In case you were wondering why my blog disappeared from it's cozy spot over on the left, where it is that I went or perhaps were even hoping to discover that I'd been axed, I'm honored to have joined the elite "middle column crew" here at Hockeybuzz. The full list of thanks for this go out to many but, more than anything, it's been those of you that have followed my work religiously this very offseason that has made a major difference for me. There have been a slew of new Lightning HB members joining recently as well and that, my friends, is absolutely awesome!!!
Onto some Bolts news:
Thanks to reader Anthony A. for pointing me to
today's Cristodero St. Pete Times blog, which contains some snippets from new Lightning VP of Hockey Operations Brian Lawton that suggest the tweaks to the defense may not yet be complete. Judging by some of the commentary recently, I'm sure many of you are very happy to read as much. Though I'd been hearing otherwise recently - since the erroneous Jason Smith report, or somewhere thereabouts - I still maintain that they could sure use another veteran rearguard. So count me among those that are cautiously optimistic after today's comments from Lawton. Let's break it down a bit ...
The top eight defensemen on this club, by most accounts, as we head rapidly towards training camp are (in no particular order) Matt Carle, Paul Ranger, Shane O'Brien, Alex Picard, Janne Niskala, Filip Kuba, Andrew Hutchinson and Mike Lundin. Most clubs carry 22 or 23 players on their active roster. I believe the max is 23 healthy bodies at any give time so, for argument's sake, let's say the Lightning break camp with 22 on the NHL roster. Generally speaking, a club will carry an extra forward and an extra defenseman. That means two of these gentlemen that I've just listed will find themselves out of the top six and one, more than likely, will make his way to the minors (or elsewhere) come "opening night" in Prague.
Barring injury, I think you can write the names of Carle, Ranger, O'Brien, Picard and Kuba on that opening night roster in pen. That leaves one d-man to fill out the top six and one to play fill-in, catching most games from the eye in the sky. Of the remaining candidates - Niskala, Hutchinson, Lundin - only Janne Niskala has any real option other than making the NHL club, as a clause in his contract allows him to return to Europe if he is not with the Lightning when camp breaks. That said, unless Niskala absolutely dazzles in training camp, I see that as the most likely outcome, which leaves Hutchinson and Lundin to battle it out for that sixth spot. Both men would have to clear waivers to be sent to the minors and riding the pine would probably hinder Lundin's development moreso than Hutchinson's. Moreover, Hutch has played that seventh defenseman's role before and, as I pointed out when he first signed, Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette often dressed seven defensemen and used Hutchinson solely on the power play during his stint in Carolina. A similar situation here in Tampa is entirely possible.
(Side note to whoever it was that made the "We signed the lead singer of INXS" comment when Hutchinson was signed: The late Michael Hutch
ence fronted the band behind hits like
What You Need and
New Sensation. And, as far as I know, whomever the wannabe is that took his place via the latest reality music show does not carry the surname Hutch
inson either, soooooooooo, ha! If this blog takes a
John Buccigross-esque turn from here on out, integrating passions for both hockey
and music, so be it. He's long been one of my faves ...)
Anyway ...
Assuming Niskala heads back to Europe (a very iffy assumption at this point), that's what the Bolts would be left with. An injury, poor play from one of the other candidates, a stellar showing from Niskala in training camp or the addition of another defenseman between now and then could make this all go poof real quick. Now then ... regarding that "other defenseman" ...
Waiver wire potentials like Darryl Sydor and Bryan McCabe have been bantered about but McCabe is likely too costly (unless he reaches the re-entry stage of the waiver process) and a retread of Sydor may not be in the cards either. Two current Calgary Flames defensemen are rumored to be available in Rhett Warrener (who cleared waivers earlier this summer) and Adrian Aucoin. I was all psyched to add former Ranger Jason Strudwick's name to this list, but he inked a one-year pact in Edmonton today. We could revisit the option of trading some of what are looking more and more like spare forward parts in the likes of Jussi Jokinen, Michel Ouellet, Jason Ward and others for 'D' help, but that might not net an impactful return, for starters, and would also likely extend this blog into next week with possibilities. So as not to speculate too awful much, I'll shy away from adding other names here and let's take another look at the mold of defenseman we'd all like to see.
Gritty, tough, downright
nasty. That's what we've all asked for, right? Not so fast!
One thing that's worth making abundantly clear at this point (and the
only positive I can take out of the aforementioned Jason Smith fudge-up by yours truly) is that it was made very clear to me that the reason the Lightning were not at all in on Smith in the end was that his foot speed does not suit the swift-skating profile that they're looking for on defense.
Looks like if you want that rugged type of d-man added to the crew here in Tampa, you'll have to find one with some lighter feet ...
... and I'll leave that search ... completely up to you!
Coming soon: Where in the world has Jay Feaster been?
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