O'Brien: I saw it coming; Mihalik also sent down

Defenseman Shane O'Brien, traded Monday to the Canucks with right wing Michel Ouellet in a deal that gained for Tampa Bay veteran defenseman Lukas Krajicek, said he was not surprised by the trade.

"I just didn't feel things were going in the right direction here," Ö'Brien said. "They brought in some new people. I could see it coming. I'm not stupid."

O'Brien will find a welcoming committee in Vancouver, a team that wants to add toughness to its blue line.

"That is exciting that I'm going to a pretty good team," O'Brien said. "Once I get there and get to know some of the guys, it will be an easier transition."

Still, he said leaving the Lightning will be difficult.

"Great fans and a great city," O'Brien said. "It#s definitely tough to leave. I met a lot of good people here and made a lot of good friends. But this is part of our job. Obviously, they're moving in a different direction.I just wish my teammates the best of luck. That's about it."

Also, the Lightning re-assigned defenseman Vladimir Mihalik to AHL Norfolk.

   

Comments

[Andrew]

I'm guessing that means Ranger is about to be back (which is the best news I've heard since they drafted Stamkos). I don't understand why they would send Mihalik down though. He had six blocked shots in the second game, and was never bad (unlike his usual d partner...). He wasn't extremely noticeable, but that's when you know a defenseman is doing his job usually...Also though, Mihalik and Smaby both beat Heward out at training camp, yet Heward is sticking around...

[frank]

This was a long time coming! Another bad Jay Feaster trade bad trade! The players we got are outstanding.

[Alexandra]

Honestly what is next? The team is barely recognizable and I am not so sure Tampa gained anything on this trade. O Brien is young and has so much potential. I dont know if the organization is trying to send a message or what but too much change all at once isnt good for anybody. Good luck OB.

[Bryan]

Shane-O will fit better in the west and i'm sure he'll be fine. He needs to be in a more defense-first type of system with better coaching than he has had in TB who constantly ride him.

Good kid, good potential, I wish him the best.

[Boltflasher]

Krajicek is young, a former 1st round pick, and with potential as well, but different...he can skate. We can only hope some puck movement will help with getting the puck out of their own end...OB is project, also...who got the better?...its a crapshoot but Vancouver has a much better core of defensmen so OB may have more patience, time, and better guys around him to develope there than here....

[Badbud]

SALARY DUMP

[Not the Marlboro Man]

I'm pretty sure that the Lightning got the better end of this deal. Ouellet the wimp and O'Brien the non-skating slug for "anything" in return. Remember, don't be worried about the offensive numbers from a Vancouver defender, because they play a tight zone trap. Why Vancouver wanted O'Brien? I will never know. Last season was an embarrassment for the big guy who looked like he had weight management problems as well as skating issues. Even John Tortorella took notice of O'Brien's problems and benched him for the last 10 or 15 games of the season. Like I said, O'Brien (was) and (is) a liability...once Vancouver catches on to his uselessness, he'll be skating in the minors again until the end of his contract. Jay Feaster did us proud!
I can also verify that Krajicek pronounced "Cry-check" (can) skate. Vancouver had a allot of confidence in his abilities to skate and often put him in 4 on 4 situations. The only thing I'm worried about is his shoulder and durability, I hope he holds up.

[Hockey Chic]

Shaney,

Best of luck to you buddy. Will see you in vancouver when the bolts play you guys in February.

Hope you get some better opportunities up there. Good luck.

[matt]

Thank You!!!!!!!!!!! OB was a slug on the ice. Worse than a slug. Saturday's game was a reminder of how bad he is at skating. Every wing that came his way just blew right by him. Similar to last season. What some of you OB fans saw I will never see.

[Nan]

Good luck Shane and Michel! It is too bad that it didn't work out here. I think that you both were victims of being from the Feaster/Torts era. I don't think there will be anyone left from the former Lightning team other than the two Vinnys, Marty and Ranger by the time these guys are done.

It looks like a clearance for Cap room doesn't it? I thought Shane had some upside but perhaps he would be better off in a more defensive minded western team. I hope that this works out for both teams.

Management needs to settle in and see what they got before making more moves. Let the guys practice at home, play some home games for a change and see what happens. Two games in Europe at the end of a 10 day trip does not make a season. 80 more games to go!

Go Bolts!

[Herb]

Hey NNTM I am glad that a respected blogger that you are, share the same opinion about OB with myself. I am glad I am not the only Bolt fan who though OB sucked as far as him playing the position of a defenseman in the NHL.

[Herb]

Right on Matt!! I agree

[Casper]

My neighbor said it best: "The Lightning got a defenseman from Vancouver and his name ISN'T Willie Mitchell or Mattias Ohlund? Who the heck is in charge over there? This one has Feaster footprints all over it."

Still biting my lip...

[Beau]

Easily, one of the worst trades ever! This team is not even close to watchable right now.

Someone please get rid of Lawton and Melrose. Also, get us some new owners while you're at it since they hired these people.

Melrose = LIAR
Lawton <<<< Feaster (and that should really tell you something about his managing ability)

[mike p]

Nan...it wasn't clearance for cap room at all. Msybe clearance for overall salary, but Oulette was already sent down and had 0 cap hit and OB has a lower cap hit than krajicek

[JoeG]

Glad OB's gone,looked like he didn't have a clue what he was doing on the ice. Was it bad coaching? I don't know.Don't think we gained any thing from the trade.

[mike p]

p.s. i REALLY think we should give this guy a whole season's worth of a chance before we all start criticizing the trade! OB had his time in tampa...give krajicek his.

[Herb]

The Bolts should check out Rhett Warrener to see if they can fit him into the team. He was a pest in the Bolts '04 cup run for Calgary.

[Craig]

I agree with those that say this was likely a salary dump foremost.

OB had a huge upside in potential but the fact is, he was a hot-head, was terrible around the net and not a great skater. But he was a nice kid off the ice and he gave a lot of effort and always willing to drop the gloves. Vancouver will be a great fit for his style of play and playing infront of Luongo isn't such a bad gig either.

Virtually almost everyone we have on the blueline is expendable it seems. The guy I really hated to see go was Picard and not just because the trade seemed so onesided. Picard looks to have a ton of real potential, seemed fundamentally gifted and came from a decent system.

Hopefully Krajicek can give us what we need and be able to move the puck out of the zone but we may miss the grit that OB and Tarnasky brought to the table and Ouellet really came on at the end of last season and had great chemistry with Halpern.

Also, reading between the lines of some of these outgoing comments, it seems like OK and LB are eager to purge just about anyone under the old regime(not on the MVP line or wearing a goalie mask).

[sarasota bill]

A horrible trade. Ouillet was coming on last year. Makes one wonder if Halpern fits into the plans of this loser management. True, team is unwatchable. I'm sure the hasllucinogenic Another Joe likes this trad.

[Tourist]

Halpern is the definition of a perennial loser.

This guy is 100% mush, all the time, no matter where he plays.

Yeah yeah, he works hard and he tries hard, that does not matter when you're destined to lose. this guy is BAD LUCK

[adam]

Everybody has an opinion. Just the other day everyone was begging for OB to be released/traded. I don't know much about Hockey, I'm just a fan, but all this movement is....unsettling, to say the least. Amen to Craig for missing Picard. He proved he was tough and worked hard and effective...and young....only would have gotten better. Miss him.

[Halldean]

Those who praise OB apparently don't go to games. O'Brian was a horrible trade giving up a first round pick. The Bolts are now the 2nd team to give up on him. He can't handle a puck without constantly staring at it on the end of his stick. Teams study tape and jump all over him. He plays out of position. Goodbye to Obtuse O'Brian and Wussy Ouellet. Most importantly, goodbye to the Feester era of talent evaluation.

[Canuck Chuck]

Canuck fan here. Interesting reading the posts on O Brien. Can't say I know much "aboot" him, his stats seem to indicate he doesn't mind the physical play. Also find it interesting how everyone is bashing Jay Feaster. Didn't he bring the Cup to Tampa?
With Kraijicek you will get a good skating, puck moving defenceman but on the soft side. Kind of reminded me of Petr Svoboda from years ago. I think he played for the Lightning towards the end of his career.
Looks like the Canucks are trying to add more depth with toughness on the back end after losing McIver on waivers this weekend. O Brien will probably 6 or 7 on the Canucks D.
Good luck Lukas.

[Don in St. Pete]

Y'all stop bashing each other over the trade. It's a done deal and water over the damn. There's not a thing any of us fans can do about it and it's no reason not to go to or watch the games unless you were Shane's girlfriend. I personally liked OB, although he continuously infuriated me. He himself admitted he was constantly fighting his weight. I will choose to remember him for the rist 20 games of last season when Tort's was forced to give OB a much bigger responsibility and OB shone! Does anyone else remeber the 2) 2 goal games he had? When Boyle came back ( too early ) OB was back in the doghouse and in my mind his fate was sealed. He has great potential but needs to get down to 210-215 to be competetive in this league. Krajicek is much more mobile and should help us move the puck from our own end. I remeber he always gave us fits when he was in Florida and I was happy to see him dealt for the slower but tougher Allen.

[Herb]

Sorry....off topic ......but how about them RAYS!!!!!!!! Going to the ALCS representing the Tampa Bay area!!!!!Well done boys!!!

[Herb]

Hey Canuck Chuck, OB is about as soft as they come when it comes to playing as a NHL defenseman. Sure OB will stick up for a teammate when an opposing takes liberties with star players but that's where his toughness ends.

[léo]

"water over the damn"? Play on words, Don?
Reread canuck Chuck's post, folks. That's how we see it up north. The bottom-line; no delusion.
Just the straight-dope.
Eh?
P.

[matthew]

good ridance to a bad trade by a guy who didnt know to manage the cap system thank you feaster could have had Khabibulin or a good goalie instead had a scoring center who was a pan** and is gone and now we have smith no 1st round draft pick that anaheim got and a guy on IR really setting the world on fire feaster. To anybody who thought he was a good GM you have clearly lost your mind!

[matthew]

Oh also forgot Modin for Denis how did that work out feaster! Wow once the cap came feaster was totally out of his league when it came to managing the cap and trades!

[léo]

Oh, so none of this is Kouliwood's fault?
It's STILL Feaster's?
Yikes.
Don't come back to town, Jay.
You've been branded...
P.

[PD]

Leo did they keep Maxpac up?

[Big Jay F.]

I am selling Girl Scout cookies in Brandon and have a difficult time not breaking into my Samoas for a quick snack. Folks here think I can't deal with the calorie cap. Sigh, it never ends.

[matthew]

Jay calories and money was never your thing thats why you are out of a job

[MattR]

So I've been looking around the wonderful world wide web and I have not seen one article or blog saying one thing about how great our goaltending was this weekend. Am I not looking in the right places? or are reporters and bloggers blind?

[Don Not From St. Pete]

Everyone, you are all getting Don From St. Pete upset with your posts. Please, he is the leader of this blog and you must listen. Does he need to remind you all again that he has unmatched knowledge and experience in hockey. He said we had one of the top young d's and he is never wrong even when he changes his mind. He says we all need to get over the trade and we will but will he ever get over himself!

[léo]

PD:
Nope. No Schenns here. (Just teasin')
But way to go on the lingo!
Almost at 95% certainty.
Maximus Pacus still in contention.
The Packinator and Patches fighting strong.
But no body to fill the nickname for yet a few months.
P.

[Another Joe]

Obrien stunk is the bottom line. He wasnt worth the 1st round pick and G prospect Gerald Coleman that we gave up for him.

Anyone know if coleman is still with the ducks and at what level ?

[politically incorrect]

Don't let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya! He was the biggest loaf on the ice- Cory Cross without the handbag. Thank Dog he is gone!

[HockeyBay.com]

Sorry....off topic ......but how about them RAYS!! DEAR HERB, Baseball is boring!!!!! This is a exciting sport called Hockey Forum....

[Bob]

I really wonder if OK Hockey has a clue to what they are doing. Although very early in the season, I don't see us making a big surge to the top of the division. I'll hold judgement until Dec, when we should have a good idea of what this team is made of.

[Patrick]

Good luck with the Nucks, OB. Hope you get to drop the gloves more there, where the fanbase will appreciate it.

[Another Joe]

I agree its to early to judge OK hockey. What I do like is it does not seem they are afraid to make changes.

Only time will tell if they are the right changes.

[Tackleberry]

Cant say I was too surprised. Looking at Krajicek's stats. Nothing spectacular, has played 207 games in the NHL, has 8 G and 42 Assts. Interesting note that he was injured 4 times last season. He only played a total of 39 games for Van. He is 6'2" and only 200lbs. May need to add a few lbs.

I have never seen Krajicek play. Dont know if he will mesh with Melrose's system. At least he has 3-4 days to skate with the team. I would love to see what line they will put him with.

Look at www.canucks.nhl.com and view the press video of the trade. Their GM Mike Gillis has said that Oulette will have to prove himself if he wants to play with the Canucks. Reading betweent the lines: Oulette was a throw-in for the trade.

Good luck to OB, Oulette and Kajicek.

[Guy]

Check out the new Lightning Blogcast fanpage!

www.tblblogcast.com

[PD]

Also check out the Tampa link at Hockey Buzz.
Lots of Vancouverites have checked in there on the trade.( Zillions to quote Ajax).

The large consensus:
Krajicek is weak. He plays small and shies away from physical play. He is a great skater but he didn't show anything that made anyone jump out of their seats. Tampa's D got worse and smaller and weaker.

Leo check out Howard Bergers Leaf Blog, he agrees with you re: Tavares and calls Habs to win it all.

He is pretty real

Have to agree too, given Wilsons recent statement that he won't short the bench to win a game, he is going with the kids in all situations.

Absolute right thing to do.

[Tony]

Lets see where the Lightning will be after 20 games or so. I suspect they'll be a lottery team again..

[mike p]

Ok Hollywood, let's see if you will continue to spend...Kyle McLaren of San Jose and Rhett Warrener of Calgary are on waivers. They may have a 2.5mil cap hit, but they're both in their early 30s and both would provide the defense with some veteran help.

[léo]

I read the Berger blog.
He puts the Rangers too high and the Caners out've the Dance.
He also put Washy ahead of Philly.
Rest was alright.
Thing is, leafs are gonna keep Schenn with the team...after PROMISING that, no matter what, he would be sent down to dominate the minors for a bit before making the leap.
Like Phaneuf and (Marc) Staal.
And yet...here we go again.
This guy on thehockeynews comments wrote something pretty cute. Guy's from Europe somewhere. Name's Dieter.
"I find the continuing demise of the leafs...Delicious!"
P.

[PD]

No way Leafs keep him up all year although he was reported as the best d man on the ice for either team last game.

The World Jr team is where he goes.

Don't discount the Rangers esp if #13 shows up.

[léo]

thestar.com/sports/hockey
Read way, PD. They're not saying he'll stay all year, true. And he shouldn't.
But I hope he does just so I can say the word "delicious" again.
PD...I'm starting to think it might be over for Sundin one way or another.
A) He retires. End'o'story.
B) He comes back. Goes to the Rangers.
Ok. When? January. So: He's got to train like a MADMAN a month in advance, aye?
My point: At his age, no AMOUNT of training will EQUAL NHL gameplay in January. Therefore, there MUST be an adaptation period, no matter how long or short. Let's be generous and say...5 games. During THAT TIME, are you winning? Cuz 5 flubbed games can be devastating.
THAT'S WHY Mr.Gainey went to plan B. Ta heck with adaptation periods!
Conclusion: Rangers AIN'T all that. Not no more. Jagr was The Man in the playoffs, no one else was. True or false?
I believe Drury can lead this team. But these aren't the speedy offensive Sabres of yesteryear.
Add Sundin to the Rangers, and they RE-BECOME a country-club, just a DIFFERENT country-club. Where will the Accountability come from?
As it would from Detroit? He goes there?
THAT'LL scare me.
NY, feh.
Rangers are the new Bruins, that's how I see it. And vice-versa.
I don't discount'em, especially with Henrik, but uuhh, their D is suspect, their intensity is suspect and their forwards can be broken. Get enough quality shots on Henrik and hope he buckles. Matter of time. Cuz IF they get the puck away from Us? They won't get quality shots passed Our D and on my Boy.
We'll see, I guess.
P.

[léo]

BTW, PD,
I know you weren't putting light on their weight against Us but their position in the standings.
I say they just squeeze in, if they squeeze in.
P.

[rbc]

pd, get real now your telling ob was a loss, I like ob good guy but he was not a good skater and got schooled on a regular basis by people blowing by him. He had grit and would stick up for teammate but defensive liability. I dont think kricheck is the long term answer, salary dump in mho. this team is gonna take time to acclimate and you cannot rebuild in a summer and like the direction the team is going and only time will tell. I dont know who your team is rangers,leafs, whoever i am sure they had to reload a few times. Thats all ok is doing trying to fill an nhl roster that was mostly an ahl roster 3 months ago and i like what they did so far. Fans, if you do not like what the new owners are doing stop watching do not go to the games.

[Casper]

Grab up Kyle McLaren if possible...

[Pd]

RBC believe it or not I was a Bolts fan under Jelly Roll and Chilli Pepper until they started to cut back the funds.
Was willing to give these new owners a shot but they have really blown it with the $ they had to spend.

It will take a miracle to get the backend strengthed enough to make the playoffs.
How can you give up on a big young tough talented kid like OB so early, Picard too..you can't teach nasty and we are pretty much pussies back there now.

Long time leaf fan still watch them closely.

[PD]

Leo I have come to at least appreciate how Sundin thinks. Its extremely methodical to the point of painful.

I think the trade deadline loyaly thing did a number on him last year after all those seasons.

he does want to play so my guess is that you will have an answer from him for sure this month.

It sure isnt the Leafs.. Wilson is going with the kids.

I think its the Rangers with Nasland as a winger but could just as easily be You or Ottawa with Alfie who shares his agent. He's not retiring.

You will like Schenn, he is something. No one ever beats him. If they try they hurt.

[D]

What's with the panic? These guys have played all of, what, six games together and ur ready to toss in the towel? The one thing that has looked consistently good is the goaltending. 2004 was the last time we could say that and for only half a season at that. If they can stay close to .500 through December, and the goaltending stays consistently good, there's enough firepower here to make a playoff run. Stanley Cup? Unlikely. Playoff run? Why not? Just calm down. We all knew there were going to be a lot of rough edges at the start. We're starting from scratch.

[matthew]

Should pick up kyle mcclaren then u are pretty set at defense!

[léo]

Those are fine points, PD.
Thing is, I don't know WHERE Sundin's going. I only know where he AIN'T going. Mtl.
Unless Lang COMPLETELY melts. Which I don't see happening.
Trading Plecky or Saks to make way? NEVER. Bob Gainey? NEVER would he do that.
Sundin HAD his shot at Mtl. Didn't take it. End of story.
As for Schenn, hey, I hope it works out for the leafs sake but I hope it fails miserably for mine, how's that?
But to put things in perspective: Grabby has been your most dangerous forward, aye?
Couldn't even MAKE our club.
Which isn't to say the kid don't have skills; he does. But there's a reson for everything.
Consider that Doughty is a "fixture" in L.A. and Bogosian looks to crack the Trasher line-up too.
18 is young. There,s a huge risk involved of stagnating a kid's development throwing him too early in the fray.
Not everyone is Crosby, who can withstand not only the physical grind but the psychological ones as well.
Anyone can look good in a short span of time. But 82 games of hockey-grind is a different story altogether and piling up loss after loss may affect a young'un's morale.
I'm sure many of us can think of a host of examples to support this.
But hey, if Doughty can take it, why not Schenn? We'll see.
See Grabby go, though? Kid's got moves.
P.

[Not the Marlboro Man]

TO: Canuck Chuck,

Shane O'Brien was a embarrassment to the team and to himself. You'll find that the only statistic increase for the Canucks will be penalty minutes and a lower goal against average for your Goalie. You'll notice it in just a short span that O'Brien has skating issues and is beat to the net by whomever he lines up against. His size does him no good when he can't skate as a defenseman. Personally, I hope Shane O'Brien finds his nitch and plays really well for Vancouver because he's a hell of a great guy. I assume that Vancouver plays a tighter and more aggressive blue line so it shouldn't be a problem as much up there as it is here.

[Boltflasher]

From Vancouver blog on Hockeybuzz:

Canucks Analysis: O'Brien / Krajicek Trade
Posted 1:13 AM ET | Comments 2 Tampa Bay gets:

Krajicek: A solid D-man who should develop further into a serviceable top 4 defenseman, Krajicek was a good bonus in the Luongo theivery. However he was sloppy and expendable by Vancouver. Let's face it, when it comes to moving assets, the Canucks D-corps is the way to go, but 3 of their top 6 have no trade clauses. Tampa got a guy who can log better minutes and play a more offensive brand of hockey which isn't going to develop in Vancouver any time soon.

Simek: Drafted in the 6th round by Van in 2006. Had a good 06/07 year. His last year was terrible.

Vancouver gets:

O'Brien: One of the last remaining men from before Tampa's makeover O'Brien is a bit player, about the same age as Krajicek who seems to have less skill, but more bulk. He put up more points than Krajicek but on a higher scoring team. Interestingly his +/- seems to be pretty good for Tampa, which, besides his size, was a reason I thought Vancouver picked him up.

Ouelett: I really feel this was the bigger name of the trade, as the Canucks have yet another young talented forward knocking on the door. Ouelett has put up some big numbers for his age and was the ONLY player to have a plus rating on Tampa last year.

Winner:

Tampa got the better all around defenseman in Krajicek but the Canucks walked away with a better deal by getting a good defenseman and excellent player in Ouelett.

Long Term:

The fun in Tampa continues...finally some good minor pickups by Tampa but I'm not sure why they let Ouelett walk for cheap. An Ouelett/D-man swap would have been better. Vancouver adds great scoring depth and a good d-man which is great long term for them.

[bingo]

Boltflasher,

If Oulette was the deal maker why send him directly to jail in the minors. In order for the canucks to bring him back he has to pass thru waivers. Which means he can be picked up for 1/2 price. I don't understand that move and leads me to believe the rumor of a bad habit might be in play. Time will tell.

Bingo

[Boltflasher]

Bingo that was the Canuck blog. I too don't understand why the Canucks are sending him to their minor league squad when they could lose him bringing him back up...

[bingo]

Ah, that makes sense, I feel we win on this deal. Something was wrong with Oulette in that nobody claimed him and then upon trade the destination dumps him to the minors. They wanted O'brien. He can't skate, is always turned and watches the puck on his stick all the way from one end to the other. That explains why he is always being stripped of the puck. Yes, he has some grit so what 1/2 goal a game in the back of the net due to his errant play is not worth the little bit of grit.

We win this deal hands down. oulette was not coming back so he is gone, torts knew something about O'brien and now we know the rest of the story. If Kreick(sp) can move the puck like he did with Florida in years past it is a win win win. We dump 1mil of salary for deadline trade later in the year. It will be needed if we have anything going.

As I've stated all along the evaluation will start after 20 games and I'm hoping that we have at least 20 points in the shoe.

Can't wait for Saturday. IMHO Ranger plays Saturday that is the reason for the send down of Mihalik to Norfolk.

bingo

[Pd]

Grabovsky has been excellent, he can fly has great hands and is tough. Took 40 stitches and wanted to play next night. This is a good spot for him to play.
Schenns up for the 1st 10 games I think.
Why is that bad for you L.

You may win the Stamkos bet.

[Boltflasher]

PD, your Berger article has "resurgent" Bolts 9th, only a point out of playoffs behind Ottawa. ESPN, also, has them 9th....I'll take that with the young D they have, will only get better...

[Don in St. Pete]

I'm not positive of the exact rules but I do know that Ouellet was already down, so he was traded as a prospect. The Nucks have no risk in assigning him to their AHL team as he had already cleared waivers. They're problem comes in trying to bring him back up, unless they plan on packiaging him as part of another trade. The trasher's would almost certainly grab him at half the salary. In fact I'm not sure if they've achieved the cap minimum yet, though with the signing of Bogosian, they would seem to be set.

[Boltflasher]

An interesting score: Phila Phantoms 4, Flyers 2 with Flyers playing top players...

[ajax]

Had the exact same conversation with about 6 people today. I have tickets for Saturday's home opener and for the Rays/Bosox game. Every single person said, you are going to the Rays game, right? Funny, I never dreamed anyone would pass up a Bolts Home opener for a stupid baseball game. I thought "THEY" were pulling "MY" leg. More proof that some people just don't get it!! Go Bolts Go!!! PS, maybe when the Bolts get up early 3-0, I will slip out and catch a few innings!!!

[Beau]

If the Lightning were even remotely entertaining I would consider watching them over the Rays, but right now the Rays are 100 times the entertainment value of the Lightning. Matter of fact, it seems like an insult to the Rays to even put them in a comparison. Man the Lightning suck. No scoring, no hitting (real hits anyway), no fighting, nothing. All this after the preaching that sorry excuse of a coach Melrose did. Gotta give it to him though, he is a good liar. Must come from his time in front of the camera. Hollywood Melrose, just like the owners. Never would've thought I would be begging for Feaster over Lawton, but I would take Jay back over Lawton in a milisecond. Better yet, why couldn't they have hired somebody who knew what in the hell they were doing!

[Don in St. Pete]

Flasher, Here's another interesting score from a couple nights ago: Norfolk 7 Phantoms 1. Brandon Segal had 4 goals.

[Walter Nagy]

This is for Sarasota Bill comment.
Ouellet scored BECAUSE it was garbage
time last season. He is the newer version Alex.Yashin when it was playoff time he never scored nothing. Hit nothing, or improved the team.

[mike p]

Don in St. Pete, Atlanta is actually well over the cap floor (aprox. 6 million over...they have Schneider's full salary, remember?) but I'm sure they'd be interested in getting Oulette to boost their offense nonetheless! Beau, if you are willing to judge the GM, management, and coaching staff after two games, you are a fool! You would rather feaster back! HA! I'm sure you would have loved to have Richards and Boyle hanging around and a 60 point season! Laughable, it's just laughable.

[mike p]

As a side note, I don't know what the Flyers are planning to do with Hatcher and Rathje as both are on IR right now and not counting against their cap hit. With them on IR Philly is still barely under the limit and both those dmen have a hit of 3.5mil. Look for Philly to either trade both of them or a forward of comparable value when they come off of injury or before.

[Beau]

mike p, the only fool is the person who uses "it's only 2 games" as an excuse. Sorry to ruin yours or anybody elses hopes and dreams, but this team sucks! They are horrible, not only result wise, but they are not even remotely entertaining. The point about Feaster is that people who know me, know how much I disliked Feaster (as GM), but Lawton is much worse. They both have made horrible trades, but at least Feaster was as upfront as he could be...a solid person. Lawton (as well as Melrose) have shown the propensity for doing whatever it takes, whether that be lying, conniving, or any other means of "pulling the wool over our eyes".

I was very happy when we got Melrose and so far he has been a HUGE disappointment. It doesn't matter that it is only 2 games into the season, because all you have to do is read his words and then watch the team he puts on the ice to see where this is going. Can he turn it around? Sure. And I most definintely hope he does. Hell, maybe it is really Lawton at fault for everything...I don't know, but as the coach he gets held responsible just like everybody else.

Lawton was hired because the new owners/cowboys were impressed by his 40 page plan LOL. Guess that plan entailed becoming as soft as possible. Face it, Lawton was a huge disappointment as a player, and now, while I can't say he is a disappointment (because I didn't have high expectations when he was hired), he is still showing that he sucks.

[Bob]

Why panic? Cuz every game counts.

[F-4 Bombloader]

Who knows Beau? Is there another "stage name"? The infrequent posts under 'Beau' resound familiarly with 3 or 4 others, sensible and on point at times and rancorous other times. Heck that could be 80% of the bloggers here. LOL.
(Note: the latent Sarasota Bill is a charlatan. The real SB is/was far more urbane and knowlegable with adroit syntax. Miss you man...wink-wink.)

Agree that this is shaping up like a B movie. Glad I didn't bet the sagacious one who wrote that this is all window dressing precursing moving the Club out of the State.

No worries, we'll get another.

Go Bolts!

[Casper]

I hope Mihalik returns soon, and bring some mean this time.

I flinched through my 'patience' at the performance of our new D.
Mez is doing well, he could redoux the Ottawa magic with Mihalik to tutor but Vlad will have to hit. Much.

Adding Kyle McLaren will wash away much of the pink in our dainty defense. Nabokov is going to miss him and Mike Smith will marry him.

Every shift. Every game. Win.
Go Bolts!

[Mike13]

I disagree with Beau's notion that Feaster was unlike Lawton. He was just as shady. He brought in career minor leaguers that had no business of being in the NHL and he brought on marginal NHLers and tried to pass them off as pure goal scorers.

[Mike13]

Casper, my only worry about McLaren is with his history of injuries.

[mike p]

I remeber back when we got Karlsson and the lightning advertised him as a 'swedish scoring star'. His actual stats say he had 94 goals in 316 games in the swedish league, hardly enough to be considered a 'star' at an NHL level which we soon found out! REALLY BEAU? really? You think someone who doesn't judge a team by the outcome of 2 games is a fool? Again, laughable..clearly you don't actually watch hockey or pay attention to how teams develop. Yea, the lightning could suck, or they could jell as a team and do quite well. I really am not expecting much from them right off the bat and neither is coaching or management. How many times have we heard that the first few months are going to have many 'bumps'? As a fan, I don't expect great things right away from the lightning and you must also realize that rebuilding a team into something great from nothing does not take 1 year (unless you work some black magic like Philly did). Let's calm down folks and make assessment on the mangement and trades AFTER the season or at least 20 games!

[Nate Dogg]

People, people, people! No doubt Feaster made bad trades, but he had a self-imposed cap to deal with. That's why we were always trying to find the next MSL. And plus...it's in the past...who cares??

[Pd]

Beau I see you have drawn the ire of the low information fans so rest assured that you are on the right track.

I do think you give Lawton way to much credit. The man behind the curtain in the cowboy Len Barrie is the one who is pulling the strings. He of a cup of coffee in the minors expertise.

Feaster was straight up..these guys just lie and bullst their way through it. Wait and see how many future free agents come to Tampa now after how they treated (lied to) Dan Boyle. Hint , none of any real worth.

Our man Barrie has also proclaimed to the hockey world that his rejigged Bolts are the new SE champs too.

I would suggest a few teams might take exception starting with the Caners on Saturday. Washington is laughing at him/us.

This bad roster wasn't built in two games.

[rbc]

Why the hate pd and beau, you jealous that len and oren carry around more in their pockets that you will ever have? Maybe that they have the power to make decisions for the lightning the team that they own and the biggest decision you make is whether to ask the customer if they want fries? Get lives after 2 games and you want throw in the towel.

[PD]

You will see how much Oren and Barrie have in their pockets in a few short months RBC

They can't survive, nor can the franchise on empty seats.
With that back end and this economy, well guess what?

They are actually kind of renting the franchise from Palace SE

I'm hardly a hater, just a realist.

I totally agree on giving it 20 games but for different reasons. Stay tuned

btw why are you frothing?

[rbc]

Frothing, you are the people frothing. My opinion is give it time and see where we end up. I like the moves that they made and they had to make those moves. The bolts were a ahl caliber team last year, not only my opinion. They are trying to make the bolts into an nhl caliber team (that's gonna take time). When was the last time we had the luxury of having nhl caliber players in our farm system? we did't the bolts were the farm team. Yes, i would love a #1 stay at home defenseman that punishes teams that came in our zone, but so does everyone else and they don't come cheap. OK has only had the keys 4 90 days or so, give them time and if the team looks like it did this pass weekend after about 20 games then jump their sh*t.

[PD]

You mean an AHL team with Lecavalier, St. Louis, Boyle and Richards on it don't you?

RBC you have fired a direct bullet into the heart of the problem though..no drafted developed talent playing well for still low salaries here. See Detroit.

It's a fanatasy to think anyone can win a cup without them. You spend on big free agents only when that base is in place and that puts you over the top.

Trying to buy a competitive team from scratch actually just can't be done. Its like a dog chasing its tail.

The expectation level here is way off.

If we get to 9th or 10th in the east it should be called a big success. Baby steps.

Will the fan base buy that? Doubt it.

[Don in St. Pete]

RBC, Give it a rest. There is no sense arguing with PD, as I learned. He is full of hate and nothing but. You just feel sorry for people like that and move on, don't even feed their anger by responding to the post's.

[PD]

Full of Hate Don?
or are you full of Delusion Don?

[David]

Why wasn't I invited to the Torts firing party that OK talked about on Ottawa radio?

Now that's a much more important issue.

[Steve R]

PD is right, normally when you build a team through mostly free agency you're not going to have any measure of long term success.

Smart for you guys to hire the elder Malone, he'll probably help you next draft. But that talent won't be on the ice for a couple of years (unless you're in the lottery..)

[mike p]

Nice shot PD...and Steve R, PD is wrong...unless the Philly doesn't count as a team. There was a last place team built up almost entirely from free agent signings...but they didn't turn it around, I'm dellusional...get a clue

[Steve R]

mike p,

What part of long term wasn't clear? Does Philly's season last year and projected top 4 finish this year constitute long term? You tell me what you consider long term success.

[mike p]

umm, Philly now has a very solid core (at least of forwards) locked up for the next 3 seasons. So I would say that 5 years is a reasonable amount of time to deem 'long term' in the NHL.

[mike p]

Sorry, I meant 4 seasons.

[Not the Marlboro Man]

I wouldn't be worried about any long term success until the Bolts can establish any success at all. New coach, new players, new philosophy...new freaking everything. This team outside of one line has no identity as a team what-so-ever. It doesn't matter if you build a team out of free agency or not. The Bolts had success from free agency. 4 Straight playoff appearances. IMO their success is not discounted because they built from free agency. That's all this team has had to work with since iit inception because they are still fairly young in the league and have had to overcome ownership issues for more than half their existence. For being as young as they are in the league and having all the significant trouble that they have had, I think this team is pretty amazing.

Building through the draft is no sure fire way of building a team either. How many teams hit a home-run with a draft pick. The year that the Bolts took Gratton as a #1, was the same year that someone took Hossa as a #1. Its apparent "who" you would take now but it was shear luck the way that things turned out. 50% of this game is luck and the other 50% is hard work. Hard work for the players, scouts, coaches, GM's, owners, and so on.

Quibbling over useless psychobabble like some of you do, is just beating a dead horse that no-one gives a crap about. Some of you need to stop being democrats and get a job!

MikeP,
PD is being extremely harsh. Much more than yours truly in fact but in all fairness, his overall point is undisputable, that free agents, though lured by a variety of reasons, become more attracted to a team that has a FUTURE than they would towards one who DOESN'T.
Now Philly is an example of a team quicky REBORN, not quickly CONTENDING.
Consider: A) They finished 6th. And from 6 on down, the teams weren't all that great.
B) They beat a team in the 1st round of the playoffs who, MATHEMATICALLY, had finished 8th, therefore, a lesser seed were there no divisions.
C) They triumphed over a team in the 2nd round who dominated every game except for the last. Dominated. The REASONS for that team's failures are ALL on that team and have NOTHING to do with the Flyers had they PUT THE PUCK IN THE NET... like they did all year and was their marque de commerce.
If anyone says "Biron", I will scream. He was good; I'm not saying the contrary. But his posts were better. And so was his red line, which I'm sure he had ridged somehow.
If the Kid had stopped HALF of the BANANAS he let in? Finished in 4.
D) And so following the melted team, boom, Philly's true colors showed against a REAL team. Pitt.
Argument: Philly was NOT a contender. Philly ain't there yet.
But they're up there. They are at the top of conference and with reason. They're NOW a heck of a good team, GETTING BETTER as the COHESION sets in.
Why? Savvy, savvy moves by the GM.
Question is now: Do the TB moves COMPARE to the Philly moves KNOWING that it takes at least SOME cohesion time?
Answer is: No.
Conclusion: PD's statement, though bristling with brutal frankness (Yeah, PD, what'up? You're such a meanie) is...well...frank.
While "suck" and "awful" as adjectives are maybe being used a bit prematurely, (gotta see the POSITIVE somewhat, and it's there) can we agree on "very, very suspect"?
WITH free-agents.
P.

[léo]

Arrrgh,
Yeh dorty, blody, scalliwag!
Ave'yeh no honor?
P.

[Boltflasher]

PD, you're a pessimist, not a realist...you're extrapolating negativity from all events that occur, that's pessism not realism. You said prior to the free agent signings that none would want to come here. You said Vinny would not want to live here in Tampa due to the local economy. You said ownership would not spend anywhere near the cap. A realist does not interpret EVERYTHING negatively. The Wikepedia definition of realism: "A concern for fact or reality and rejection of the impractical and visionary." Your constant prediction of doom and gloom is not fact, and therefore, not a "realist" point of view. Your predictions are your own conjectures that may or may not come true and are not fact, therefore, not realist. Definition of Pessimism: "Pessimism, from the Latin pessimus (worst), is the decision to evaluate, perceive and view life in a generally negative light."

[Boltflasher]

My attorney is an admitted pessimist...I can't walk down the hall to the bathroom without him warning me of the hazards and pitfalls that await me on my trip down the hall. However, he rightly says he would not be a good lawyer if he wasn't! Its OK to be a pessimist, but be a realist by admitting it...

[keith]

Saturday please hurry.....enough of this stuff. Lets at least have a game to disect and kick around. Nothing makes this pessimism/reality go away more than a couple of wins

[PD]

Heh Flasher the Bolts aren't spending to the cap but showing to the cap. Don got that one right the other day.

Bolts lied to Boyle to his face. Thus my point that free agents will be sucking a long hard breath before considering this market

Am I wrong on Koules and Barrie being severely underfinanced and in some danger of losing their rental franchise if this team doesnt come out of the shoot winning in this economy?

I'll stick with that and I have been here almost two years as a big Tortorella fan.

Frank sure, Pollyanna rosies? not here.

props L Stvr

[Don in St. Pete]

I still consider the $48 mil plus better than the $42mil from last year. At least we have NHL talent throughout the roster, instead of a dozen AHL'ers. That explains everything, now that we know you're a disgruntled Tort's fan. I guess you'll be watching a lot of TSN this year.

[Beau]

rpc,

Very mature to try and take jabs at peoples financial well-being and occupations. My advise is to only talk about something you might know the slightest little bit about. But I guess you are a multi-millionaire just like OK and Barrie?

Anybody that wants to "stay positive", have a blast. Keep spending your hard earned money on this team if you want to. It really doesn't matter to me. When the team plays in a manner that I appreciate, then I will support them win, lose, or draw. But as long as they suck to watch, I will not support the team. Maybe a couple of players, but not the management, coach, or anybody else that I feel does not do the right thing.

[Beau]

F-4,

Not really sure what you are implying? That I'm not who I say I am because I don't have a hundred posts, or because my posts are sometimes more angry than others?

[MaxHunter]

Since Damian hasn't posted anything today, let me ask this....

what do people think about Cam Barker? Chicago dropped him and i was thinking, "Maybe this kid could work in Tampa."

Discuss amongst yourselves. *L*

Max

[Boltflasher]

I see Craig is hurt yet again...the guy just can't catch a break...

ALCS Tickets: Contact me at- luisgarcia813@gmail.com

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(2) Seat Location: Section 3???, Row ?, Seats ? ($240 pair)
(4) Seat Location: Section 136, Row AA, Seats 1 - 4 ($150)
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an offer)

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(2) Seat Location: Section 3???, Row ?, Seats ? ($270)

GAME 7:
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World Series:
(2) per game ($340 per inquire within)

[Hockey Chic]

The sky is falling chicken little. Some of you guys kill me it has been two games and oh my god everything bad that can happen its going to happen right. BS

I have said all along it is going to take some time for these three alumni MSL, V20 and V4 to bring this team together but it is going to happen. Sooner hopefully than later and yes I have my freakin Rosies out and polished.

PD maybe you are right about OK and their financing aka rental of this team but hey they said the same thing about the Rays. Nuff said. Oh and polyanna rosies what the hell is that? I got your polyanna PD.

By the way if you are so for Torts he is on TSN go there my friend and take your negative bs else where.

I am not saying we are going to win the cup but a little optimism is better than none.

Go Bolts!!

[Tackleberry]

Two down 80 to go. 160 possible points remaining. Give the team time to jel. The bolts have some growing pains before they ever get to the playoffs. No argument there.

We (as fans) need to give the team time. It will be rough at first. It is virtually a new team. How many will say that this team is worse than last years?

Can someone do some stats to see how many teams over the past 10 years have made the playoffs when they lost their first two games of the season? I am not saying the bolts will make the playoffs this year, but they have a better shat at the playoffs than last years roster.

Go bolts!!

52%

[Steve R]

mike p,

So you're assuming that Philly is going to have long term success based on last year and having their forwards signed for the next three years?

[ajax]

Optimists see possibilities and usually channel their energy toward a good outcome. When good doesn't come their way, they look for new ways to succeed, they never stop moving forward. Pessimists convince themselves that they know the "real truth". They relish the day that they can feel good about failure. The ultimate goal is the "I told ya everything sucked" It usually paralyses their life, and they never know it (but everyone around them sure feels the pain) The pessimists on this blog spend 1% of their energy on what Hollywood and company has done good, and spend 99% of their blogs on each and every move that just wasn't perfect enough. The drum just keeps pounding for them. TO them it is, IF we could just undo every wrong move over the past 4 years, let alone just the past 8 months. We would have Khabby and Bryzgalov in Net. With Boyle, Mezzy, Kubina, Carle, Sarich and Ranger in front of them. The MVP line starting the game with Richards Malone and Modin following them up. Stamkos would be on the 4th line getting 8 minutes a night to break him in, as the third line of Fedetenko Stillman and Gratton would be dominant on some nights. And oh yeah, the Davidson's would of sold to a Sam Walton heir, and Scotty Bowman would be our GM. Some people write in this dream state. They can only dwell on the moves that didn't work. Hindsight makes them feel so good. And they try so very hard to convince the other 98% of the blog how dillusional all of us are. Personally, I like the possibilities. You know I really think these idiot owners invested 100 million of their own money to throw it down the tubes. Yeah that makes sense to me. In very tough times they have spent 7 million more than billionaire Davidson spent last year, next year it will be closer to 10 million. Are they going to make money this year. I am 110% sure they know they aren't. But somehow they (foolishly to some) think they are building for better times. I know I know, they need to be "realistic" and not "optimistic" One thing for sure is proven, no matter what you type, the simplest answer will always be, All of you are dreamers. All of you just won't admit how bad the new guys have made it. You, mean we might finish 31st??? One thing for sure, you will never win an argument with a pessimist, never. It is like trying to straighten out a corkscrew.
The new owners changed a proven loser. A colossus breakdown of a Stanley Cup team. I feel like printing that every single day, ten times a day until some of the pessimists, "GET IT" Has every move been a winner?? Is every move in any business a winner?? No, it is a moving target and you keep trying. After two years of Davidson and Company sitting on their hands and their checkbooks, we finally got owners who care and are working 16 hours a day and writing checks again to correct things. But, I know the answer already, they are trying, but they are idiots and they have ruined a good thing" Yes, they dismantled the worst team in the NHL. Some of you want Torts and Danny and Richie back for another great season of 6-4 losses. 6 guys from last years roster are not even in the NHL and you say the new owners are all to blame??. Let me type that again. 6 guys that were on our opening night roster a year ago are not even in the NHL. That is the definition of nowhere to go but UP!! Wake up and see that they started with water right up to their noses and have been digging out hard, to try to breath this club back to respectibility. Just my gentle opinion.
Here is a thought. What if the Davidson's still owned the team? At least 6 hockey players would be happy, and a couple of our resident pessimists could revel in Lighning misery.

[Tackleberry]

Ajax,
Amen...

[Mike13]

Max, I'm fairly certain that Chicago did not drop Barker. They simply sent him to the minors. I think he would be a wise investment if he were to become available for cheap.

So Kyle McLaren gets sent to the minors, and the Panthers waived Cory Murphy. And the best we can do is pick up Jamie Heward? I'm confused. Does Lawton and Co. want our D to suck?

[mike p]

Yes! Well said ajax! Us 'dreamers' will keep on dreaming! Do you think anyone believed me in 03-04 when I was dreaming the lightning would win the cup? I can't make such a claim this year, but I CAN hope for the best!

[Hockey Chic]

Ajax I love ya man.

Well said.. Go Bolts!!!

[léo]

The Hockey News believed you, MikeP; they called the Lightning to win that year.
Anyhoo,
Montreal Radio this morning,
Subject: Bolters. Vox-populi.
Consensus: Good talent; bad "balance".
Solution: St-Louis for Stud defenseman. Straight-up.
Explication: Good reasons, bad reasons, nobody cares, bottom-line is all.
St-Louis superb. Yet St-Louis losing steam. Irrevocably. Supreme Value is Now. Value will lose steam at same pace as St-Louis. Irrevocably. V4 is the Lightning. Lightning will survive without St-Louis. Yet cannot survive without Solid D.
St-Louis's particular contract WILL bring SUPERLATIVE D.
Bottom-line: Such a trade WILL make Bolters better NOW and LATER as well.
Subjct posed: What does Tampa Bay WANT from their club? What is your OBJECTIVE in the National Hockey League?
Then we moved on to how to stop Detroit City...
P.

[Pd]

Bang on Leo and word for word , man for man what I have said for 6 weeks.
That Marty trade needs be made, moaners aside.

[PD]

Ajax grab some Prozac, you are turning into Captain Quig with your ball bearings.

[Mark]

Boltflasher,

It does suck that Craig is hurt again, but he has caught a very nice break with being signed this year. I really hope we can get something from him soon.

To everyone else, patience.

[léo]

Whoa, whoa, PD.
I'M not "bang on". That was the consensus on the team990, for what THAT'S worth.
Like Ajax says, "reporting the news".
Only difference of course, is that in this case, the "news" comes from the CONSENSUS of a VOX-POPULI in Hockey City, instead of just some yahoo off the Net. (Ajax's words; not mine!)
What do I say, PD? Dramatic, draconian move. If handled properly, possibly VERY advantageous.
But if mishandled?
Bloody tragic.
Youse's team; what do I care?
P.

[PD]

no attribs Leo
also no faith in Cowboy Barrie getting the right guy for him.

[rbc]

Leo,pd, the bolts will be fine. I am willing to give this new regime time to build. Next year we can go out and get that stud d-man without losing stl. The new owners had a vision and i am willing to see it thru, if the team does not compete and looks bad then yes i will be unhappy and vocal. It's been less than 90 days (ownership) only 2 games into the season and i personally said it will take at least 20-25 games to gauge their progress and see where we are at as a team. Both pd and leo's main teams are canadian in origin, thus i take anything they say as a fan of another club just trying to raise the ire of the other team fans. That said, unless your a wings or even a pens fan last year was another year the leafs and habs didn't win the stanley cup and boy, are the years piling up. The southeast division holds the last 2 cups won by the east and the habs and the leafs haven't been close in 15 years. Tell me am i story telling? fact.

[pd]

rbc I have been here two yrs following the bolts actually.

There wil never be a better time to trade Marty than right now unless you think this is a cup team.

[léo]

Exactly, rbc.
The PAST is what counts the most for TB.
We wanted to know what TB WANTS.
Now we know.
To content themselves with their past.
Fine.
You sure put my Team in its place, rbc. What did WE win four years ago, right? Nuthin'.
Boom. Checkmate on Leo.
P.

[rbc]

Thats my point, this is not a cup team and bringing in a stud on defense is not gonna change that. Trading marty will bring the fans down on ok and the boys. Next year the lightning lose alot of salary and can bring in a stud on the d-side and not lose marty the team would be stronger for it. You people want the world in 90 days well that's not reality. The playoffs would be great, but i be happy if they showed improvement all year long. Players like marty are not easily replaced and deserve to finish their career in the cities they played heart and soul 4. Go Bolts!!!!!!!!

[ajax]

Please give me some suggestions on who we would be trading heads up for Marty. Remember we are into the cap/salary friendly years for Marty. His average pay for the next three years is 4.33 million per year. So keep that in mind with your suggestions. Keep the years in mind also. We surely don't want a guy for 1 year that will leave. Think Value. It will be a very short list I assure you, but give it a try. Since the new owners will surely screw it up, give us some suggestions. Surely radio free Canada had more than just a suggestion and backed it up with some substance/suggestions, no??.
http://www.nhlnumbers.com/sort.php?pos=D&type=salary0809
http://www.nhlnumbers.com/freeagents.php
Here is NHL salaries for Dmen and UFA's. How many All-stars, scoring champs, past mvp, Team Canada guys do you see on that list for 4.3 million. None. I know he is slowing down blah blah blah. Last two years, 5th and 12th in scoring. I just have to say this with a huge smile on my face. You don't want 33yr old Marty for 4.33 million but 37yr old Mats Sundin is a bargain for 8-10 million. Now I know why some people drink.

[Casper]

Ajax, that was a magnificent diatribe.
Over the past 3 or 4 years there have been five really good blogs. You were signed under two of them.
(Possibly a third, under a former moniker before the peripheral pollution wafted in... Wink-wink.)

Thanks.

Go Bolts!

[pd]

and of course you know why some are general managers of nhl teams lining up to pay it and others are notorious blog cry babies.

[Mark]

I couldn't agree more rbc. Your logic is solid, but I will say that OK and the boys throw more curve balls than strikes. (Sorry for the baseball analogy, but just getting excited for Friday.) I hope they are thinking more about team dynamics than anything else right now.

However, I think PD also makes a great point. In theory, if your going to trade Marty, then this would be the best year to do it, but there are too many negatives to making that trade. Much like rbc's opinion, I believe bolt fans will start to revolt if you MSL is traded. Especially, if the trade turns into a bust. It maybe smart from a logistical angle, but it may be too much of a change.

I too am looking forward to seeing a year of improvement. If they are better at the end , then I can take the early mistakes for an exciting finish. I believe a cup run after being worst in the league is obviously achievable (Rays), but a very lofty expectation. The Bolts have Good coaches and players. They will figure it out.

[mike p]

I would like to say that the ownership were classy enough people to wait until next summer to get a stellar Dman and keep St. Louis. As it's been mentioned, if we wait it out a year, we can have both! Reasons ownership should not trade St. Louis (and I'm not gonna whine): a long time ago in hockey we had a thing called loyalty. Some teams like Detroit still have that. They have the ability to retain players, sign them to contracts for less money than they are worth, or even attract other players to play for them for less money than they are worth. St. Louis made a detroit-style deal with Tampa Bay. I'm sure he could have gone somewhere else for a couple million more a year than what he got in Tampa. Here's a guy who at that time, had to decided, do I want to stay in Tampa? or should I leave for more money? Sarich left, Kubina left, Khabby left. St. Louis stayed. Despite the lack of class the owners have shown so far to the players (i.e. Boyle), it would show an utter lack of class to trade marty.

[mike p]

In my opening part by 'I would like to say...' I mean 'I hope that ownership show class by not trading him.'

[PD]

Well said Mark and I am not so sure it isnt too later to trade Marty.

The point about the fans is moot because unless we get a presence back on D, its over by Thanksgiving and there won't be any fans.

Me I target in no order : Regr, Willie Mitchel,Chris Phillips and Ohland.

[Harvey]

Ajax - I liked this......

"Has every move been a winner?? Is every move in any business a winner?? No, it is a moving target and you keep trying."

A moving target - Exactly!

OK has shown no timidness as far as being very active in the free agent market, taking on additional salary, and trading bodies in an aggressive attempt to hit that moving target. How close they come remains to be seen. I really like some of the moves and see others that make absolutely no sense to me yet I will patiently wait to see what develops. It ain't gonna be overnight.

Half this team is new and everyone is playing under a new system. If there was ever a team that could have benefited from an extended training camp, this is it. Just so happens this team has had the shortest camp ever. It was cut short to travel to Europe. That may have helped the team gel from a personal standpoint but certainly didn't help create an on-ice comfort zone. It's going to take a bit longer to see where this team is.

[ajax]

Marty's salary makes him the 64th highest paid player in the NHL, next year he won't be in the top 100. Safe to say on anybodies scale he is a top 25? 35? player. I guarentee they could trade Marty at his salary tomorrow, no questions asked. A one for one trade is probably impossible, the list submitted above surely wouldn't be a heads up trade, we would have to get more(as in a number one draft pick, or more) I believe any of the players above would be packing in less than an hour if they could get Marty. That is a sure sign you didn't get enough. Just me.
Trading Marty would be telling VL4 that they are playing for the future. I think owners are playing for this year. I think VL4 is playing for this year. I would welcome any move that would allow us to win. Marty at his relatively low salary would require one sweet pot in return. Their are 25 Damn in the league that make more than Marty, another way of saying Marty is a steal at this salary. I would be open to anything, but the one for one would be a very very short list, from there you would definitely need a team willing to sell a bit of their future to get Marty this year. Let the search begin.
I find something truly amazing. People angry that they traded Richey at 7.8 mil, then wanting to trade Marty at 4.33 mil. Seriously folks?? Another reason the blog is open to all opinions.

[McGz]

interesting discussion about msl. I think he's primed for another big season. I think prospal doesn't take a yr off either. Vinny bounces back from his surgery for top five in scoring too. Call it a hunch. There isn't a value as good as msl league wide. I would be interested to see some numbers iif someone could prove otherwise. Not just throw names out.
On another note. I'm not impressed with melrose so far, at all. Why is he screwing with the goalies? Smith should get the start no ifs ands or buts.
His system (so far) is about as soft as my silk sheets and there has been less hitting and tenacity than on those same sheets on the ice. What gives? I keep thinking back to the vancouver game last year (when everyone including mr positional m lundin) recorded a hit. The game was entertaining.

[Boltflasher]

I agree I don't understand the big mystery surrounding whose starting in goal Saturday...both goalies were great in Prague...

[keith]

Ajax, thanks for being the common sense grounding on this pessimism-over filled blog. If the boys win a couple of games, all this goes away. New everything, 360 degrees,14 (count 'em 14) new players on the roster....lets wait until 10, 20, 40 games into the season before we start building the hangmans stand for OK et al.
Rome wasn't built in a day and neither was the 2004 team

[Don in St. Pete]

I think not naming the goalie is a phsyche job on the other team and I expect everyone know who'll be starting. Personally, I'm tired of the trade MSL talk and while the discussion brings up good point, the fact is MSL is our best clutch player and losing him would mean we weren't going anywhere in the playoffs even if the dman acquired help get us there. In defense of Lawton and the new owners, there were no top 2 dmen available except Campbell and the thoroughly shake-and-baked Redden who was horrid for the Rags in our Prague series despite scoring a goal. Orpik had a great playoffs but has been an underachiever for a few years as a #6. I say go with what we=ve got at if we're in the hunt you pull the trigger and bring in a rent-a-player, or one you can sign who could help. None of us true fans expected the Bolts to actually go from worst to first, we were only hoping to be competetive enough to challenge for a playoff spot and continue to build on that next off season. Despite what a few bitter individuals have said, it the team is competetive and the players are having fun, the FA's will come. here's a link to an interesting quote on the Lightning Insider's Blog on the Bolts homepage. Check out what Melrose says about R2KN.

http://lightning.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=385710

[Boltflasher]

I don't think there is a Defenseman in the NHL right now that would bring to the Lightning, the ROI, return on investment, that Marty presently brings to the Bolts. How significantly would a single Dman improve the Bolts defense...not very, whereas, Marty engenerates the whole team and the crowd with his play and puts fannies in the seats. I agree that yes, MSL would bring his greatest value in return now, but that return value is less than what Marty's current value is to the team, the MVP line, to Vinny, and the fans he puts in the seats. I can not imagine some my coworkers saying: "I can't wait to get to the Forum to see the exciting Willie Mitchell play defense"...you've got to be kidding....

[Don in St. Pete]

Flasher, Agreed! Unless you could bring back Pronger, Phaneuf, Neidemayer, or Komisarek then it's a foolhardy excercise to even think about tradin MSL. I didn't include Bouwmeester or Green because I don't think we could dance with our division teams. The trade deadline is another matter. If we're in the hunt and we need a guy to help put us over the top, I believe these owners will sign on big time.

[PD]

Phillips and a 1st round pick for ole Marty
LMAO Ajax

[Don in St. Pete]

How about the Leafers, eh? Way to spoil the party boys and I'm guessing the rest of the league better pay attention. You've got to bring your "A" game in this league or your going to lose, plain and simple. great to see the talented young kids in Toronto getting a piece of the action. GO BOLTS!

[MaxHunter]

Not a lightning thing but...

Who just saw Joe Elliot of Def Leppard put the stanley cup upside down on national television?!!!! ROFLMAO

Max

[Don in St. Pete]

Max, I missed that part, but I wasn't too impressed with their show. I saw them in 1979 when 2 of the guys were only 16 and 1 was seventeen in Frankfurt Germany, when they blew away Led Zeppelin. Led was dead, and plant played the whole concert sitting in a chair. Plant's voice was cracking and you could hardly hear him. Go Bolts!

[PD]

Right on Don
Leafs out skated and outworked them. Toskala did the rest.

Good for Ron Wilson because there is much to be said for a disciplined team approach.

[Boltflasher]

I watched miss Alanis!, but did switch to NLCS when Leppard came on..

[Boltflasher]

Yes, PD, they did!...agree!

[Not the Marlboro Man]

OK so its been two days and there hasn't been a new insightful topic to blog...what's up with that Damian? Lost your mojo? Come on dude, give up the words!

Oh well I guess I can go back to sipping adult beverages instead!

[Don in St. Pete]

PD, At times I can see where you're coming from, but as a fan from the infancy of this franchise, I get peeved. The Buc fans around here can tell you how the tightwad Culverhouses played to empty stadiums and how the new ownership and addition of Tony Dungy as coach turned around a miserable franchise for Gruden to grab the credit. Whatever happens this year with the Bolts, the heart of the franchise is still the core and it was built by Feaster and Palce Sports. Unfortunately that group was loyal to a fault even when certain members weren't doing their job ot were doing a lousy job at it. PD, Yoy have admit that except for a few far out prospects and Blair Jones, the Feaster ERA struck out on the forward lines. They did slightly better on the back end with Ramo, Smaby, Mihalik and Quick but compared to most other NHL teams, our system was an abject failure. This was not because of a coaching malaise as management believed but do to lack of talent in the scouting staff. I hope that OK can turn around the development program of the Bolts, because as you've said and I agree ( especially as the cap goes up ) it is critical to be able to bring your own prospects through the system and not have to delve into FA for role Players.

Morning Fellow Bloggers,

DC did they leave you in prague or what? I guess we are going for a record here with the number of posts. What typically happens is that I comment and DC puts a new one out there. So here goes.

PD, I fell asleep to the leafs game it was at the onset very boring. I did see Kuby score and to tell the truth his appearance has changed so much I did not recognize him. Must be the lack of sun up the