill level.
The NBA is a perfect example of that. The USA team is so much more athletic than the rest of the world but their Bball skills are behind. Can anyone from the USA shoot a 3 pointer anymore?? Would someone tell Kobe that you can move the ball faster by passing it than dribbling it a zillion times?? Get my drift??
First of all to put things in perspective, Ovie would be a monster in the NHL 25 years ago. He would be a huge huge player.
Someone mentioned the PPlay happy NHL and that is for sure. You watch those Edmonton replays and there are 50 hooking/obstruction penalties uncalled every game.
Ahhh, that is what blogs are for...to argue the unargueable.
I only know in any era, Leo is wrong 98% of the time. Wouldn't every unbiased goof agree with that?? Peace.

[léo]

Why thank you, Don.
I don't wanna argue the last 15 years, PD? Wanna argue the last 100 instead? How about the last ONE?
Who played better? Hey, who got FARTHER? 1989? No? Nothing?
When's the last time leafs saw the finals?
A little leafer who hasn't SEEN the Prize in 41 years! is gonna BRAG about the zero we BOTH got in the last 15? I love it!
That's a leaf all over.
See, Us champions don't think that way, mate. We are ashamed of those 15yrs, not PROUD of it in ANY way. We don't revel that We did better than Chicago, ferpetessakes.
So what? Get the Prize. Get it now. Get it all the time. Problem is, the only TIME you can get the Cup is in the PRESENT. Presently, our teams don't compare, no matter how much fulfillment you get in insulting me or living in the past like you can resurrect I don't know who and stop the WHOLE of hockey-planet from laughing at your pathetic organization that is run by a mentally challenged board of teaching ventroloquists. Am I wrong?? I may be laying it on thick but I'm not lying.
I'm not throwing spite and bile everywhere.
Finding offense and jumping to the battlements doesn't disguise the fact that all you say is "p*ssies" and "chokers" with NO facts or insights or observations to justify this over a year at all.
Just all-encompassing statements based on pseudo-conviction the second I point out something you don't wanna hear. And just because you retort that Steen is a god, it don't make it so at all, mate.
So if I don't answer something goofy like the 15yr thing, please don't think it's because you got me "stumped". It's because it's goofy.
Besides PD, I have also noticed that when you attack and I destroy all your points, you ignore it and change the subject with another attack.
You got something good? Alright. No? Then you win. You got me, mate. Aw'ight?
Toranna is Great. Ok?
42 years. We can't conceive something like that. But yeah, you have a MUCH better team, tradition, record, oh yeah. (yet nothing since the league took on more than 6 teams, haw)
We'll see. We'll just see, I guess.
P.

[Don in St. Pete]

Leo, I'm not sure what your occupation is, but if you're not a politician or a political consultant, then your talent to "Spin" a subject is going to waste.

[Pd]

Leo doesn't twist the facts, he doesn't have any facts.

Just manic fandom based on a team that has done nothing for 15 years and is pretty much set to implode Cap wise after this season.They totally blew it last year by betting on a choke goalie.

On the Leafs their most likely starting center is top 5 Sundin, with Steen and Stajan 2-3, grabovski is number 4. I hear he can play a little bit and isn't afraid to go to the net like the hab pusses.
Antopov is a natural center too if needed..

Geez I'm so surprised he doesn't want to compare playoff records over the last 15 years.

Our friend is the "artiste'..the BS artiste.

[léo]

Ok.
But We don't have to hope that others "falter" or that We "exceed".
We are content with last year's status quo.
I'm not twisting anything. You see them in 1st yourself. Whaddoo you want from me?
Hey, L.A. can win the Cup too according to your "many variables" theory, right? But at the same time, your eyes are suddenly objective and see that this is a longshot, no? MORE of a longshot than Us, can we agree.
Technically, THEY have "just as much chance to exceed or fail..yadda-yadda" too!
But c'mon.
That ain't twisting, mate.
P.

[Don in St. Pete]

Leo. I'm glad you were able to get a laugh out of my post. You can twist my words around to however you feel my meaning was, but you can't twist the facts. As shown over the past few seasons, any number of things can happen that can reverse a teams direction for better or worse or accelerate their rise or fall. Based on last seasons performance, and what transpired in the off season ( Philly and Pitt lost a lot, you guys kept your core together )the habs should be the favorite. That being said, there is never any guaranty that a player or players will perfom at the level they have in the past. If injuries happen, depth can become an issue. many variables, all of which make it interesting and unpredictable.

[léo]

..deehh, i like play computer rite type good..

PD,
I totally accept that you LOVE the leafs and I don't, and therefore you'll "put them high on a pedestal" by seeing the VIRTUE in your veterans and the INSTANT IMPACT of the kids who will join. But I have also come to realize that I KNOW the leafs MUCH better than you do. Sorry.
When you say things like T.O. being the runaway most succesful hockey club because it's a business, I shake my head. Not to argue the point but in that we just don't see hockey the same way. No worries.
When you succumb to the TB argument of, look what we did from decanuary 1976 to aprember 1977/what did you do? as a justification for PRESENT stankness, I shake my head again and say, ok, savor those moments, then. Hey, you can make fun of Our 1999 team ALL you want. WHAT do I care?
When you say things like, the fact that We have UFAs next year MEANS We have no teamwork, I'm like, whut the heck is THAT? THAT doesn't even make any sense.
Reckless, reckless, PD.
I am NOT degrading them. I think going for Tavares is a SMART thing to do. Just because T.O. is Our natural enemy does NOT mean I am degrading them when I criticise. WHAT do I care?! They are NOT a threat in Our division. Can they beat Us? Sure. Anyone can beat anyone on any given Sunday. But after 82 games? That's something else. T.O. has zero! I mean jeez, I mean, what, what?!
If Sundin doesn't come, Grabovski is your num1. Do you see this? Are you gonna TELL ME about Grabby now? Huh? Ga'head. TELL me about Grabby. I dares ya.
If you think I have zero clue what I'm talkin' about, then ignore me; don't "encourage" me when I get you riled up with my ignorance.
Don,
"heretofore unproven"? We finished 1st, remember? "Oh but you choked in the playoffs." Ok. Yeah. 2nd round. After finishing 1st. Baby steps. We'll take it. We PROVED We could finish 1st; it's a good start, no?
But THIS, I loved!,
"His team (-the Glorious Mtl Canadiens-) which I feel should be the east favorites based upon a number of things, has every opportunity to fail or exceed just as the Bolts have."
Eeeee-hee-haw-haw-haw!
Yes, Don. Both are teams are EXACTLY the same. (giggle)
Unless you meant that a string of inponderable events could affect another string of possible events in such a manner that TB wins the Cup and We finish last.
In that case, sure; how can one argue against the random eventuals of a billion probabilities?
But a pink giraffe could knock on my door to borrow some sugar too and I certainly wouldn't give it an EQUAL chance of it NOT happening.
The giraffe DOESN'T have every opportunity to fail or exceed knocking on my door as NOT. It has much less. Much, much less.
But you're right, though: I wouldn't bet my life on it.
P.

[PD]

Leo you are flaunting your hockey ignorance when you degrade Toronto like that. You have zero idea of the youth they have added and drafted last couple of years.

Toronto is also the runaway most successfull team in hockey because it is a business of course. No one is close.

Want to compare playoff acheievements since 93 with Leafs and Canadians?

bring on the mania, we could use anither laff here.

Habs become the joke.

Your best chance to win it was last year but Gainey blew it by trading Huet. Huge mistake because Carey choked.

At the end of next season, most of the Habs team will be either UFA or RFA..they will be all playing for contracts this year..good luck with that too. Doesn't translate to teamwork.

[Don in St. Pete]

Leo and Flasher, That's all fine and dandy, but lets talk about the Bolts! Leo only wants to exclaim the virtues of the heretofor unproven sHabs and there's no reason we should give him the time of day on a Bolts blog. His team which I feel should be the east favorites based upon a number of things, has every opportunity to fail or exceed just as the Bolts have. PD is right and the leafs shouldn't finish last, but their prospects are grim with maybe only LA, Hotlanta and the Isles sucking more than they do. Florida and Minny could also give them a run for their money to the bottom. Look for the leafs to trade away Kubina and Kaberle at the deadline if they can find dance patrners and for McCabe to go sooner.

[Boltflasher]

Ironically, the Torontoans believe an American, Burkie, will be their Saviour when he leaves the Pond...

[léo]

THAT I agree with, Steve.
I never said the leafs WOULD finish last; I said they WANT to finish last.
Let's look at it objectively: Toranna is a Joke. They KNOW it. But to their credit, they also have come to realize that they MUST rebuild.
With the team they had last year, Sundin included, they finished what, 12th?
Considering they lost or traded 2, 3 key-guys on their squad since then (keep in mind that by "key", I don't mean "good"), there is NO WAY on god's green ice that they can better their position this year, Sundin included. Just common sense.
That means 12th and under. Surely under. With Sundin gone on TOP of that? Who will lead? Kaberle? The same Kaberle they wanna trade and who couldn't lead a kitten to a cat? Haaaah-ha-ha! A default-captain, I love it!
This is a non-season for the leafs. They CANNOT compete.May as well try and lose on purpose at that point.
And get a good'ole Canada-boy in T.O. hey, more power to'em. Of course I hope this fails; I enjoy laughing at the leafs and want to continue to do so.
I just don't see them fighting for 13th...AGAIN and missing the playoffs...AGAIN...with NO support, either from bad trades or an unexistant farm...AGAIN.
Gotta rebuild, start from scratch, no other way, they see Tavares, why not, they say.
That's what I'm saying: That I think Toranna will lose ON PURPOSE for Tavares this year.
P.

[Steve R]

leo, I don't think there is any way that the Leafs will suck enough to get within striking range of the #1 pick. Ain't gonna happen. I'd put on the short list: Fla, Atl, LA, NYI.

[léo]

So go back to Nashville with your electric bulls and your Preddie ladies.
This is hockey, bub.
P.

the fact that so many ppl are commenting this is sad. this is the absolutely most worthless article ever written.

[léo]

Well, Don,
Still paying for YOUR team's mistakes?
That's called a DOUBLE bogie.
"Played over Our heads" now?
Sign ahead: The Last Resort. No vacancy. Don's got the last room.
Peace.

[Don in St. Pete]

PD, Montreal doesn't need an injury to fail, they will easilty accomplish it on their own. They played way over their heads last year and will be lucky to even approach the level they did last year. Leo, I'm not, nor was I ever the GM or Coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning. If you'll remember that would be Jay Feaster and John Tortorella but currently unemployed but still drawing a check from the Lightning.

[léo]

No, you just put them in your line-up, Don. It's "not your fault" that they stunk? Oh yes it is, Don. Yes, it is.
I'll go broke, PD? Yes, I care sooo much about Toranna.
They have a better than average goalie and that's it, PD. A coach? Oooooo, what does he PLAY as well?
Yes, I am VERY jealous of Toranna's utter stankness.
One injury away?
Haw-haw!
Who?
P.

[Don in St. Pete]

Leo, I will remind you again that we didn't develop Burke, Grahame, Denis and Holmqvist. That the prior ownership allowed their management team to continue investing in obvious failures was even worse.Nope, we didn't traim them or team them how to suck, they all did it quite well on their own. Pd we'll find a way to hook up at a game.

[bingo]

PD / DOn et all.
Crab Shack II great place for meets.

[PD]

Don will take you up on your offer
Sarasota area .

[PD]

MCCabe said weeks ago that he wouldnt go to Tampa the leagues worst team.
So I guess tampa no longer has an interest in him..funny.

Leo you'll go broke trying to put Toronto into the Tavares sweepstakes..they have a real goalie, a good coach, a deep defence and 4 workable lines. They may not make the playoffs but they arent remotely in the suck category either. The table is being set nicely for Burke who may arrive sooner than some think.

Canadians are 1 injury away from 8th as well.

Your jealosy is showing

[léo]

And THIS I just found,

"Tampa Not Interested In McCabe
by Paul on 08/09/08 at 11:57 AM
Comments (0)

from Erik Erlendsson at Bolts Report,

And finally, all that talk of Tampa Bay possible being interested in trading for Bryan McCabe, it’s not happening. While the Lightning continue to seek out a trade or two to find a veteran defenseman in some capacity who can not only act as a mentor, but also provide some quality minutes in a stay-at-home type of role. McCabe doesn’t fit that bill at all, and a well placed source informed me that McCabe is not on the team’s short list of targets."

http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/hockey/
P.

[léo]

Heeey, Bingo!
Je te remercie beaucoup. That's exactly what I'm sayin', word for word. PD? Whaddaya think of Bingo's thoughts?
Don,
If it was easy to brush off that point, it's because WE had a reliable goaltender(s). After the game they would always say, "Well, the guys really made it easy for me tonight, most of the shots were from outside and they kept the middle clear so I could see. All in all, though We gave 35 shots, none of them were dangerous." That's by rote, Don. A common line that EVERY team uses. Except when WE say it, it doesn't sound hollowed by a false sense of security. Rectify it? Rectify what?
Now, your "trade",
A num4? Ok. Not enough, but ok. You NEED a num1 AND a num2, but nevermind. A num4.
Schneider? Schneider as num4. Nevermind the $. A num4. A num3 even. Schneider.
Recchi for Scneider? Recchi AND Roberts for Schneider? Recchi, Roberts AND what? For Schneider (who ain't what he used to be, mind)? Just an example.
Point is,
WHAT can you offer for "quality"? LOTSA mediocrity? Maybe.
I think the ONLY team you could deal with is Toranna. Despite the fact that I think he's finished, sadly, I can't deny that McCabe would be a good fit for TB. Said it before.
I don't know where that "dossier" is at right now, but McCabe must be a REAL country-club boy if he won't waive for TB. THEY DON'T WANT HIM BACK. They've said so to his FACE and to the press. He's being stubborn for reasons I can't pretend to fathom, his business I guess, but humanly speaking, how can he possibly go on for long in Toranna?
I think TB should pursue this matter. Cuz Toranna would GIVE you McCabe. AND take some mediocrity off your hands. They want Tavares.
MO.
P.

[bingo]

Wow, you guys are beating on one another like a dead dog at a drunken party.

For a simple man like myself the OV, Goal Tending blah blah blah and Orr questions are moot.

Simple statement take most any player today who spends his life in the weight room with personal conditioners and trainers being sculpted from the youth hockey to the NHL they would all perform better in the old NHL. There is no doubt. Now take the same players grow them with the no personal training, conditioners, the only weight was a beer, special diets of burgers and hotdogs and no mechanical devices to improve physical proficiency and the result would be a good possibly great player in the old era of hockey. To say that you watched film..... and can tell in today's hockey that the players from the 30/s thru 80's are slow in comparison.... that is not even a legitimate statement. It's fool's gold.

I am not a soothsayer but in each generation the players who were special, Orr, Jean Béliveau, Hull. Gretzky, and too many missing from the list under the same training regimes still would be at the top of the class. They were special to watch then as OV, Lindstrom, Koivu, Crosby and V4 are today.

To compare hockey generations is fruitless like comparing the Model T to the Corvette of today. Technology has and will continue to improve all facets of life and goods.

So as I prefaced that I am a simple person it would be reasonable to compare Orr to his generation other comparisons are for the fantasy of the mind. Useless like reading fairy tales from you pick the book.

However, with all that said it has been an interesting read over the last couple of weeks...... But hopefully October 11 will be hear tomorrow and then we will really have something to talk about with the Bolts.

Ayez un jour agréable Léo

PD and DON you all have a great day.

Thanks for the read.

[Steve R]

leo,

Points wise, I have no doubt that Tampa will be the most improved team this coming season. They are armed for bear on the offensive side of things. If (and I know how you love that word) they can package up some of the 28 forwards they have as trade bait, someone will bite. Maybe not for a 1-2 D man, but a 3-4 which might be a 1-2 for the Bolts.

I did find it interesting that you brushed off the fact that the Habs keepers faced 4 more shots a game than the Caps and 3 more than the Bolts. Nothing was done to rectify this in Mtl? That's a lot of extra pucks to try to save over the course of a season..

[léo]

So you agree that TB is "known" for developping flops?
Who else CAN get dramatically improved, Don? No one sucked as much as you guys this year. Last year, it was ooooh look how much Philly improved. Of course! They were last!
One D-man will be enough from OK?
Eat MY heart out?
Haw-haw-haw!
You MUST be joking.
P.

[Don in St. Pete]

PD, I'm acknowledging your earlier post as I really didn't have time to post as we are actually busy and making money for a change. I have my fingers crossed hoping we can return to the form that allowed us to have company seats in the XO club during the cup winning year ( eat your heart out Leo ). Welcome to our area and know that if you'd like to hook up for a drink before or after a game, I am willing. I admit that as of right now I have hope, and hope alone for our defense. I hope that Ranger can bounce back from the bum shoulder. I hope that Kuba can return to the 06'-07 form that saw him score 15 goals and do an adequate job on D. I hope that Matt Carle can return to his form in 06'-07'. I hope that guys like Wishart, Smaby and Mihalik can do well in camp and challenge for a job or cause Lundin, O'brien and Lundin to take their game to the next level. Mostly, I hope that Ok and len have 1 more trick up their sleeve and can bring a top 2 stay at home defenseman to the Lightning before the season begins.

[Don in St. Pete]

Leo, Excellent question! Unfortunately the Tampa Bay organization can't take credit for developing the failures you mentioned above, though they most certainly were that. In essence, our GM and scouting staff had the heads buried in their nether regions when they decided these were the saviours to our goaltending woes. You can add the iminently forgettable Holmqvist to the aforementioned as well. Thus it is with a fond farewell we've bid the previously Indichted GM and his staff adieu, and please don't let the door slap you on the can on the way out. While there are still some questions surrounding our D and the new coach, I am personally willing to let the new owners work their plan as they see fit and rest comfortable in the knowledge that our team is dramatically improved over last year. Can anyone else in the east say that?

[léo]

In other words, zing, gotcha.
Ok, Lightning hockey.
Don, do you think that the successive suiting of Burke, Grahame, Denis, who were flops, might propagate the impression throughout the league that TB is KNOWN for producing flops? That they have NO judgement when it comes to selecting an EFFICIENT goaltender? (Efficient, I said.)
As opposed to say...
Us?
What are YOUR views on that Lightning question?
P.