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The Lightning traded up with San Jose to #73 to select Radek Smolenak, a left wing from the Kingston Frontenacs.
The other side of center gets addressed with pick #92 as the Lightning goes European yet again, selecting Marek Bartanus, a Slovak who was just drafted during the Import Draft by the Owen Sound Attack of the OHL.
So there are 13 players under contract right now with the Tampa Bay Lightning.as of this afternoon (updated 8-04-2005).
Here’s a line breakdown at current of who’s signed and who isn’t.
Forwards:
Line1:
LW Vaclav Prospal C Vincent Lecavalier RW Ruslan Fedotenko
Line 2:
LW Fredrik Modin C Brad Richards RW Martin St. Louis
Line3:
LW Dmitry Afanasenkov C Dave Andreychuk RW Tim Taylor
Line 4:
LW André Roy C Martin Cibak RW Chris Dingman
Defensive Pairings (unofficial):
Darryl Sydor Pavel Kubina
Brad Lukowich Dan Boyle
Cory Sarich Nolan Pratt
Goalies:
Nikolai Khabibulin
John Grahame
Andreychuk still is a decision if he will play this season or not, negotiations are ongoing with Rusland Fedotenko, Vincent Lecvalier, Martin St. Louis, Dan Boyle and the rest as has been reported on here and in the local media.
1-Year deal. Unlike Vinny, Feds does not have the service time to become a UFA after this forthcoming season.
14 down….
I picked up the TSN feed through NHL.com and I have to say they are overdoing the Crosby thing… I mean REALLY overdoing it and ignoring the rest of the talent in the draft. Crosby promos, Crosby lead ins, etc… I could not see this happening with the NFL draft if there was one super prospect. They still know how to promote the EVENT over the PLAYER.
Yes, Crosby is supposed to be great — but be objective with the coverage.
Crosby goes #1… Half the TV’s in Canada switch to another station….
Another note – I much more like the Hotel setting for the draft than the airy arena venues of recent.
Bob McKenzie tells the world that Crosby has a strong lower unit — do I really need that picture in my head? 
Two top ten picks end up in the “What the bloody hell…?” department. Pick #5 by Montreal (taking goaltender Casey Price…. And selection #8. San Jose traded up with Atlanta to select someone projected as a late 1st, early 2nd round pick (Devin Setaguchi)….
Thrashers move to #12 in the first round and pick up the #207 draft selection as well…
In a stunning move, the Ottawa Senators have drafted Chris Gratton circa 1993! No wait, that’s Brian Lee, isn’t it? Jeez, Lee looks like Grats did when he came out…
Thrashers trade down again….
Vancouver has moved to Manitoba, just so you Canadians know… NHL executives said so
The Sidney Crosby Consolation Prize to the Rangers is — Marc Staal!
Division brethren Washington takes a player out of the top 30… It happens in every draft so I’m not too surprised – though those who actually follow junior hockey and collegiate hockey may be.
That’s all the running commentary I can do for the time. I will be back later on to give some more thoughts
Bourret is “a mean, nasty fire hydrant on the ice”.
Does anyone at all understand what that is supposed to mean? He sits there, he’s metal, he doesn’t do anything more times than not but has the ability to aid someone who’s putting out a fire….?
I’ve already said how stupid “selection by committee” is in the NHL draft (it adds to the boredom and generates a false pomp-and-circumstance about the pick)… I firmly stand by those remarks. Though the draft is moving pretty swiftly, not enough focus is being given to the players as so much the executives doing the drafting.
With the trading down – and I don’t know about the quality of their selection – right now the winners of this draft look like the Thrashers. They’ve obtained more picks, they’ve likely secured the player they wanted… They’ll be able to stock up their system even more with thanks to their trade partners.
It’s probably the language barrier for him (I’m trying to assume here to protect this guy in one way or another) but Nicklas Bergfors did NOT look like he wanted to be up on stage… Or maybe that was not wanting to be a New Jersey Devil? Who knows….
Jeff O’Neill shipped to Toronto for a conditional 2006 pick
Tampa Bay is on the clock — Jay Feaster get’s his only exercise for the day! I have this feeling the Flyers actually took who TB was going to aim for — comments by Feaster about going after Goal Scorers makes me believe that. The last two drafts the Lightning have gone D — so forward progress is the likely decision, pardon the pun
Vladimir Mihalik 6′7″ 220 lbs.
Oh My God, this guy is a bone crusher! — TSN commentators…
I very much stand corrected on this pick. I thought for sure that the Lightning were to go offense here in an attempt to shore up the system depth at forward. There isn’t an elite forward prospect that I know of in the US (and I don’t even want to talk about the mythical Alexander Poulshin who is in Russia for the umpteenth year after being drafted by the Lightning).
Here’s McKeen’s scouting report on Vlad:
Scouting: a hulking mammoth on skates .. thanks to the progress this season is now an adequate skater for such a big body .. decent lateral movement and agility .. adequate acceleration and top-end speed, but his skating still needs further polishing .. decent balance .. tends to be too static at times .. has to stay back in his own end to not be out-skated on the transitional play .. leaves significant space between him and the opposing players .. solid positional play .. average puckhandling skills .. needs to develop softer hands .. should use his giant frame more to his advantage and punish the opposing players more often .. uses his stick in the battles along the boards rather than his body.. very good reach and massive wingspan .. limited passing skills .. plays a low risk game, but doesn’t support the offense a lot, dishing off the puck rather than looking for a passing lane instead .. is now more courageous in joining the rush .. should fire his adequately accurate shot from the point more often .. possesses some impressive tools, but will need patience in his development.
And not to entirely plagerize Jes Golbez but here’s his take on Vlad as well:
It won’t be hard to miss this kid since he’s a whopping 6′7″ 220+lbs. Last summer, he looked like a big slug who couldn’t skate well and wouldn’t hit people. One year later, his good WJC18 performance showed us that he improved his conditioning, footwork, and mean streak. Mihalik should benefit from the smaller ice surface (ala Valabik) and he’s the big ‘home-run’ swing type prospect. Unlike Boris Valabik and Kristian Kudroc, Mihalik won’t be a first rounder. I’d expect Mihalik to go around the 4th or 5th round.
Jes, if you are out there — Can you lend some commentary on the pick?
I won’t be running further commentary on the draft — Tampa Bay’s next pick is #92 and I have already wasted a load of time online today. Interesting selections, terribly boring telecast… That says it all.
For those with broadband and who aren’t being exposed to the draft on cable television in their region (hello, Tampa Bay!) the NHL is streaming the draft broadcast online through NHL.com
A bunch of comments recently (by regulars and others) have been blocked by my anti spam program — they weren’t outright deleted though. They’ve been approved and posted. Apologies to Tommy, MissK, Colleen and others….
…and Vinny does his best poker face about the meeting:
“We had a great meeting today,” Feaster said. “Very very encouraging in terms of Vinny expressing a desire to stay in Tampa and stay long-term and that’s what we wanted to hear. It was very very positive. We discussed a timeline to keep things moving and I’m very optimistic.”
Lecavalier was slightly more guarded.
“We had a 20-minute meeting, just wanted to know where we stood. I still haven’t decided what I’m going to do but I’ve got some time to think about it,” he said. “But it went well and I’m glad we met.”
If everyone can remember Vincent Lecavalier’s last contractual negotiation, it can be concluded that it’s not going to be a short process of negotiation as Jay Feaster painted things.
Of course this isn’t anything comparable to the Joe Thornton situation in Boston, (which means that Les Habs fans can stop doing web searches for Lecavalier to Montréal rumors). It’s something to watch though.
Is he the leagues first Capologist? Not exactly sure but the Tampa Bay Lightning announced the hiring of Claude Loiselle as assistant GM.
If not a Capologist, Loiselle’s job is to be through and through farmiliar with the new CBA and help negotiate staff contracts and prospect contract deals.
ANd why no posts from me with regards to this news?
Well, everyone and their uncle on the Blogosphere should have known thsi was coming and already posted about it (and I already commented on it over at Off Wing) and it really seems like beating a dead horse…
I mean come on, really… Bob Goodenow can be compared to a murderer who went into his trial pleading innocent and then bragged about everything, let people know that his deeds were worse than they first thought and still expected to be acquitted until his lawyer quit on him. He was judged, and convicted when the CBA was ratified by the Players Association. We all knew his execution was forthcoming but would it be in a week? Two? A month? A year? It would happen, but the date wasn’t known until today.
Well, despite my complaining about Taylor’s mouth over the lockout (and Keith’s complaining about his mouth during the playoffs) he was re-signed to a multi-year deal, TSN.Ca is reporting.
Terms not disclosed. That gives the Lightning 13 players in their queue now
The Schedule is out! The Schedule is out!
NHL.com has the Lightning’s exact schedule and opening night (October 5th) will indeed have the Bolts facing the Carolina Hurricanes at 7:30 at the St. Petersburg Times Forum.
I get sick looking at how many times the Lightning play the Panthers or Hurricanes or Thrashers (sidenote – any other Tampa Bay resident mistaking THrashers for Threshers lately?). The Panthers and Bolts play a home-and-home series on the 7th and 8th of October and 2 games within a week in April.
The Bolts deal with Western Conference teams in early December as well as mid January…. The rest is an eclectic mix of the Eastern Conference.
The Canadian Press speculates on infromation that might worry Bolts fans.
In the CP story, Vinny ponders outloud what he needs to figure out….
“To tell you the truth, I don’t know what I’m going to do yet,” he said in a phone interview Tuesday. “Obviously, if I sign a one-year deal then I’m free next year. Or I can sign a long-term deal. But I don’t know what I’m going to do yet.”
…
“I’m happy in Tampa,” said Lecavalier. “We won the Cup. It’s a great bunch of guys there. I love living there, my sister lives there. My first couple of years were pretty tough there but now we’re doing very well. But I definitely have to make some decisions.”
Of course, the fans of Les Habs will be going absolutely uts at the possibilities over this (as they always do with these things) but just how much is working for and against Tampa?
Lecavalier wanted to stick around in Tampa (before his spat with John Tortorella in 2001-02) and would constantly shoot down rumors that he wanted out or that he was seeking a trade, saying that he wanted to make Tampa a place prospects and Free Agents wanted to come to, making it a championship team.
Well, he’s helped turn the Tampa Bay market around, make no mistake. He did it with his best friend Brad Richards — something the duo had always dreamed about. Is there fire still left in the guy who achieved his primary goals by age 25?
Between Canadian Fans and Larry Brooks, teh speculation that V inny wants out of Tampa will become a rampant fire in the coming days…. Vinny never said in this article he wants out but he is keepign his options open (as anyone in this situation would) but that will be maimed and twisted like usual by the Canadian Media, fan speculation and the like.
One thing is certain, Jay Feaster finds himself in a real bind with this RFA and UFA class, as well as future RFA’s (Brad Richards qualifies for Fre UFA status in 2007)…. It will be close to impossible to keep this gorup together long term but Feaster is trying.
My thanks to reader Doug Girvan for the article tip off.
One down, how many mroe to go?
Slovakian Media is reporting that fourth line center Martin Cibak has been signed to a one year deal worth 450 thousand dollars. That contract is one way.
I’m surprised — though the league minimum, I would have assumed that the contract would have been two way. Cibak faces an uphill battle to retain his fourth line status with Eric Perrin trying to make the roster in the same position.
….No surprise.
Well, ESPN is sponsoring a ranking game for the fans to rank every general manager in Major League Baseball….
…And there is only one man who deserves to be ranked #30.
Jay Feaster is facing the biggest challenge of his career right now but that won’t be stopping him from inking a new contract.
Jay gets and extension, as does Torts. Feaster’s contract extension runs through 2011 while Tortorella’s deal runs through 2008-09. Craig Ramsey and Jeff Reese are also supposed to receive contract extensions.
Also — Lightning president Bill Campbell was on WTVT’s lunchtime program “Your Turn” where he told reporter Chip Carter the team is aiming for a 37 million dollar payroll – with just enough leeway under the cap for late season acquisitions if need be.
Tampa Bay Business Journal reports that the St. Petersburg Times Forum is ranked the top grossing concert venue in North America and #2 in the world
Palace Sports is certainly beeming but no stranger to this credit. The Palace at Auburn Hills and the Forum (aka Ice Palace) are routinely ranked at the top of barious polls or studies.
EDIT: Some of you may be aware that the Ford Amphitheater at the Florida State Fairgrounds has been having legal trouble due to violating noise ordinanences. Others might be aware that Palace Sports and Entertainment (the company that owns and operates the St. Pete Times Forum) has a financial investment in said Amphitheater with Clear Channel Communications.
It was revealed today that due to legal entanglements and the fact Clear Channel Communications can’t vouche for the facility, concerts (such as Monday’s Anger Management tour performance) will be relocating from the Ford Amphitheater to the St. Pete Times Forum.
Concert ticket holders can either exchange their tickets or get a full refund starting at 8 a.m. Wednesday. Refunds are only available at the point of purchase.
If you have tickets to an upcoming event at the Ford Amphitheater, you may want to contact the St. Pete Times Forum at 813-301-6600 to see if the event has been relocated.
Justin over at Bayciti reports that Newks’ Cafe — the current location of which will be demolished to make way for a 38 story condo tower — will be the ground-floor occupant of said condo tower.
I’m still a little put off by this project but… Newks’ survives… That’s better than just condos condos condos.
With special thanks to Mike Chen for dropping this in the comments...
It would appear Martin St. Louis is seeking around 4 million a year in a long term contract deal. It’s no secret that Feaster wants to ink Marty and Vinny to long term contracts but these are the first numbers that have been leaked out (well, RUMORED numbers. Via Rotowire).
Jay Feaster met with the agents of Martin St. Louis, Dan Boyle, and Nik Khabibluin yesterday. Jay painted the talks as “positive” but as just that — talks. Preliminary stuff.
On a sidenote, also in the linked article, Erik Erlendsson points out that junior goalies Jonathan Boutin and Gerard Coleman, along with Zbynek Hrdel, need to be signed by Friday or the players will re-enter the draft.
Jay Feaster has overseen just a bit of the Lightning in his tenure as GM with the Bolts. He wasn’t the man who oriignally built the Lightning, nor was he the man who helped resurrect the franchise with a revolving door policy – trying to find cogs as well as stock the system. Jay’s general task has been to take the fruits of Rick Dudley’s and Phil Esposito’s labors and turn the franchise into a contender – putting them over the top.
Not only did Jay achieve that goal — he put the Lightning over the top of the entire NHL as the Lightning roster achieved the ultimate goal — winning Lord Stanley’s Cup.
But now Jay is in a different position – he is in the middle of a tough spot (as are the other 29 General Managers in the league) where he not only has to re-sign but most likely also retool the roster under the new CBA rules of the National Hockey League.
11 players are under contract for next season and like it or not – the roster will change over from the champions-redeux that Feaster had secured for the 2004-05 campaign (had it happened). How the roster is molded from here on in will be a true telling of Jay’s ability. Who’s cut loose? Who’s promoted from the minor leagues? Who’s signed? Who’s re-signed? Who’s cast adrift? How do they deal with holes as they become visible (the most glaring possible hole is at Goaltender with Nikolai Khabibulin a Unrestricted Free Agent).
Feaster reportedly met with several players agents today in New York… It’s just the start of a very long processes that needs to be hammered out in a very short time frame and will ultimately cement his status as one of the leagues best executives or bring into question the abilities as a contract-lawyer-come-General-Manager.
I’m a little put off with a rumor I’ve heard (from Sun Sports message board) that has been compounded by Erik E. over at the Tribune…
The reigning Stanley Cup champions, in the first game of the 2005-06 season are supposed to take on diviison rival Carolina to begin their title defense and reign in the new NHL…
Say what?
Carolina? You want to open Tampa Bay’s season against Carolina? WIth no offense to the Hurricanes and certainly not pissing on the concept that the league is trying to push division play, the Lightning versus the ‘Canes to start the season is about as exciting and broadcast worthy as a root canal performed without novocane. You want to lure the fans back and you offer them a matchup like this?
The Southeast is no powerhouse, one can cite, and Tampa Bay would be matched up with any one of the mediocre teams in the SE…. The thing is, the fans – who Bettman and the players are all saying deserve better, are getting the worst of the worst when it comes to division rivals. Washington is not a strong rivalry but they are ahead of the ‘Canes. Atlanta is up and coming and was the only true thorn in the Lightning’s side in 2003-04.
And then there is the Panthers in Miami. The team that Lightning fans love to hate (though the reasoning behind this is just pure spite. We’ve never had a true rivalry with the Panthers as they have been lousy while we have been good, and vice versa). The Kitties are always a draw and raising the Stanley Cup banner in front of them would be sweet to do.
But no, it’s Carolina, and I remain put off by it.
The new scheduling format that is being employed by the league can be found here.
The cost of Vaclav Prospal’s acquiring last season just went up.
Reading the Times coverage of the draft lottery, I was reminded we have no 2nd round draft choice (#31 overall) nor 3rd round draft choice (90 overall) which was sent away for extra draft picks in 2004.
#91 is our second seleciton. Yeowch
OK, I’m getting a kick out of the influx in traffic and everything but to those searching on Google for reactions from Mario and the Penguins on landing the #1 Draft pick… well, it ain’t here.
But exactly what the Lightning won by lifting Lord Stanley’s Cup last….
The Tampa Bay Lightning will pick 30th in next week’s entry draft…..
EDIT: I’m live blogging right now and the biggest surprise of this draft so far is Florida picking 29th… But then again they have had so many opportunities int eh top 10 the last few years….
Nothing else is shocking to me right now. San Jose not being picked yet (??) is a big win on their part. Same with the WIngs.
THE NEW YORK RANGERS LOST THE #1 PICK! THE RANGERS HAVE LOST! Sorry for the exuberance but with all the “fix is in” talk (even coming from me) it was surprising as hell to see this.
3 Canadian clubs in the top ten – guaranteed (their order has not been determined yet)….
Down to LA or Pittsburgh. I can’t fault the Penguins getting the #1 pick — they were the reason people watche dthe NHL during it’s surge in popularity. The Anaheim franchise getting him is also not too bad — it’s the LA market after all. Just as long as they change their name PLEASE.
The Penguins win the right to call Sidney Crosby’s name next week. Not that they don’t have the right to trade the #1 draft pick…
Let’s kick this f’n pig and drop the puck already! 
