Some people think he’s an outright bad seed, others think he was the victim of character assassination by way of the St. Petersburg Times. Regardless, he’s caught the Tampa Bay regions attention and inspired Tim (from The Journey of Jack Tripper) to write and record the Elijah Dukes is my Daddy Blues.
(Hat tip to Sticks of Fire where I saw Tim’s post)
The following was originally posted here in 2004. I still find it to be my thought on the draft. After watching last night’s mockery event, there are probably more things worth pointing out that I hate about the NHL draft
I continue to hate how the NHL Draft is conducted.
The big board behind the main stage for example… The fact every f’n executive for a team shows up when a player is selected… The fact that the cities keep changing and the response from the crowd is fickle -at best - at times.
I’m not saying over-hype the draft like the NFL but I do believe that the league needs to move forward with regards to how they conduct the draft and stop having such a low-quality operation. They could either stop making the draft a spectacle (which would be bad for the league and would anger a lot of people) or they could start solidifying the event with something that isn’t caked with “tradition” (the big board “tradition”, the revolving cities “tradition”, etc).
For example: move the draft to one place and have it there year after year. I’m not going to suggest New York, however. Probably Toronto at a theater-like location instead of an arena. Or perchance Chicago — which hosts a storied past for their franchise if not a current intensity of interest for hockey. Fans of hockey will turn out in any event at either location…
Start making the draft about the players and not about the executives making the selections! There is not enough clips about players and there is not enough information on team needs being talked about by those covering the draft.
And as for that billboard/big board that lists all the picks? “Mr. Commissioner — Tear this board down!” 
———
OK, 2007 thoughts:
Do we really need 20+ speeches being made thanking the host city and getting a cheap pop from the crowd when their home town is mentioned? Shouldn’t Gary Bettman be focusing on the state of the game instead of how wonderful a city is and a franchise in particular is when he’s speaking? Shouldn’t there be some type of continuity — such as a limited amount of time between picks? And while we are at it, shouldn’t podiums look like podiums instead of like cups of iced coffee?
The entire event is antiquated and vaudeville-like. It doesn’t feel like a pro sports league is conducting this event.
The fire sale in Nashville continues as Tomas Voukon has been shipped into the Southeast division and to the Florida Panthers for the Panthers first round pick (#10 overall) and 2 second round selections.
This also confirms the Lightning had #47 snatched up by the Panthers this year (which was the conditional pick in the Chris Gratton trade).
Shane O’Brien joins Filip Kuba and Dan Boyle as the third D-man under contract for next season. He signed a two year deal with the Bolts.
It’s an RFA signing but still significant seeing what the Lightning paid to obtain him (1st round draft choice and goaltender Gerald Coleman).
Lyle’s outdone himself… Or should I say Bruce Garrioch at the Ottawa Sun has outdone himself and Lyle at Spectors has simply called a spade a spade in simplicity and eloquence?
Bruce will get us started here — rumor-mongering about the future of Brad Richards in Tampa Bay, as summarized by Lyle:
Bruce Garrioch reports league sources claiming Tampa Bay Lightning GM Jay Feaster might be willing to shop Brad Richards and his $7.8 million per season contract to Chicago, Philadelphia or Phoenix in hopes of landing one of the top three picks in this year’s draft. Garrioch claims Richards might be expendable after the Bolts acquired centre Chris Gratton last week from Florida, and this move would be done to clear up cap space to land a quality goaltender
Now, after a grand debunking of the rumor — Lyle leaves us with the comment that was so profoundly true that I consider it an absolute gem:
nd considering Richards “expendable” because of the acquisition of Chris Gratton is laughable.
This is the literal truth to the matter… At least for me. When I read the original summary — I broke out laughing after reading why Richards had become expendable. Chris Gratton’s acquisition leads to shoving Brad out the door? That’s about as likely as the Beatles getting back together. Chris Gratton replacing Tim Taylor is logical and makes sense long term. Chris Gratton spending time on wing on the top two lines if someone else fills the role of 3rd line center better than him makes a degree of sense as well. Gratton being Tampa Bay’s #2 center….? Excuse me, I’m going back to fits of giggles over this one…
Thanks for the laugh, Bruce! And thanks, Lyle, for confirming my right to laughter.
Boltprospects.com is down and out at the moment with thanks to a lightning strike. As it’s team of writers note — it’s an irony of ironies…
They’ll be back up in a jiff though, and surely will be live again before the NHL draft commences Friday.
The draft days away and the unveiling of the updated logos and jersey’s of all 30 franchises is imminent…
But reportedly the Caps new jersey has indeed been leaked and it sure ain’t pretty.
Jan Hlavac has signed a one year deal with the Lightning. He’s been in Europe the last three years while being an NHL veteran of five.
The move is for depth at wing, I can’t see much more than that. Yet Jay feaster puts up the on-a-wing=and-a-prayer praise that Jan will be the 2nd line answer that has eluded the Lightning this season:
‘Jan Hlavac is a highly skilled player who we believe will fit in well within our group of top six forwards and a player we hope will develop some chemistry with Brad Richards,” executive vice president and general manager Jay Feaster said. ”He is an excellent skater and is both a playmaker and a guy who can finish. The ‘new NHL’ is tailor-made for Jan’s game, and he expressed through his agent a strong desire to return to the NHL as was evidenced by the cap- and budget-friendly contract Jan signed.”
So is this a solution to problems on the roster (on the cheap!) or is it a bottom-dollar move that the Lightning hope will pan out? It’s worked for the Bolts so far…
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages… Your 2007 Off-season guide to Lightning transactions! I’ll attempt to list all on the roster but no one is perfect.
Here’s a breakdown at current of who’s signed and who’s not… Who’s on the roster and who’s been moved:
Last Updated 6-13-2007
(Signed, unsigned (UFA and RFA), left via free agency / via trade, UFA signing, acquired via trade)
CENTERS:
Vincent Lecavalier
Brad Richards
Tim Taylor
Andreas Karlsson
Chris Gratton
Nick Tarnasky
Eric Perrin
Ryan Craig
Blair Jones
WINGS:
Ruslan Fedotenko
Rob DiMaio
Jan Hlavac
Martin St. Louis
Vaclav Prospal
Jason Ward
Kyle Wavnig*
Karl Stewart
André Roy
*Evgeny Artyukhin*
DEFENSE:
Dan Boyle
Filip Kuba
Shane O’Brien
Cory Sarich
Paul Ranger
Nolan Pratt
Luke Richardson
Matt Smaby*
Vladimir Mahlik*
GOALTENDERS:
Marc Denis
Karri Ramo
Johan Holmqvist
NOTE: * = Minor Leaguer / European player or prospect that is property of the team
Follow all the latest team transactions through TSN.ca
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