Taking a break from my demoralized state:

TRAINING CAMP: The Lightning will open training camp Monday, Sept. 12, at the Ice Sports Forum in Brandon. Players will gather for a team meeting early in the morning on the 12th before going through physical testing, on the ice and off.

The first round of intra-squad scrimmages are scheduled to begin Sept. 14.

“Today I settle all family business.” — Michael Corleone (Al Pacino), The Godfather

The shakeup of the Devil Rays – for good or for ill – is about to commence… Even there is an uneasy feeling with the possible transfer of power, it is a shakeup that is needed. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays look like they are going to gut the fish – totally.

Lou Pinella is supposed to be out, Chuck LaMar is supposed to be out (PRAISE THE LORD!!!) — this is all part of the move that ousts Vincent J. Naimoli from the seat of managing general partner. Even the franchise name is in question right now and could be changed (and rightfully so) by Stuart Sternberg and his partners.

The team, at current, is one of the hottest in Major League Baseball (even with corrupt officiating dictating games in Boston at current). The thought of how the Rays would perform with even a minorly increased payroll and more competant decision making at the top is captivating.

But the seeds of doubt are still there because, well — ten years of Rays baseball has been grim at best… Morbid at worst. I can’t shake the feeling it’s goign to get worse before better, still.

My apologies to regular readers right now. Things are just… Man… Being a few hundred miles from the death and destruction that New Orleans and Biloxi is just quite sobering and my focus has not been on hockey or the team or the NHL for that matter.

After last year when Florida had to face 4 storms, it can be looked at as we got by unscathed compared to what NOLA is dealing with at the moment… Yet there were such moments (with Hurricane’s Charley and Ivan) where it looked like Tampa Bay would be faced with this “Worst Case Scenario” ordeal with a major storm coming in head on…

Two things I want to post… First, thanks to Tommy Duncan from Sticks of Fire for giving me a heads up on a Lightning related article from the Winnipeg Sun… The Sun article talks about the fondness form of flattery that NHL teams are employing: Imitation of the Lightning system.

The other link I want to post is to where everyone — bloggers, readers, general human beings — can contribute during this crisis in the south. Please donate to The American Red Cross. As I write this – the total and complete evacuation of New Orleans survivors has been ordered by the governor of Louisiana. It doesn’t get much grimmer than that.

With greetings from Hurricane Katrina:

A few days ago it was just a mess of storms in the Bahamas with some rotation. Then it quickly developed into a tropical disturbance and tropical storm, making hurricane strength by the time it made landfall in south Florida. Hurricane Katrina, as of five days ago, wasn’t supposed to have much of a future.

Storm tracks had the system skirting up the west Florida coast and effecting the eastern seaboard. We, here in Tampa Bay, were in for rain and some constant wind and the northern Gulf coast was in for the brunt of whatever Katrina became.

Well, after it broke away from South Florida, Katrina did some soul searching and didn’t like that future… No… She wanted to make a name for herself and by god, she has…

After a south turn and some slowing, she has bloomed, blossomed and become a mega storm that the phrase “Worst Case Scenario” is associated with. Hurricane Katrina, as of this post, is packing 175 Mile Per Hour Winds (281 KPH) and heading dead on for New Orleans, Louisiana.

My thoughts are with those preparing to do battle with the storm — this is something that happens rarely and unfortunately, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama will be the ones to prove the point what Hurricanes are capable of.

Katrina is one hellacious bitch that is not going to be happy until she makes a name for herself — and takes as many lives away in the process.

EDIT: This is a LIVE FEED OF NEW ORLEANS TV Being streamed online. You’ll get pictures and reports from Louisana where they are facing the imminent danger head on

That’s the only phrase that explains this — junk. Simply garbage. Completely, despicable junk drawn up by desperate fans (with no offense intended to Ryan at HabsBlog ).

Now, seeing I would prefer Boltsmag readership not to click on the above link… I’ll post an excerpt of the latest desperation pleas… er, I mean Trade Rumors coming out of Montreal:

It was just on CBC Radio One 640 AM here in Bonavista Newfoundland that apperently home town star Michael Ryder along with fellow Montreal Canadiens’ prospect Ron Hainsey and a 2006 3rd round draft pick has been traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for Tampa Bay Centerman Brad Richards. They noted that the trade will be formally announced on Monday August 29th when Bob Gainey will speak with the media.

Richards is regarded by Jay Feaster as a piece as big as Vinny and Marty… Suddenly he becomes expendable because of reports out of Newfoundland? Please.

The report goes on to say that Ryder’s brother had confirmed the trade as it were to be announced and la-de-da… While I report that I’m skeptical we’re going to hear jack on Monday with regards to Richards being moved… just like we didn’t hear jack on all those “imminent trade” rumors regarding Vincent Lecavalier before he was signed…

I like mild speculation at times in trades… But when the utterly ridiculous becomes the rule and the law of the land – rumor talk just becomes made up speculation by fans and by radio hosts alike.

EDIT: For those finding reference to this post on Hockeys Future — do yourself a favor and read the comments on this post to see a thorough debunking of the rumor

Captain Dave, in spite of having not played a game in more than a year, is coming back for not one but two more seasons.

He’s hoisted Lord Stanley’s Cup, he’s tasted the champaign and he’s put on the Ring, but there’s still fire left… There’s still desire there…

With the Lightning already at 36+ Million against the cap, Andreychuk couldn’t have taken too much to re-sign — especially if the Bolts will have more than the current six defensivemen on the squad (Kubina, Sydor, Boyle, Sarich, Pratt and Timo Hebling)… The other possibility is that we will see someone on the roster moved in order to pick up defensiveman #7 (and more), but that’s unlikely knowing Jay Feaster loves to have good chemistry in the locker room and does not like to shake up the mix.

20 players is all the Lightning will carry into the season and they have locked up their 20th man in this deal.

Well, I had an early afternoon appointment with a doctor and I have been out of the loop for the last few hours… As of this morning, reported in the St. Petersburg Times, the Lightning hadn’t even begun negotiations with #26 post-Lecavalier signing and what do I find the moment I walk in the door and check up on the NHL and the news of the day?

Martin St. Louis: SIGNED, SEALED, and DELIVERED.

Six Years and 31.5 Million dollars is what it took… That’s a quick change from the pouting we saw post-Lecavalier signing from Marty last week. This will likely mean Marty will end his career in a Bolts uniform (and if all goes well, #26 would be the first number retired by this franchise). It’s a dynamic Lightning fans have got to be enthralled about – Marty is back.

But enough of the positive hoopla for a moment because this puts the hurt on the Lightning.

Fredrik Modin is a Free Agent after this season, Brad Richards is an RFA. I believe Pavel Kubina is a Free Agent after the season and Cory Sarich also is an RFA. That’s a lot of talent to ink and not a lot of money to do it with.

Having Brad Richards resigned is imperative. I don’t care how much Lecavalier is the franchise in the eyes of executives and fans alike. It’s Richards play that has been that of a franchise player over the course of his career. Having him sign a one year deal and then explore free agency in 2007 would be painful at best.

Kubina is another story – the oft maligned Czech has come into his own on the blue line and having a failure to resign him would be another blow to a defensive corps that is already lacking two consistent bodies (Jassen Cullimore and Brad Lukowich). Of course, this blow could be softened by defensive prospects Mike Egener or Andy Rogers stepping in – but that would likely turn into a trial-by-fire.

It’s great to have Martin signed, as it sets things up for this season (as there is only one other unsigned vet this team needs to ink – Dave Andreychuk)… but in the long term, you gotta see it as a bit too much over a long, long time… And unfortunately, visions of Darren Puppa’s post 1995-96 contract dance in my head – and his injuries that followed him.

Enough with the bi-polar post. When does Training Camp start??

Everyone’s reporting it — Marian Hossa has been signed by the Ottawa Senators and traded to the Atlanta Thrashers for Dany Heatley.

Ottawa was in a tight spot with Hossa expecting Thornton and Iggy money while the cap was tightening down on them. The Lecavalier contract must have sealed the deal for both his demands and his ouster from the Ottawa Senators.

There had been rumors earlier in the Hot Stove Season that Heatley wanted out of Atlanta but that’s all they were — rumors, talk and rhetoric.

On one hand, I give Ottawa a thumbs up for making the move. If and when they get Heatley inked, their roster remains just as formidable as before with a slightly younger body now joining the fray. With Atlanta – it’s very dangerous for the Lightning in the Southeast now. Hossa’s edition is nothing to dismiss, and Atlanta also has their Defensive liability addressed in this trade. The question is who is coming to Atlanta to bolster the blue line?

The premiere rivalry in the south is no longer the grudge-match Florida vs. Tampa Bay rivalry (as it has never been for more than bragging rights). It’s Atlanta vs. Tampa Bay for the run of the Southeast division.

EDIT: Oh man, no matter if I think the Thrashers improved through this deal even marginally, they lost out big time. Dany Heatley has reportedly signed for four years and 13+ million total. Ottawa just robbed the cradle with that signing, which bucks the trend of overpaying for star caliber players… Though it does put Heatley on common footing with the Lightning’s Brad Richards and Ottawa’s Martin Havlat, who both had seen similar deals in there 2nd NHL contracts.

During the Lightning’s run in 2003-04, it benefit greatly due to a lack of missed man-days from members of it’s roster. That was oen fo the stories that followed the Lightning as it went on to capture Lord Stanley’s Cup.

We all know that we can’t count on the same injury-free season again from this squad (it’s impractical and improbable to think about) and with that being said, you need players to fall back on – to sub for injuries – in case someone does get hurt.

Well, it’s official that Eric Perrin won’t be one of those individuals as he signed a deal with SC Bern. Perrin took less than he could have made with the Lightning at the NHL level… Due mostly to the fact that Perrin didn’t believe he woudl break in on the roster and would be forced to take only 75 Thousand at the AHL level.

Well, that and the fact he likely would be lost by the Lightning upon callup (as players have to go through waivers each way).

But I digress – Erik Erlendsson at the Tribune is the man who covers the situation with depth in today’s Tampa Tribune and you should read the article for more info.

Carnival of the NHL #6 has commenced and the James “The Man” Mirtle is in charge of it this week and has put forth The Greatest Show On Blog with his circus. For those of you Boltsmag readers who aren’t farmiliar with the Carnival of the NHL, it’s a rundown on blog posts from NHL and general hockey blog sources.

There are always a plethora of sources one may not be aware of and always a lot of hockey related stories out there that the mainstream press (at least here in Tampa) don’t cover.

James, great job on this week’s Carnival!

Tom Jones at the St. Petersburg Times talks about how Martin St. Louis is the odd man out under the Salary Cap – as has already been discussed by everyone in LightningNation to one extent or another. He’s in a tight spot with money due him (and I do feel it’s due him) and money the team can pay.

Marty broke in with the Lightning after signing for the league minimum in 2000-01… ($225,000 ) Bolts fans saw flashes of brilliance during his first season, notching 18 goals with 22 assists in 78 games with the team. The next season — he broke through even more before breaking his leg… His stats (16 goals, 19 assists, 53 games) don’t tell the tale of how much of an impact he had on games he played.

He was “rewarded” for his efforts during the 2002 off season with a 2 year contract that paid him 2.5 million dollars… And if stats tell you anything, Martin was being lowballed in his “reward.” 2 seasons, 164 points, a Hart Trophy and Stanley Cup later…

Martin’s big payday could have materialized pre-lockout but was gambled away with thanks to the lockout. His agent had been negotiating with Jay Feaster in September 2004 and yet talks stalled and then broke off due to the uncertainty.

Now St. Louis becomes the prime example of life under the Cap. He’s not Terrell Owens – trying to dictate his pay and make a spectacle out of himself for the sum of himself. He’s a team player and he’s shown that time and time again…

I don’t know what else to say — life under the cap is not supposed to be free market spending galore (as Brad Richards had speculated if there was no cap). Even without the cap, the Lightning would be in a bind to find the money to divide between Marty and Vinny and other players who will become Free Agents next year…

Marty’s taken one for the team before and will be forced to do it again — even if that team isn’t the Lightning.

David Singer at the Ice Block did a good job several weeks back complaining about the fact no NHL web sites have RSS feeds on them. I tried to give owners the benefit of the doubt because they wouldn’t have invested in their web presence during the lockout.

…And in some cases, teams haven’t done much investing in their web presence in the last couple of years.

Note Tampa Bay Lightning.com — which most every Lightning fan has ventured to at one point or another. While the current site is certainly an upgrade over the first iteration of TBL.com, it is showing it’s age greatly at this point. The current design, featuring slight variations of what was originally there, has been in use since the beginning of the 2001-02 season. In Internet design circles, that is a Gods age.

The site does not work properly in the Firefox web browser, there are javascript errors on the page from what others have told me. There are probably dozens of features out there that can be implemented on the site and they are not there or people are unaware of them (such as RSS or Atom feeds which are certainly lacking and growing intensive popularity – as Bloom’s article mentions).

Having a splash screen on the site might look cool but it’s known as a hindrance to web surfers (why the barrier between the web URL and the actual content?) and web-page indexing (meaning your web pages don’t get added so easily by Search Engine spiders). This hurts web traffic and thus might limit income… though in the case of a major sports team like the Lightning, where the URL is known automatically, it’s much less a deal — except when special content is involved (such as articles from the past, special site features, etc) .

I’d offer my own services to help manage the web site if I could — of course I am but a novice webmaster and blogger out there, yet I am devote to what I do: trying to provide content as well as making it accessible to all. That should be the case first and foremost with any web page – and unfortunately the Bolts aren’t even achieving that right now with their web offering.

Edit: The St. Petersburg Times reports (Sunday, August 21st) that SportsBusiness Daily ranks TBL.com #30 of the 30 NHL franchise (I can’t find a source URL on that however).

A few days ago I mentioned the St. Pete Times Forum sitting in silence.

What I didn’t mention was the change in status this week… The beautiful sight that I witnessed as it was created over the last few days… I can’t create a thumbnail but I can tell you what it is:

There be ICE there!

The Crest is down, the lines are down, “Thank you Fans!” is written at the bluelines…

Hockey is almost here!

Since around Christmas, I’ve been looking around at NHL and Lightning branded products on the World Wide Web and watched as their numbers dwindled.

Not that they offered much as was.

As of late I’ve been doing the same thing over again – browsing around various sports-apparel web sites that sell NHL branded merchandise, and what have I found? Not a lot.

This goes without saying that some of the merchandise offered by companies selling NHL branded products is poorly geared regionally. I mean, you can find the normal t-shirt and ball cap stuff branded with the Tampa Bay Lightning logo… But with such a warm climate for the majority of the year — why are there skully and wool caps offered and not sun visors? Why are there a plethora of jackets and sweats and not many tank tops or even flip-flops with the team crest on it? Oh sure, there are women’s tank tops, but what about the men?

Jersey’s remain overpriced (replicas and authentics)… You want people wearing their team’s sweaters – not wishing that they were more affordable. I’m wondering if the Reebok deal with the NHL will bring jersey prices down? Everything I have seen offered on the web was from CCM which formerly supplied jerseys to the NHL

I know the hockey base is in the north, I know that the majority of the hockey season is in the cool to cold time of year…. But the NHL is missing out by only marketing to that time of the year.

I’m certain that Montreal Canadien fans wouldn’t be proud to wear their colors during the summer, nor do I think Flames fans, or Bruin fans or fans of other northern teams stop being fans during Spring and Summer.

Merchandising for only part of the year — and poor offerings for the southern teams — is basically giving up without a fight when it comes to marketing the sport to the masses.

By the way — I’m also looking to affiliate with a company (hopefully local) that sells Lightning merchandise). If anyone can point me in the right direction, or if an interested party happens upon this…?

From Hockey Will Tear Us Apart:

Lightning fans, I feel your pain. We’re kindred spirits; born in the same year, and now stuck in the same situation, only yours hurts a little more right now. (Yes, I was insanely jealous earlier in the year, but we’re in this post-apocalypse salary cap together now. I’m also mad at Lecavalier for what he might be encouraging Hossa to do, if it helps.)

Hello Brethren Senator fans out there!

That’s twice the Lightning have sorta’ shot you guys in the foot with regards to contractual negotiations. Anyone recall Brad Richards re-signing and how Havlat wanted money on par with that? I’d link to an article which shows the heated criticism but on my web searching, I just can’t find it.

At any rate, you guys are in your own bind and it’s a bittersweet bind to be in. The Senators suffered and suffered greatly during their building years at the beginning of the teams existence. They burst onto the scene int he late 1990’s and wowed and shocked the league. They weren’t Nottawa anymore.

There’s so much promise and heartache with the Senators right now (and I still find it very much ridiculous that someone actually compared them to the Expos once) yet it’s not going to last. Even if the Sens (or the Bolts, or other currently hinder-by-the-cap teams) fall down and go boom in the short term, they’re a smarter organization than to let the Cap hinder things long term. They’ll adapt and cut loses where they may have to and come out better than immediate results show.

With little opportunity to make the roster and with little desire to make $75k in the AHL, Eric Perrin and Shane Willis are exploring opportunities to play in Europe.

This is disappointing in many ways – the lack of depth created by this is the first thing to be disappointed about. The loss of opportunity to see if Eric can bud into a player anywhere near the caliber of his former linemate, Martin St. Louis, is another. Shane Willis hasn’t been the same since a concussion early in his career but it woudl be nice to see him finally overcome that and get back into the NHL.

I think Feaster ought to do these guys a service and trade their rights to a team insterested in having them on their roster at the NHL level. It’d be a pain to play against them but they’ve earned their right to continue on at the NHL level, even if it’s not with the Lightning.

for those of you who might have noticed, the forum has been down a couple of days – not that anyoen was posting on there, but you may have ntocied it anyway. I’ve replaced the software witha different message board software and all the forum needs now is some members and some posts…

Boltsmag Forums are open for business once again.

I’m overdue to add some links to the blogroll here. There are a lot more hockey blogs out there but there are two specifically that I’ve added to the Blogroll officially that need mention.

First off — Tom and his Sabre Rattling blog. Tom’s been posting in comments and another Florida blogger. He had gotten props from PJ Swenson during the latest Carnival of the NHL (at Sharkspage in case you missed it).

The second mention is of Delay of Game — it’s another Lightning blog of all things?!? Can you believe it? It’s operated by USF senior Chris who has been trying to keep tabs on all the movement this offseason with his “Moving day” posts so far.

Of course, i had also added Ryan at Habsblog a few days ago… but no mention to him or his effort ont eh web. Johnny did bad….

In 1992 the National Football League implemented it’s free agency system with the team Salary Cap in place. There were several periods that followed the implementation of the FA system: First was anarchy, the second was upheaval and turmoil as teams didn’t just scramble to improve their rosters but improve their bottom line in whole – jumping from city to city. The third period was a last gasp for the status quo as franchises that were pre-cap dynasties (SF 49′ers, Dallas Cowboys) took home championships until they fell aside with poor cap decisions.

The fourth period of the system was and is the parity of the league – where everyone is in contention at the start of the season and anything can happen. It’s also a period where teams have learned to beat the cap because players are just cogs on a roster. Mix and match while being fiscally sane and you will put yourself into contention while remembering that the Team comes first and the payday comes only if it can be afforded and earned.

It’s took almost 10 years to find equilibrium. Some teams still play by the old rules and can get a winner for a short time before everything goes to hell. Others are catching on to the facts of the new league — that you need to be smart and tactful in all aspects of building your team in order to contend for more than a moment.

The NHL has only just started life under the cap. It’s also only just started life with a much broader free agency. What upheaval comes now is just the begining — it’ll get worse, leaguewide, before it gets better — as teams try to find balance and find out financially what works and what doesn’t.

Will there be relocations? Will there be more anarchy? I think so. Do I regret the system? Absolutely not. Why? Because the status quo of the old system is death. The open-ended system that was yearned for by the NHLPA, or the system that looks like what MLB has in place, has proven it’s something that lags economics and turns off fans in some markets more than turning them on. One can say that MLB has experienced incredible growth since the Strike of 1994 — I can point out that MLB also turned a blind eye for ten+ years with regards to steroid abuse by players, and some of those players helped bring the fans back to the game by awing fans with feats of strength.

I might have complaints with regards to the immediate turmoil that is going on — as many fans of the game are having right now — but I’ve seen what can happen after the maelstrom subsides. My biggest complaint is simply staying the course ten years ago to ride the wave of popularity the sport had experience pre-strike. Staying the course helped lead the league down from it’s up-and-coming perch as financial insanity from the few helped drive up costs across the board. Blame Gary if you like, or blame the fact that certain groups within this sport fear change. Be it off ice through business or on ice through equipment and rules, change is bad, dontcha’ know? It leads to uncertainty and probably doom because… because change is bad!

This is only month one of the new CBA… There will be more bitching about financial stupidity by owners and players in the near future. There will be more bitching about America versus Canada in the near future as teams relocate and bad blood ensues. Yet even through this time of turmoil, the Cup and the quest for it’s glory will still be the ultimate factor in the day to day operations of franchises in the National Hockey League. That’ll never change – and that’s the status-quo that matters.

Lets go to “Tom Benjamin Fantasy Island” for a second and start dreaming of the world if the Cap wasn’t in place… Lets make it the same economic system that was in place before the shit hit the fan… Lets assume 2004-05 was wiped off player contracts and perchance a rollback occured… Just what happens to the Lightning under those circumstances?

The Free Agent Class remains Nikolai Khabibulin, Dave Andreychuk, Tim Taylor, etc. and those not tendered qualifying offers by the Lightning…. Why wouldn’t the Lightning offer players (like Brad Lukowich) contracts? Because of the rising cost to keep the Lightning together. Any Tampa Bay fan would remember the Lightning ran a tight financial ship before the lockout and only in the past season or two had allowed the extra spending to acquire key pieces of the puzzle.

The Lightning would have to also deal still with the RFA status of the likes of Boyle, Lecavalier, St. Louis and Fedotenko as we already know it.

Khabibulin doesn’t get offered 6+ million on the free agent market and that starts the merry-go-round of money…. New York, needing a solid netminder to help rebuild the Rangers, offers 10 million a season even after the salary rollback. The NHL is sent into a tizzy and Khabibulin accept the contractual offer that sets the NHL bar much higher than before.

Restricted Free Agents Jerome Ignila and Joe Thornton command 9 to 11 million a year from their respective teams. Thornton’s demands aren’t met and he holds out, while Jerome inks his 33.6 million dollar, 3 year contract.

Jay Feaster starts talking with Kent Hughes and the numbers are astronomical for what Vinny is interested in… Jay decides to put Vinny on the backburner just a bit and focus on Ruslan Fedotenko – who’s trying to get 3.5 million for his services after what he did in the Stanley Cup Final. Jay gets him down to 2.7 million a year in a 2 year contract and then moves on to NHLPA sycophant Tim Taylor. Taylor would be happy to rejoin the Lightning at the sum of 1.5 million a year and lets be known that other teams are interested in his service….

Meanwhile Kent Hughes starts playing the media game where he’s upset that his client is not getting up front status with the Lightning. “He was only the MVP of the World Cup Tournament and helped the Lightning win the Cup, you’d think they’d make his re-signing a priority….”

Martin St. Louis’ demands are more frugal than numbers being thrown out by the Lecavalier camp. Marty will be happy with a 4-5 million dollar contract as long as it’s long term. Jay and team president Bill Campbell can’t see a problem with that and the winger is re-signed.

Marian Hossa talks Ottawa into a deal that stands just below Iggy’s money in Calgary — 10.7 million a season for two years. The Lecavalier camp is more than happy to start mentioning in Quebec and other Canadian provinces, how Vinny was a more valuable asset than Hossa and worth at least the same.

The problem is the Lightning can’t afford him.

The Lightning can’t afford Lecavalier and with this insane money being offered in New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, Detroit, Colorado and Dallas, the rest of the league is feeling the pinch. Edmonton has put their team up for sale. Pittsburgh has declared their intention to relocate to Portland and Miami is in secret talks to amscray to Winnipeg.

What happens with the Lightning? Vinny doesn’t get his money and a bitter holdout ensues that lasts the season. The next off season the money goes up in those select few markets once again and this time Brad Richards has the outlandish demands (and Pat Morris can run circles around Kent Hughes and his negotiation style).

So, in preserving the status quo – the death of the Lightning (though with up and coming defensive prospects in the system) at the hands of being priced out at their own success is a much quicker game. The open market, capitalist system wins again and who loses? The fans in Tampa… But we don’t count in the grand scheme of the NHL anyway… Not under the new rule of Commish Chris Chelios, who succeeds Gary Bettman. Vancouver wins the Cup even after Todd Bertuzzi gets arrested on murder charges for decapitating Martin Brodeur out of frustration of the New Jersey Devi’s trapping system.

…

Yes, some of the above speculation is outlandish and hogwash but then again – you just never know how things are going to happen for sure…. Did we expect this much financial insanity and free agent binge spending after a Salary Cap was finally put into place?

The fall out of the Lecavalier contract has been all over the Team Canada Olympic Camp in Vancouver. TSN gets comments form Brad, Vinny and Marty with regards to the salary crunch.

The one thing that amazes me is the attitude that caused the lockout in the first place seems to be dictating players attitudes still.

‘It sucks, there was a reason we didn’t want a salary cap that low, especially for our team,” said Richards. ”For some teams it’s great, for some teams it sucks. But we’re going to have live with it. We’ve already lost one of the best goalies in the world – which we could have signed without a cap – and now we don’t know what’s going to happen with our Hart Trophy winner.”

You know, Brad, the Lightning could have signed Khabibulin if he wasn’t all for the money. Just LOOK at the difference between the Lightning and the Blackhawks and you want to tell me that Nikolai made his choice for reasons other than financial? Maybe he could have accepted just a bit less in order to stay with the team… You’ve heard of that, right? “Taking one for the team?” It’s an expression that’s commonly used in sports and fits perfectly right here in a monetary sense.

Vinny’s as guilty — as is, of course, agent Kent Hughes — for letting the market dictate what Vinny would accept as a “fair price”. He and Hughes should have been well aware that his payday negatively effects the future of the Tampa Bay Lightning roster if it results in the departures of St. Louis, Richards, Modin or other key components on this team.

The New NHL — featuring the same mentality as the old NHL: Get it while you can and don’t worry about the next guy. Don’t worry about the team. Worry about “fair market value” and be done with it.

“Looks like Jay Feaster got reamed on this one, folks.”

Give it up to Jes Golbez at Hockey Rants for stating a lot of things in his most recent post that I was too much of a coward to address during the “Vinny isn’t signed! OHmygodwhattodo!” crying from Lightning fans (and Montreal fans for that matter) over the last few weeks.

I’ve said in the past, after being told Lecavalier was the best player in franchise history, that he wasn’t even the best player currently on the team. He’s the franchise player because of what we have labeled him since his drafting. All the while the true performer — his former line-mate at Rimouski and Notre Dame, Brad Richards — gets overlooked and undermined.

Maybe it’s a bit of ego – not wanting to see Montreal get their way as Habs fans poke and prod and declare what Vincent wants without Vincent actually saying it. Maybe it was just bad writing on my part – gutless writing to go against the flow and say “Hey Jay, be responsible…”

Unfortunately, Jay Feaster is more inclined to continue his tenure as “not the General Manager that let Vinny Lecavalier get away” all while setting himself up for being the GM that let Brad Richards get away. (Or Martin St. Louis, or Pavel Kubina, or Ruslan Fedotenko, etc).

I guess the crux to the situation is Vincent’s age. One may argue he is going to get better with time – he’s just starting to break through…. But when his numbers have been inconsistent in his career and his attitude has been troublesome at times… You have to wonder if it will come up again on ice? Will he and John Tortorella clash again because of styles that Vinny picked up while playing in Russia? Will they clash again over some unseen aspect in the new NHL? And what happens when that occurs? What happens if Vinny pouts if he is not handed the C after Dave Andreychuk finally retires?

Constructed on the banks of the Garrison Channel in downtown Tampa the St. Pete Times Forum is one of the biggest and most profitable Arenas in North America.

Previously known as Ice Palace, the Forum is controlled through Lightning owner William Davidson�s Palace Sports and Entertainment company. The Forum was constructed as a �plan B� site for a Tampa Bay Lightning arena after a failed bid was made to build a venue next to Tampa Stadium in the early 1990�s. The Forum is heralded as part of the rebirth that is taking place in Downtown Tampa�s Channelside district.

The arena was re-designed for increased capacity � offering more seats � after the rampant success of hockey in the Thunderdome (aka Florida Suncoast Dome, now known as Tropicana Field) in St. Petersburg. With the St. Petersburg stadium drawing 20,000-27,000 to games regularly, it warranted a size increase to the under-construction arena.

The Forum�s hosted the 1998-1999 NHL All-Star Game and will be the site of the 2012 NCAA Men’s Frozen Four hockey tournament (as well as hosting the NCAA Women’s Final Four in 2008 and early round action in the Men’s NCAA tournament).

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And of course who can pass up looking at the arena and downtown Tampa (while the arena was under construction) circa 1995?

Directions:

FROM ST PETERSBURG/MEDERIA BEACH:
- Take I-275 North to Exit 44 (Ashley Drive) to Jackson
- Left on Jackson to Morgan
- Right on Morgan to Channelside

FROM CLEARWATER/LARGO/
PINELLAS/PALM HARBOR/TARPON SPRINGS/OLDSMAR:
- Take SR 60 (Gulf to Bay/Courtney Campbell) to I-275
- North on I-275 to Exit 44 (Ashley Drive) to Jackson
- Left on Jackson to Morgan
- Right on Morgan to Channelside

NORTHWEST TAMPA/HUDSON/NEW PORT RICHEY/PASCO/SPRING HILL:
- Take Veterans Expressway (SR 589) South to I-275
- Take exit 42 (Armenia Avenue)
- Go south on Armenia Avenue to Platt Street
- Go left on Platt
- Platt turns into Channelside Drive

NORTH TAMPA/OCALA/GAINESVILLE/
TOWN AND COUNTRY/LAND O LAKES/ZEPHYRHILLS:
- Take I-275 South to Exit 45A (Downtown East)
- Go south on Jefferson to Whiting Street
- Right on Whiting Street to Morgan
- Left on Morgan to Channelside

ORLANDO/LAKELAND/PLANT CITY/
DAYTONA/ JACKSONVILLE/POLK COUNTY:
- Take I-4 West to I-275 South
- Take Exit 45A (Downtown East)
- Go south on Jefferson to Whiting Street
- Right on Whiting Street to Morgan
- Left on Morgan to Channelside Drive

BRADENTON/SARASOTA/VENICE/FT MYERS/FT LAUDERDALE/MIAMI/NAPLES/PORT CHARLES:
- Take I-75 North to Exit 50 Crosstown Expressway (TOLL)
- West on Crosstown Expressway to Exit 8 (Downtown East)
- Right on Kennedy Blvd to Morgan
- Left on Morgan to Channelside Drive

BRANDON/VERO BEACH/PALM BEACH/GIBSON:
- Take SR 60 (Adamo Drive) West to Channelside Drive
- Go south on Channelside Drive

Six Point Eight Million Dollars a year for four years….

So much as for Kent Hughes “Home team discount” talk….

And while we’re at it — so much as for Quebec-based rumors that Vinny was to be traded / wanted to head to the Habs post haste.

I’ve been out all afternoon and I have just found out the news that Lecavalier was inked so there is not much flesh on this post… The fact is the top line is inked and one key member of this squad is absent now (that being Martin St. Louis). That’s the big concern.

Rumor early on had Marty taking only 4 million a year in a multi-year deal…. That was just talk though before the financial insanity of the 2005 offseason commenced. You’ve seen other big name free agents and RFA’s getting big dollars and of course — Marty is overdue to be making top dollar. He had originally joined the team making the league minimum and that lasted even though he performed. His last contract was 2 million dollars a year and he more than earned it with his Hart Trophy season which helped the Lightning win the Cup.

Lecavalier’s been deemed the Franchise since coming into the league and he’s earned franchise money (which means Brad Richards could be the odd man out in a couple of years with thanks to his buddies payday)…Just how much, and for how long, will Martin St. Louis be signed? And just for the sake of asking – what is his worth in trade (not that this fan wants to see him gone)?