I used to have a very strong opinion of Dmitry Afanasenkov’s potential. I figured he just had to shoot more and learn how to finish and he would become as potent a weapon as Martin St. Louis.

Well, he may just be finished period. He and off season pickup Andreas Karlsson have been waived by the Lightning. If no team picks them up, they will be re-assigned to Springfield of the AHL.

Watching the game last night (and several games as of late) I though Affy might be more of a problem than part of the solution and it would appear that the powers-that-be have come to the same conclusion. Good luck Dmitry.

Further from the story:

Though Feaster indicated the move was made as a backup plan after defensemen Filip Kuba and Paul Ranger suffered minor injuries Thursday night, the GM also said he was close to making a trade last week before the holiday roster freeze went into effect.

The roster freeze has been lifted, more than a million dollars cleared under the cap… Just what is Jay planning here?

With his niche fanbase, Vaclav Prospal continues to have his loyal supporters in the Tampa Bay area despite only 21 points in 37 games. Yet Bruce Garrioch wrote in the Ottawa Sun that Vinny P may be on his way out of Tampa and is being actively shopped… The Chicago Blackhawks were listed as a likely destination. (hat tip to Lyle Richardson and Spectors Hockey).

What else goes and what comes back has me curious and is up for speculation… As is how this will effect my for-charity prediction of Vaclav’s point total this season.

Act fast! Sticks of Fire is holding a little contest for tickets to tomorrow night’s Lightning/Canadiens game… I’ll just tell you the question is about Tampa history and the seats are pretty good. Good luck.

Just a Boltsmag comment —

Most of you who use Boltsmag as a quick-reference for Lightning stats over the years (via the pop up menu near the site logo) may have noticed things are just a wee bit screwed up. I apologize for that and will be trying to remedy the situation.