I’m not crying and whining the Lightning may lose a star player or two under the new system. Maybe you can pin this on the fact I’m in a market where an NFL team is and I’ve dealt with this before?

Maybe the knee jerk reaction to the “travesty”, “sacriledge” and “abomination” from those on the blogosphere just comes from the fact no one knows what the NHL as a whole will be like with caponomics in place? Nor do any of them want to take the time to actually follow the NHL with that system implemented, it’s much easier to follow the old rules after all… I mean, look at us nutty Americans — we’re still on the Imperial measurement system after all and resist going Metric at all costs.

Maybe it’s the fact I realize that you’re not supposed to keep all of your roster for life under the cap and realize the Lightning wouldn’t have kept their entire roster together for life even without the cap? Maybe it’s the idea that the Lightning can mix and match and still be a competative team while a solid young core is in place? Such is life under the cap, after all..

No, that’s not possible! The Lightning are done for! So Sayeth The Puck Stops Here…

That’s a travisshammockery! The Stanley Cup Champions are supposed to be a dynasty! So Sayeth Tom Benjamin. Of course, NHLPA Apologist Tom fails to make mention that the NHLPA’s stonewalling on a cap-free system and dragging their feet on the process is part of the reason the Lightning may lose anyone (thanks to 2004-05 contracts wiped out, Tom, Nikolai Khabibulin becomes a UFA… )…

“You fans can kiss my ass” — so sayeth Jeremy Roenick… But that’s a different story all together.

Maybe the New England Patriots winning the Super Bowl three out of four seasons shouldn’t be a factor? Or the idea that the LA Lakers kept a team together while mixing and matching pieces under the cap, and kept returning to the NBA final because it’s core remained in place?

None of those things should factor in. It’s Doomsday! The Lightning’s world is falling apart and I am not repenting! I’m not crying out the sky is falling and I’m supposed to! I’m insane for not seeing the logic of the ultra-traditionalists! The Horror, the horror!

It’s a forgotten issue of the game that came up time and again while players were on the ice. A volatile subject that routinely gets dismissed by the “macho” group that don’t mind the risks.

…or think of the fact they could be maimed for life.

Facemasks / face shields are an issue that had been debated by fans and officials alike over the past several years after we saw horrific accidents on ice involving pucks and high-sticks to the face on several NHL players. The risk of permanent injury was given a name when we saw Bryan Berard’s up-and-coming career come crashing down.

The NHLFA fan report in 1999 showed an overwhelming Machismo support of non-facemask play for NHL players, but after Berards injury, that tune changed as the 2000 fan report showed a much more narrow divide between face-shield proponents and opponents.

While the risk of facial injury is real, some players refuse to believe that facemasks or faceshields will prevent injuries. Witness this comment from Bill Gadsby taken from the Detroit News:

“I think it’s the helmets and facemasks,” said Gadsby, who was a hard-rock defenseman in his 20 NHL seasons. “The players look like they want to hurt each other. They don’t have respect for the other player.”

Though I have to admit, an out-of-context quote that was compiled for an article on slashing does look a little iffy, suggesting Gadsby might not approve of protective gear, I do still find it absurd that protective gear can be targeted as a cause for escalating physical play on ice.

With all the other changes to the game that are ongoing during CBA talks, should face protection be on of the stipulations by ownership? Or tossed aside as a concession to the players? Ownership has an obligation to protect it’s investments from injuries, and if facial gear can be grandfathered in – it shouldn’t be looked as a bad thing.

Unfortunately the facial-protection issue will likely be forgotten or unaddressed in the new CBA, much like the Designated Hitter position has remained an unaddressed issue in Collective Bargaining talks between baseball and it’s own Players Union for years, but that is a very different story.

The NHL season being locked out was a huge loss this past year…

Not having The Instigator to laugh at is almost as bad…

The sites will formally be revealed later today. The St. Petersburg Times Forum is one of the candidate sites. Stay tuned for news updates.

The Detroit Free Press is reporting Ford Field has won one of the 3 games.

USCHO.com reports that the NCAA will name the next FOUR sites, not three, and the St. Petersburg Times Forum is one of the site winners!

The Tampa Tribune is now reporting that the Tampa Bay region has been awarded the 2012 Frozen Four and a press conference is to be held at the St. Petersburg Times Forum at 3 PM.

One of the hockey blogosphere’s own has fallen.

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

W.H. Auden, Funeral Blues

The thing that I remember most about Charlie was a comment on James Mirtle’s hockey blog whent he season was cancelled… It was just clearly and painfully evident all he wanted was to see Smashville lace their skates up again and take to the ice…. And what he got instead was the pissing match between Robert Goodenow and Gary Bettman.

How do you like that on your concious, Bob and Gary? You crapped on a dying man’s wish, on a dying man’s passion — all in the name of greed and the mighty buck. To hell with the both of you and those in the hockey world who won’t even comprehend a fans plight… Be they the players or the executives who won’t even recognize what’s happened.

Rest in peace, Charlie. We’ll see you again at the end of the path.

TSN has a piece regarding just what life will be like this summer if and when the CBA deal is ironed out and clubs and players can go on with their lives.

Because once free agency kicks off sometime this summer, it’s going be mass mayhem in the NHL.

Some teams hardly have any players under contract for next season. Others will cut their rosters by buying out big contracts. And some clubs will approach star players to re-structure their contracts in order to create cap room.

Agents, meanwhile, will need to quickly get a feel for the landscape and find a home for their clients before all the cap room is gone around the league.

The Lightning were sitting with a projected payroll somewhere in the 40 million dollar range (without Martin St. Louis signed) for the 2004-05 season. If the payroll was to be 46 million, two factors need to be penciled in with the rumored stipulations of the CBA deal:

1) 24 percent rollback on salaries.
2) 2004-05 contracts wiped out.

This means guys like Nolan Pratt, Dmitri Afanasenkov, Nikita Alexeev, Shane Willis, Martin Cibak and Brian Eklund are now FA’s from one degree to another (depending on stipulations of the new CBA). These are hardly all-star names and only Affy, Pratt and Cibak were contributing to the Lightning roster last year (and for argument sake, Eric Perrin was supposed to compete for Cibak’s job in 2004-05 training camp).

If the Lightning were supposed to have a payroll of just over 42 million for 2004-05 (without St. Louis re-signing), the 24% rollback gets them under the cap at 32.06 Million dollars. That’s not a bad position. axe Khabby’s contract and there is more room to manuever to re-sign St. Louis, Pratt, Andreychuk and others and possibly a netminder.

I’m thinking the picture I am painting leaves out a lot of possiblities – and it does. There is so much unknown on hwo the new CBA will work that it’s impossible to do better speculating.

I won’t even begin to comment on yesterday’s debacle at Indianapolis Motor Speedway…. I’ll let Eric at Off Wing do all the talking on the subject… Because from tires to comments about Danica Patrick, F1 had the biggest public relations blunder possible yesterday.

The Lightning’s Stanley Cup win now stands appears in effigy in Downtown Tampa….

The Bolts commissioned a mural, and that mural was put up over the last few days on teh Colonial Bank building in Downtown. The image i sentitled “Fire on Ice.”

I’m in need of updating my install of Wordpress on Boltsmag and I plan to do it at some point in the near future. This might result in a few cosmetic changes on the site.

In a change that also is only cosmetic – I changed the favicon that displays on some browsers URL bar (and yoru favorites menu). If you’ve noticed the little bolt before, it now is set against a blue background and much less sloppy looking.

I’ve also just pondered changing the site name. When I originally launched the site, I chose a dormant domain that had previously hosted Lightning news and banter by deciding to use “Boltsmag.” I’d appreciate input if I should change the site name or not.

The St. Louis Blues are up for sale…

And before anyone starts making snide remarks — just rmemeber this could be your team’s ownership that is giving up dispite the impending CBA changes.

With mad props to Justin at Bayciti.net, after a long search I have finally gotten some pictures of the St. Pete Times Forum under construction.

It’s no big deal what this image shows to the casual observer but for those who are curious about how the area around downtown and Channelside have been developing the last 10 years, it does tell you a tale.

And of course, with all the projects that are under construction or poposed, the area around the St. Pete Times Forum will not be recognizable in 5 years.

He’s only labeled the next Wayne Gretzky, he’s been hyped for years and his name has been all over the place… Yet maybe this is a tell tale sign how bad the NHL is doing in some circles….

St. Louis Post-Dispatch writer Jeff Gordon at least makes it look that way…

Entry Draft: After a year-long shutdown, what does the NHL do with its draft? Simon Crosby is the top player coming out of the junior hockey ranks, by a lot. Should the league stage a lottery for every team this summer, once a deal is struck?

Yeah, it’s definately a long road back for the NHL if the media can’t even get the name of it’s next superstar right.

It’s rare that player names are being thrown around in the hockey blog community unless it’s Trevor Linden or another executive board member. Prospects might be mentioned (I think that kid from Rimouski gets some press — what’s his name, Crosby? ) but actual NHL players and speculation of their future has been a lost item in most discussions.

The new CBA is supposedly nearing completion, you’ve probably heard the NHLPA recinded their request for Union status in British Columbia – a sign that the war is nearing an end. You’ve read about the R and D camp that the league held, you might have even heard about entry-draft backup plans that are supposed to come into effect the moment the CBA is ironed out…. So it’s safe to start speculating about life after this lockout ends.

I’ve often thought about all the quesitons that were floating around about the Lightning post-Stanley-Cup. Last year Jay Feaster did quite a job re-signing players form the Championship roster while losing only Jassen Cullimore. Martin St. Louis was in negotiations with Feaster on a new deal up until the lockout loomed and talks broke off. It was impossible to negotiate a new deal for the Hart Trophy winner while neither side knew what framework they’d have to work with.

St. Louis remained Lightning property under the last Colelctive Bargaining Agreement, a restricted free agent. It basically put a lock on his status as a member of the Bolts… Yet now that there is a salary cap, that the restricted free agency rules and unrestricted free agency rules are redrawn (and will be unveiled when the new CBA is agreed to), Martin’s status in Tampa Bay is as big a question mark as whether Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone.

The potential for the Lightning to lose St. Louis has got to be the most painful thought that long time Bolts fans can imagine. Marty, in his play with the Lightning, lit up the fans inside and showed that there was a reason to hope even when the team wallowed in wretchedness. He gave fans like myself a reason to hang in there and be optimistic for the future, to dare to hope… Short in stature but big on heart and determination, St. Louis plays a strong two way game that helps make him a threat in both zones.

The hockey community is speculating on Sidney Crosby a lot but how can you pass over the Hart Memorial Trophy winner of 2003-04? St. Louis’ status is a bigger boggle than if the league will fix the draft in the New York Rangers favor. Able to light up an offense, add a dynamic to anyone’s power-play unit and solidify a teams Penalty Kill, St. Louis can immediately step onto a team and help raise the stakes.

This might give Lightning fans another reason to hate Bob and Gary — and further underline why 2003-04 was the end of an era… For 4 seasons, St. Louis helped lead the Lightning from the depths of the NHL to it’s highest peak. It’s a question that all fans must wonder – will there be a 5th?

I apologize to Boltsmag regulars as this is the third straight Devil Rays related message that I have posted in as many days. I’m growing increasingly distraught with what is being played out in the media and the mounting evidence that fans of the Rays are being sold a bill of goods with regards to the future of Baseball in Tampa Bay.

Only yesterday I started speaking of Stuart Sternberg as a Faux Savior – citing evidence that Sternberg is not the knight in shining armor that members of the media and fans are making him out to be. In their collective conciousness, nothing can be worse than Vince Naimoli as an owner… Nothing at all.

And yet, in their hope for the future, they remain oblivious to elements that indicate the enigmatic Sternberg’s intentions are not the role of the savior that he has been painted as. Things that have happened this season and things that have happened in Major League Baseball that open the door for the Rays to be contracted as early as 2007.

Earlier this season, as was pointed out yesterday in my aforementioned entry, the Rays indicated that they were not calling up prime prospects or making trades to improve the team. Fans were left wondering at the time what was the motivation for this? Why the lame-duck season? It was assumed that the decision was made not only because of not wanting to move-up free agent status for prospects, or make them arbitration eligible sooner, but also because Sternberg wanted to truly change the image of the team as he entered — stage right — next season.

Yet, by keeping costs down this season by limiting trades as well as limiting team popularity as hyped-prospects are kept in the minors, Sternberg (who Lou Piniella indicated was the one in control of the Rays financial picture) not only keeps the Rays costs down, but he also inspires further apathy among fans. Apathy that is glaringly apparent inside Tropicana Field with each game played within.

2006 has been mentioned time and time again with regards to Sternberg taking control of the Devil Rays day-to-day operaitons as Managing General Partner. The interesting and neglected fact about 2006 that Rays fans overlook is contraction comes back into play in Major League Baseball on April 1st.

Sternberg, an investment banker, knows full well how to buy low and sell high… With control fo the team, selling it back to Major League Baseball would be a grand profit for he and his fellow investors. Not only had he kept costs down during his tenure (the Rays payroll is the lowest in Major League Baseball), the franchise is supposedly in the black with thanks to revenue sharing negating costs endured as owner.

I’ve long thought that Sternberg’s first official act as Devil Rays owner in 2006 will be to demand a new stadium or else… Lets change that just a tad. Sternberg can easily come forward and ask for a new stadium but what gives him the right to selling the team back to Major League Baseball — at a great profit — would be declaring the Rays unable to financially compete in baseball in outdated Tropicana Field (and playing int he AL East, some can easily believe that). Asking for a new stadium would generate a fickle, if not disgusted, response from area residents. This gives Sternberg the justification to sell the team back to league. Commissioner Bud Selig had already stated the Rays need a new ballpark and Selig would publicly state that the Stadium’s failure is the reason baseball is done in Tampa Bay. Some may look at the Tropicana Field lease aswhat preserves the Rays existence but it’s only a matter of time before financial or legal means is unbound from the Rays neck.

How many owners usually buy into professional sports franchises and simply remain stolid as Sternberg has done? Even with Naimoli in control, Sternberg could have forced a more aggressive stance in any number of Rays operational functions. In comparison, Malcom Glazer bought the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and aggressively changed operational procedures with the team in an effort improve his investment (nothing like winning to help add value to a team). William Davidson didn’t jump in and start spending money with the Lightning but he also took the Lightning’s day-to-day operations in a new direction, he gave blessing to heavy scouting and player development as the St. Pete Times Forum was also transformed to not only improve revenues but ambiance as well.

There are instances throughout pro-sports about those who invest in pro-sports having some say in direction. It’s impossible to believe that Sternberg would encourage the status-quo unless the status-quo is profitable to him… As stated before, Sternberg knows full well how to buy low and sell high… By not investing in the team, the venue or other assets in the organization, it’s a glaring sign that selling high does not mean becoming a winner and doubling the teams value.

The writing is on the wall — and I’m worried it will remain oblivious to Rays fans and the media until it’s too late. I have my problems with the Rays, but I surely hope I am wrong. To witness a duping such as this would be unfathomable…

To Charlie Tuttle — one fo the writers and impassioned fans of Predators Den — is currently in the hospital, battling cancer. My thoughts are with Charlie right now…. I know all too well the in’s and outs of medical grief…

The Media tries to spin him as a savior-to-be for the Devil Rays and the fans are firmly behind it as well, but what is Stuart Sternberg’s real intentions with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays?

Sternberg bought out most of ownership of the Devil Rays in 2004 and has kept tight-lipped for the most part about the team. When he has spoken, he has talked about the Rays as a long term investment, and about how he wishes to build with youth… focusing on a few key players to form a nucleus.

Lightning fans know this story and know that it can work, but the Devil Rays are not the Lightning, nor is Stu a William Davidson. With a young nucleus already in place, Sternberg refuses to bring in the key element of veteran leadership to help guide younger players… It’s part of a master plan but one has to wonder what that plan is?

When Lou Piniella went off yesterday on Sternberg, he basically made it known in public that Stu is calling the shots more than he lets on from his distant perch. Earlier in the season, Stu spoke to Lou as well as Chuck LaMar and after those meetings it was announced to the fans that there would be no trades, no call ups of key prospects like BJ “All Hit, no Glove” Upton or Delmon Young. Arbitration eligibility and Free Agency supposedly factored into this decision, but there’s something more there than meets the eye.

A Major League owner cannot simply sit back and be happy with his team playing a lame duck season (Sternberg is supposedly set to take control of the Rays in 2006) – as the Rays are doing now – unless something is in the cards.

Yesterday, when I voiced my aggrivation at the fanbase blaming Piniella for the teams ills, I made mention of Mrs. Rachel Phelps — the fictional owner of the Cleveland Indians in Major League. For those who can’t recall, Phelps wanted the Indians to finish dead last in order to get out of the lease in Cleveland and relocate the franchise to Miami.

It’s no secret that Tropicana Field was dated upon it’s opening and it’s no secret that a new stadium has been desired — Bud Selig made mention of it last season, Lou made mention of it just days ago…. I firmly believe Stu will come in from his perch within the next few months and issue an ultimatium: “Build me a new stadium or I relocate the franchise to (insert city here).”

How many of you believe that either side of Tampa Bay would pay to keep around this monstrosity of a team by building a new stadium?

While message boards and blogs ring naive hope and fans only see the possibility that things will get brighter in St. Petersburg with Stuart Sternberg in control, I can only see the negative that the lack-of-intentions of Sternberg are fostering. His silence is deafening and borders upon neglect. The Rays will continue to be a lame duck franchise until Sternberg comes forward, and things are looking as if they will remain lame duck until the investment opportunity through relocation or contraction forces Stu’s hand.

There comes a time when losing gets to winners and those winners. They’ll vent, or they’ll simply give up…. They won’t be the only ones discontent with the status quo of losing, or at least they shouldn’t be. Fans will be behind them if they can see the culprit isn’t the manager or head coach…

At least that’s what the case is supposed to be.

I’m starting to have my doubts about Tampa Bay Devil Ray fans wanting to actually follow a competative ballclub.

Lou Piniella, one of Major League Baseball’s best managers, went off on Rays ownership before Sunday’s game. The Rays are once again falling like a stonebeing laughed out of Seattle, Cinncinatti and Pittsburgh during another horrendous road trip.

Lou voiced frustration at new owner Stu Sternberg and the fact that Sternberg has helped along a changeup in a plan to build on a core of young players. Sternberg compares to former Lightning owner Takashi Okubo in his mystery, and Mrs. Rachel Phelps (the malicous owner of the Indians in Major League) in his contentment with a bottom-of-the-barrel team. In both cases, it’s bad for the Rays – both in the immeidate and the long term.

Every Rays fan should be aware that they currently have the worst General Manager in pro sports with Charles M. LaMar. Every Devil Rays fan should be well aware that Lou has managed to make chicken salad out of a chicken-shit roster he has been given to work with in his first seasons with the Rays. This year, Lou was expected to do the same with less tools and less money and players at his disposal than the previous two years. This is where fans are supposed to rally around Lou’s frustrations and show support.

And yet Rays fans – some of them – see Lou as the problem.

Some people call for the Rays to be contracted – I’ve certainly stated that it would be a mercy killing of the worst franchise in pro sports… With fans as conent with losing as some I have come across – it furthers the point that the Rays need to go the way of the dodo.

Eric over at Off Wing lets beknown his feelings on the NHL Draft after reading a John Buccigross article telling the tale of what may be to come for the NHL.

Ah, yes, the NHL Entry Draft, hands down the most boring draft* of the four major team sports. If anyone from the NHL is reading, please take a hint and hire somebody new to produce this show for you.

Why? In short, the program just takes way too long. For some unknown reason, just about every team comes to the podium with three or more front office people in tow, and inevitably, they have to say something sweet about the city that’s hosting the draft.

Sure, it’s ever so nice . . . And ever so unecessary.

How true is this? How PAINFULLY true is this? I’ve watched the NHL Draft for years with interest compared to the NFL draft and each year it bores me out of my mind – even when the Lightning held the #1 pick.

There is a certain aristocratic pomp-and-cirumstance that the NHL tries to gloss over the Draft with along with attempting to make their old fashioned wooden draft board look something less antiquated than it happens to be.

Add the arena setting to the draft – the cavernous shells that double as tombs, where the excitement and hype of the draft remain abscent and lost amid the great expanses of emptiness – and you’ve got all the makings of how not to retain fan interest in the draft.

I’m not calling for an overstuffed, overhyped NFL draft like show, but there has to be something better than the antique roadshow that is the NHL Draft… Something that looks more 21st century but not a production entirely made for TV. Something that is smaller and more elaborate, but with less ego-fluffing by team executives after a pick is made. Something more informative for fans that aren’t in Canada and aren’t exposed to players in the draft on a regular basis.

Tommy over at Sticks has a brief update on Malcom Glazer and his actions as owner of Manchester United….

Including a decree to play a game a year at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa…. TO be frank and honest, that was the bigges tthing I was expecting and waiting for from Malcom with regards to the Red Devils…. Not that there aren’t bigger things going on with ManU right now.

Condolences to the United fans – Glazer is a shrewd businessman — in good ways an plenty of bad ways.

One of the mainstays of the Lightning’s tenure in downtown Tampa is Newks’ Cafe directly across from the St. Pete Times Forum. It’s served as a rallying point for both Lightning fans and their rivals over the years, and just a great spot to crash and get a drink before or after an event at the Forum.

Well, if the owners have their way, that will be just another memory and relic of the past.

The Tampa Tribune reports that the Newkirk brothers, the owners of Newks’, are trying to get a zoning change for their land and want to build a tower that stands 125+ feet on the property.

I’m no NIMBY, I’m greatly excited about things going on down in Channelside and in the city of Tampa — projects like Trump Tower Tampa in the downtown core, the 02 Condos and the Pinacle Tower, The Towers at Channelside and other projects that surround the St. Pete Times Forum (AKA Ice Palace) and are planned for the Channel district.

Yet sometimes you just need to know when to say when… You need to know when to hold things in check and have some restrictions on growth for one reason or another. To preserve one aspect of an area or another to keep focus on what the attitude and what the feel of the area is supposed to be… Keeping a feel for the heritage as well as the ambiance.

Until the real estate bubble bursts — and it will burst, unfortunately — construction growth is going to continue to be substantial and sprawling in some places. It’s not exactly impossible to build what Newks wants to build elsewhere in Tampa… With all the developement going on, isn’t it about time we saved something instead of bulldozed it just to give the rich-folks another high rise?

Tampa is rated #1 to land a Frozen Four bid by three of five writers at Inside College Hockey. And of the negative review? Someone who can make mention of the anomolies of Tampa’s sports history and avoids making mention of the highlights.

THings look good but still – having our host team being from Alabama in our bid… That does hurt things in my opinion.

Is this the first evidence that the NHL Players are resigned to their fate of having to give up and give in? Brendan Morrison has surrendered:

“As negotiations progress, scenarios change,” Morrison said. “To get a deal done, a lot of times you have to make sacrifices. I guess it boils down to what’s best for the game — and what’s best for the game is to get back on the ice and play.

“So if that means us maybe taking the brunt of the sacrifices, it looks like that’s what we’re willing to do.”

“What’s best for the game…” What a concept. I can’t help but feel like this is just words though – with no offense intended to Mr. Morrison – because if the players were interested in what’s best for the game, they would have sat down and negotiated during what should have been teh 2004-05 season… Instead, we lost it because of stall tactics and avoidence by PA members.

The Biggest Hurdle has been cleared, so sayeth the Globe and Mail.

That’s right folks – a cap system is now in place on the foundation of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement… The devil now moves to the details – free agency, arbitration, and a plethora of other issues (I wonder if they’ll get the face-shield issue ironed out? It’s long been forgotten because of the war over the cap)….

They say the CBA is no where near completion just because they have this issue solved… But it’s hard to believe that so much knowing the widest valley between the NHL and the PA has been bridged.

There’s no saying how receptive the players — the actual PA members – will be to this, but if they don’t wnat to further look like spoiled and greedy, they should think of the fall out if they do not give their blessing to the system…

I’m looking at the details and if this is factual – the PA is really getting shelled in the cap constraints. From TSN.ca:

According to the Globe’s league and player sources, a team-by-team salary floor and cap will based on a percentage of each NHL team’s revenue. The paper adds that in the first year – based on revenue projections by both sides – the salary cap will range from $34 million to $36 million US, with the floor from $22 million to $24 million US.

The Globe also reports that the formula calls for a dollar-for-dollar luxury tax to kick in at the halfway mark between the floor and the cap. If the floor of the lowest team is $22 million US and the cap on the highest team is $36 million US, then the ‘tax level’ will be $29 million US.

The formula would allow wealthier teams to spend a bit more money, but would also bridge the large gaps in spending between higher payroll teams and lower payroll teams.

I have never been an NHLPA apologist through the labor war – there has never been an ounce of remorse for the PA in me when they’ve outright rejected offers from ownership… I’ve usually wholely agreed with the likes of John Romano and realist fans like my colleague Keith who talked about how the NHLPA was going to get a worse and worse deal as they continued to drag their feet… This Cap agreement is the proof of that if it’s real. I almost feel a tinge of sorrow for what the NHLPA gave up – and what the players, by turning a blind eye, chose to give up as well.

I was taken aback last year when the Lightning decided to break away from the Pensacola Ice Pilots of the ECHL and sign an affiliation agreement with the Johnstown Chiefs.

Now the Bolts have bought into the franchise…

“They’re going to be in charge of placing a lot of the players in here,” Chiefs fourth-year coach Toby O’Brien said of the Lightning. “Day-in and day-out, you’re going to work with the Stanley Cup champions and they want to work with you. You can’t beat this. What a day for hockey. What a day for Johnstown.”

I’m admittedly not versed on minor league hockey – others I used to talk to used to give me minor league updates, prospect updates and the like (but then again? These same people judged Brad Richards to be a career minor leaguer a year after he was drafted). I can’t say we will be sending a ton of players to the Chiefs, nor can I say who or what.

I’m trying to think of what to write here that would fit… And yet there isn’t much that works in words. How do you term up the biggest event your franchise has ever experienced? How do you justify still feeling euphoria a year after your team did the impossible? How can you justify feeling such elation when the actual game was oen of the slowest and sloppiest matches of the 2003-04 season with porrous ice conditions?

Take your pick of local writers to read with regards to the one year anniversary of the last NHL game: Tom Jones, Erik E., Martin Fennelly and the always incredible John Romano.

Lightning fans who might actually still be getting chills, who aren’t entirely lost amid the on-hiatus NHL can actually find a sick sense of appreciation for the lockout. Though the work stoppage prevents us from closing out the Lightning’s championship by watching them raise the banner at the St. Petersburg Times Forum, it does leave the door open to keep feeling what we felt on that day. We may have moved on in our own lives but it’s really hard to forget the memories, the feelings, the utter elation of June 7th, 2004. It was the day the slate was wiped clean and the Tampa Bay Lightning forged itself into history, it’s the day they earned the right to have their names engraved on Lord Stanley’s Cup.

EDIT: Lets add a few references here for the sake of posterity. I already cited articles from the local papers, I did neglect the Bradenton Herald and Loren Nelson’s decree that the Lightning Stanfest’s a real bad idea.

TSN.CA brings up the fact that the last NHL Game was played today and the Lightning have the longest tenure with the Cup (undefended) since 1926. The Sacremento Bee has an article – however a subscription is required to view it and I did not bother to sign up…