While Boltsmag is no longer updating (for blog posts about the Lightning, check out Raw Charge), I did need to post this graphic — five years late — for superstition sake…

Five years ago, I had this “The Wall” graphic updated with every game played in the Cup playoffs. Every game, a new notch was put up. Though it should have only been victories (I was young and stupid! Forgive me!), I notched every game – win or lose.

Some people blamed lack of updates on loses the Bolts suffered in the Eastern Conference Finals and Stanley Cup Finals. This made me more responsible in updating said-graphic. After the Bolts won the Cup in 2004 — I neglected to update the graphic once again to register the 7th and final game.

This is my attempt to rectify that situation and perhaps throw off a jinx that the Bolts have had since:

This is stupid.

So stupid, in fact, I compare it to the old joke about a little boy who goes to school with a five dollar bill. He brags to his friend he has one five dollar bill and is offered three one dollar bills in trade. “Three is more than one!” the friend tells the first boy.

And the kid makes the trade. And throughout the day he keeps trading down like that for more of less.

In the frustrating days of the late 1990’s and early Double-Oh’s – you saw just this happen in trades. Something great traded for more of less. For a team rebuilding, it sort of made sense. While there were hits, there were more misses and that was why fans were not endeared to Rick Dudley…

But when the dominoes started to fall on the more-of-less in this situation, we started with a top pair defensiveman (Dan Boyle), traded him for a young up and coming D-man and a first rounder (Matt Carle), then traded Carle for Eminger and trash-considerations in Steve Downie…

And now we get Noah Welch and a 3rd rounder for Eminger…? You’ve traded Dan Boyle for Welch and a 3rd rounder (after dealing away the draft pick already for a sub-par D-man)??

This is insane.

And I apologize profusely to Noah Welch. I apologize for coming down on him indirectly like this when I have never seen him play and don’t know his future. I apologize to him because this post comes off like a judgment about his abilities when in fact, it’s a judgment of the braintrust (I use that term as loosely as possible) of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

And then again, he just became a piece of one of the most jumbled puzzles of transactions in NHL history. That’s not his fault. That’s the fault of the upper brass who don’t seem to want the fans to understand what they are doing. I’m not talking cliché “happy to have him on the roster and he has great abilities” talk. I’m talking big-picture direction of the franchise talk… What’s-the-plan-going-forward talk. Talk that’s been missing while each and every roster move causes more anxiety, and every lingering rumor seems akin to a bad dream.

Recchi and a 2nd round draft pick next year were sent to Boston (and playoff contention) in return for defenceman Matt Lashoff and forward Martins Karsums.

Zen inspired question of the inane variety:
If a former Stanley Cup winner falls through waivers, does he have trade value?

Gary Roberts cleared waivers… meaning no one wanted to pick him up for a waiver fee.

So unless he’s lumped in as a add on to a trade, I don’t see him moving to a contending team. But with so many hours left until the deadline, I sure could be wrong.

“We’re tight with our guys. We’re not looking to give them away. If people are going to make meaningful offers to move this organization forward, we will act. But we won’t act for the sake of acting. We’re going to make deals if they make sense for the organization.”

–Brian Lawton, General Manager.

With the track record of OK (not really) Hockey, I can’t say I believe Mr. Lawton one iota. Especially after reading that he plans on being at the office at 6 A.M tomorrow morning.

Deals will be done, trades will be made, and the only place they make sense will be on paper. Or, the wise moves will be the small ones that don’t seem to have significance until later on when a young player grows into his role… The Lightning under Koules/Barrie/Lawton have a habit of going with the former: great on paper, lousy on ice. The latter would require a long term blue print that does not sacrifice the nucleus of the roster.

Rumors have swirled for days that Gary Roberts was a target at the trade deadline.

Please, Brian Lawton and OK (not Really) Hockey, tell us WHY he was placed on waivers today? Couldn’t get anything for him? Or just quit trying?

Martin St. Louis is heading to Montreal for the All Star Game as a replacement for Sidney Crosby. The former HART Trophy winner and current leading scorer for the Lightning joins Vincent Lecavalier as Lightning representation in the game (Steven Stamkos will be playing in the Young Stars game).

You needed to only look at the banter on the bench before Vincent Lecavalier took his penalty shot on Thursday night.

You only had to feel the electricity in the building. The fans on the edge of their seat.

This was the captain going in. This was the franchise going one on one. And you damned well better have seen the reaction from the fans and the bench when he slipped it through.

If you can’t market that, you shouldn’t be in the business. If you can’t find the value in that – you shouldn’t be a player in the game of running a pro sports franchise.

The Lightning returned home tonight to face the rival Flyers and what was accomplished on ice was nothing short of the fantastic. It was the type of effort the Lightning have only shown a handful of times all season: peppering the Flyers with shots, contributions from all. 4-1 final. Check with Cassie at Boltsblog.net for the Recap.

(last updated January 16th, 2009 @ 4:12 PM EST)

Sports columnist Gary Shelton at the St. Petersburg Times says in eloquence the point worth remembering (for Lightning fans) with the Lecavalier tradewind/storm that has swept up:

It is as simple as this. Fans trust Vinny Lecavalier a great deal, and they don’t trust the new ownership at all.

Around here, Lecavalier is not only the face of a franchise, he is the faith. In the chaos of a season, he is the reason to keep watching.

He is the reason to think things might eventually get good again.

That, in essence, is the point in fan outcry against this supposed trade talk. It’s not a foreign subject for Lightning fans to see high quality players sent packing during down years in order to try to improve the roster. Yet in those down years, it was usually a marginal fan favorite sent away for a long term investment (or a short sighted solution) in return.

And OK Hockey has been all about the short-sighted solution sus-far, or so it seems. Lets secure Dan Boyle… Wouldn’t it be cooler if we traded him though? Lets bring in Barry Melrose and jazz up management and… oh, wait, he hasn’t coached in a decade and look at the monstrosity of incapability he is displaying…

A Lecavalier trade, to me, would be comparable to sending Mario Lemieux packing from the Pittsburgh Penguins instead of Jaromir Jagr in the July 2001 trade… The face of the franchise, the figurehead… hell, the team owner for Christ sake. Mario had saved the franchise when he was drafted. He won Stanley Cups with the Pens, he literally saved hockey in Pittsburgh again by purchasing the Pens…

Some would say Lecavalier joining the Lightning (along with so many other cogs that have come and gone since 2004) accomplished the same in Tampa Bay. A perennial loser became a contender on his watch, and a champion on his watch. A derelict franchise was rebuilt and renewed with thanks to the hope and faith that Vincent brings to roster day in and day out.

41 games in and I want a do over.

41 games in and I half (pun intended) to wonder just where the Lightning would be if Rick Tocchet had been in charge of the club, starting last summer? Where would the Lightning be with a training camp that was more than a few scrimmages and a European vacation? The Euro games would still have happened, but the camp part of training camp may have made an impact.

41 games in, and I’m thinking about cogs that shouldn’t have been jettisoned (Shane O’Brien) and other roster volatility that has been a hindrence for the franchise more than a strength. Trades, promotions, demotions, secondary promotions, demotions, waivings… It’s just been a fight for mediocrity on the lower lines and defense, all to round out a core of would-be upper echelon players on offense.

Cassie at Boltsblog provides the statistics and pain of the roster volatility in her mid-season report:

The debacle that was the first half of the season seems to be past them. At least until they get closer to the trade deadline on March 4th. January, at least, ought to be pretty quiet in terms of personnel changes, I think.

And that’s what has gotten the Lightning to where they are now – personnel changes. And I don’t mean that in a good way. They have used 14 defensemen so far this season, as well as a total of 38 players on their roster thru 41 games. Only 5 players on the current roster have played in all 41 Lightning games thus far.

41 games in, with an nonperforming team. I’m intimidated at the thought of what the trade deadline will bring and what it will send away. The one thing from the roster volatility that we saw was an inconsistency on who was brought in and how they worked into the overall scheme. Who would be sold off and for what downright frightens me. While there are players I would not cry about being let go, there are others whose attitudes and character are too valuable to a franchise that needs to be reconstructed.

A franchise that needs direction. A roster that needs self respect and purpose and the drive to obtain Lord Stanley’s Cup. And an ownership group that knows better than to mess with it’s product like it’s decisions and choices are all on paper and have no consequences in real life.

41 games in. I’m antsy about what the second half will bring.

If I had to find a word for the Lightning under Barry Melrose’s tenure as coach, I think the word would be disjointed.

The lack of cohesion was apparent, the lack of passion on the ice… and drive to actually play the game. To enjoy the game. It felt like, from a fan perspective, a much hyped package that just could not deliver anywhere close to the promise that was proposed to the fanbase.

The stigma of the roster anarchy will continue to haunt ownership and Brian Lawton for the rest of the season (if not beyond that) unless a clear sense of direction of what the Lightning franchise wants in players is found.

But what a difference a few games make.

It started with Colorado, and I noted that it was the start of a new season for the Lightning where Rick Tocchet had worked with players during their scheduled time off. The Colorado game results and the lack-of-effort in Atlanta didn’t do as much harm as once was thought… Through the negatives and adversity, it looks like the Lightning have found… well, the Lightning.

Maybe I am speaking too soon on this, but the teamt hat I have watched versus the Penguins and Panthers the past week has not been the same club I’ve watched otehr times this season. There is a drive again, there is a cohesion… There’s emotion and passion…

And there’s a clear desire to win.

Things are not all gravy, don’t get me wrong. Thsi team is not suddenly a bunch of world beaters… But as I watch the closing minutes of this Lightning vs. Panthers matchup at Times Palace, the Lightning are playing like sharks when there is blood in the water. A far cry from the comparisons to the days of Steve Ludzik.

Tocchet’s talks, the return of Jeff Halpern, Jussi Jokinen’s “wakeup call”, Evgeny Artyukhin actually playing like he’s on the North American continent once again… Mike Smith being stellar between the pipes, the return of Ryan Malone… It’s all had a profound effect on this club.

Now will it last?

6-4 the final at Times Palace, the Lightning beat the Panthers for the 2nd straight day. Vincent Lecavalier had two goals, Martin St. Louis, Ryan Malone, Steven Stamkos and “Artoo” Artyukhin also contributed to scoring. An outstanding effort for a 2nd-game-in-24-hours matchup.

As the holiday season has passed it’s apex, maybe so has the downfall of the Lightning franchise? One could hope, right?

Two wins in a row… I believe that’s a season high, and shows you how horribly the Lightning have played this year. None the less, it’s two positives for this team which has been surrounded by negatives for far too long.

I took the win at Pittsburgh Tuesday Night as a gift — the Penguins have all the firepower it shoudl take to render the Lightning dead on arrival. Instead, the Penguins played Tuesday’s game as if they were already on vacation. Why be bothered with such a thing as winning a should-win match-up with the bottom dwellers of the NHL?

And last night’s game at Sunrise versus the Florida Panthers was a spirited effort with an ugly constant from the season sus far — a regulation collapse leading to overtime and the shootout. All too often this season, the Lightning have found themselves in this situation — defeat snatched from the jaws of victory, perhaps.

Yet, what happens? With a shootout lineup that is not the top-heavy lineup that so often rears it’s head (Lecavalier, St. Louis, and insert-name-here), we get Hall-Jokinen-Artyukhin and Ryan Malone in the four rounds that it takes to secure the win.

As a result, at least for a night, the Lightning are no longer at the very bottom of the standings. 27 points puts them ahead of the Islanders among the league’s 30 teams. The St. Louis Blues and the Ottawa Senators are the next teams in the standings the Lightnign could very well pass on the road to redemption if this season high carries over into the new year.

I seriously doubt that Martin St. Louis is gunning for Vincent Lecavalier’s captainship with his recent outbursts about the team, but I have to say that this is something I think has been long overdue to come out publicly: veterans of the Lightning calling bullshit on the efforts of some of those also on the team.

I don’t know if this public venting can be portrayed as a level of leadership but this fan takes it as such — someone who loves this town and loves this team knows that others aren’t pulling their weight, and regardless of what has been done – they just aren’t playing with their heart and it’s hurting things.

Sadly, in pro sports, a venting like this doesn’t usually lead to the trouble being shipped out of town. It usually leads to the outspoken player being shipped away while the franchise gets rebuilt with problem children as the core.

Damian Cristodero at the Times reports that NHL official Stephen Walkom sees nothing wrong from last night:

Stephen Walkom, the NHL’s director of officiating, said the ruling that Lightning goaltender Mike Smith deliberately threw his stick to disrupt Milan Hejduk’s shootout attempt on Thursday was the correct call.

“It was a very tough call. It was a gutsy call. It was a call that was made in an instant, and I support the call,” Walkom said.

In a related story, Stephen Walkom is an idiot if he thinks this was a deliberate stick throwing incident:

(hat tip to Cassie at Boltsblog for getting the full video)

This is just a show of solidarity and among officials by standing by each other when one is wrong. Not just minorly, mistakenly wrong in this case, but completely batshit-crazy wrong that determines the outcome of a game without a goal being scored.

Who’s responsible for THIS one? Jussi Jokinen on waivers? I want to know whose call. Lawton? Barrie? Tocchet?

Kari Ramo was also sent back to Norfolk which is not surprising as he was an emergency call up. But I want to be enlightened — who, what and why?

Yes, Jokinen is not scoring goals… but there is a bigger story here and it’s a story that has been playing out all season, and keeping the roster in constant upheaval.

Leave it to the on ice officials to ruin a goalie duel by invoking a shootout rule that didn’t fit the situation.

Of course, I will not get on the case of Colorado fans who see my remarks as sour grapes. Or who just see the game as a lucky or solid win… But personally? I look at how this game ended and realize it’s one of the only shootout era games that ended without a goal scored to decide the victor.

Oh, technically a winner was decided by the referees… Which gives me new appreciation for those who prefer the “just let’em play” type of officiating: Refs should not decide games. Especially in the fashion of last night. (Edit: Counterargument- Refs DIDN’T decide the game, Martin St. Louis not scoring decided the game. Counter-counter argument? Hejduk didn’t score either.)

For a better, more in depth review of the game, head over to Boltsblog.net and read Cassie’s postmortem.

With 11 games until the season midway point, the main news out of Tampa this week was… training camp. Yes, training camp… Coach Rick Tocchet ran the nag that has been the Lightning roster (under performing, non-cohesive and soft) until they dropped.

Quite a difference to what Ryan Malone experienced back in September under Barry Melrose:

“I wasn’t sure how different camps went. We scrimmaged a couple times and then we left, really,” he said of the fall. “It wasn’t much structure and all the other stuff you’re supposed to be learning.”

It would seem Rick is trying to get his house in order and that’s all fine and good. In fact my above remark about “riding that nag…until it dropped” is misquoting and mischaracterizing — this wasn’t a mid-season Camp Torturella — but he still ran the team and ran them hard which is a stark contrast to the laissez faire approach of September’s camp and European Vacation under the Mullet.

Rick also met with Vinny Lecavalier after Tuesday’s practice to talk about the team, leadership and on-ice play. And Vinny’s on board with everything.

The question is, what type of results will we see from this tonight versus the Avs? A more alert team? Or one that is tuckered out from being overworked during their time off the last few days?

Quick sidenotes:

• Gary Roberts will hang them up after this season.
• Kari Ramo has been called up and will serve as backup to Mike Smith tonight due to an injury to Ollie the Goalie
• Ryan Malone and Jeff Halpren return to the lineup tonight
• Tonight’s telecast is in High Definition…

A freak deal. Wrong place at the wrong time. Lightning winger Marty St. Louis was cut on the forehead and nose by the skate of linesman Derek Arnel. An inadvertant occurrence that sent St. Louis rushing to the bench, and later received around 10 stiches to close the gash.

Marty is fine. The Lightning are hoping he will be available for Thursday’s home against Colorado. Best news for this team in some time.

–Tom Korun — ABC 28 Action News

I’m no professional sportswriter, nor a long standing, tenured TV personality in the Tampa Bay area… But jeez… “10 stitches… hope he is available for Thursday’s game versus Colorado”???

Tom? It’s routine for guys to get stitches between periods for wounds suffered on ice and play later in the game. Bad cuts, bad locations… The game matters more than the wound. Maybe it’s more obvious that players are playing while banged up during the Stanley Cup playoffs, but 10 stitches wouldn’t keep Martin St. Louis from playing unless it severed tendons somewhere…

I am not exactly crying over the news Steve Downie was sent down to Norfolk.

Apologies to the Admirals. You deserve better.

Two periods are in the books and the Lightning have looked more like… well, like the Tampa Bay Lightning that I’ve seen in the past — finesse and deftness.

Sadly, the question that stands out in my mind is “How are they going to screw it up this time?”

3-1 as it stands at the 2nd intermission. St. Louis with 2 goals (and having just missed the hat trick), Vincent Lecavalier with the other goal.

EDIT: Oh. My. God… It’s a final. The Lightning actually… They actually… Oh, lemme try to get the words out, forgive me for being challenged in this…

They actually won.

The streak ends at nine. Rick Tocchet gets win number two… The question now is, when and where will win #3 come?

“Steven is not ready for the NHL,” Melrose stated on the Fan 590. “Steven is going to be a good player…right now he’s just not strong enough physically to play against defencemen who are 6′3″ or 6′4″ that can skate as good as him.”
– Barry Melrose

You are an 18 year old hot prospect that is thrust into a team that is making a volatile transition of it’s roster, from speed and an offense-driven-defensive system to… well, to Fantasy Hockey. You’re paired up with big names and you’re listed as a big addition to a club that is in transition and changing chemistry.

Do you thrive under that as you learn the NHL game? Do you reach the high expectations?

Lemme throw you another what-if: What if ownership hadn’t changed? If Palace Sports were still calling the shots, if Jay Feaster were still in the front office (or Bill Barber for that matter, or someone else picked out by Ron Campbell or Tom Wilson) and John Tortorella was still behind the bench… What if that Lightning franchise drafted Stamkos #1 overall? Where would Steve be playing right now?

Odds are, back in the CHL for another year of maturing.

That is not pissing on Steven Stamkos or his game. This is not an attempt to undermine the kid or his future. The point is that, in a different scenario or situation, Steven would not be in the NHL this season or not pressed in the way he has been. Of course, in the aforementioned scenario, this would be a very different Lightning team.

As for the rest of Melrose comments (and Len Barrie’s retorts) — I’m just going to take the high road and dismiss this pissing match. Barrie has a track record of mouthing off and bad blood is being spread from somewhere in this organization… Tortorella, Dan Boyle and now Barry Melrose have expressed displeasure with their departures from the club. This is a very different atmosphere than what this fan is used to – where a transaction for the club did not generate such hostility.

Yes, bad blood and hurt feelings happens in sports or the business world when there is an abrupt change, but this is a grand departure from a classy face the Lightning used to operate under.

As for the rest of the Lightning roster… Maybe this is all playing out in order to light a fire under the players? A fictional drama? One can dream, right?

“This is futile,” the text message from my buddy Bill read. “They get one a minute in and they’re done. It’s like the Ludzik days all over again….Every time I watch, there are a couple of new numbers out there on the ice.”

Bill is no casual fan… He’s been through the times of despair, times of hope and times of glory when it comes to the Lightning. He may not be a season ticket holder but he’s as committed to the team as anyone else out there… And he’s been there since the start.

And this is part of the reason why there is so much distress out there among Lightning fans. No one is going to swoop in and save the team (even if OK Hockey thinks adding more offense is going to change things). The chemistry has turned to mud and the focus on the roster was on numbers and reputation more so than how well pieces of the puzzle fit together.

Bill’s venting brought back memories of the end of the 1990’s as Palace Sports started their ownership tenure with a cast of has-beens, cast-offs, never-were’s, and yet-to-be’s:

(the 1999-2000 TBL roster and stats from HockeyDB)

1999-2000 Roster

I kept looking at the roster and seeing grim reminders of days past. The former Detroit Viper trifecta of Stan Drulia, Dan Kesa and Ian Herbers for example…

Drulia, Kesa, Herbers…
Drulia, Kesa, Herbers…?
Drulia, Kesa, Herbers… Oh my!
Drulia, Kesa, Herbers… Oh my!
Drulia, Kesa, Herbers, OH MY!

Note, that wasn’t a chant of endearment…

But the grim difference between that roster and this one is that Palace Sports refused to spend much to begin with, with the Lightning, and focused on player development and roster moves. Some panned out over time and some didn’t… But enough panned out that Lord Stanley’s cup was secured in five seasons of play.

You didn’t expect a roster where the one constant was mediocrity… Where the head coach’s experience was the IHL level (and dumping in the puck seemed to be the only attempt at offensive gameplay). To think that the 2008-09 roster is currently made up of a plathora of big names, big contracts and similar production numbers (what production?) seems like a sick joke.

In the 1998-99 offseason, as Rick Dudley took over General Management duties of the Lightning from Jacques Demers, Demers is supposed to have told Dudley the sick truth. “There’s nothing in the system, the cupboard is bare.”

That quote was part of the hopelessness of 1999-2000 and the promise of days ahead. While Dudley has been shit upon by fans for his perchance to acquire soft Euro’s and Russians, he did put together a majority of the roster that would go on to win the Cup. He did (as he so often liked to chirp about) go about collecting assets yet again.

The only focus of the 2008-09 Tampa Bay Lightning franchise is at the top of the pops. The NHL Team… and with a roster of names (if not roles), the team’s performance compares directly to this franchise’s darkest days when it had nothing at all.

The Lightning went on to win 19 games in 1999-2000 (19-54-9-7 54 points). The current pace — 6-13-8 in 27 games, 20 points — is 18.

Barry Melrose, Rick Tocchet… It doesn’t matter right now. Thus Steve Ludzik is on our minds, but the promise and hope that better days are ahead seems absent.

(Editors note: The following was written by Jes Gölbez, previously of Hockey Rants and posted here with his permission)

Radim Vrbata’s tenure with the Tampa Bay Lightning, less than half a season into his 3-year, $9 million contract, has come to a quiet end as the slick Czech winger is going back home to play in the Czech Republic for the remainder of the season.

That was quick!

Coming off of a career high 56-point season, Vrbata was in that class of second-tier free agents that would be a good pick up for most teams.

The problem? The Tampa Bay Lightning wasn’t one of them, and it was never a good fit from the start.

I’ll let Cassie over at Bolts Blog summarize this one up to a T:

Oh, look. Another trade. I was thinking that it was about time for that again. And they’re trading away another defenseman for yet another forward. Yep, that’s pretty much par for the course with this team so far this season.

Looks like that coaching change really didn’t change much of anything, huh?

In management’s defense (no pun intended), former GM Jay Feaster horded defensivemen in the system and did little but shuffle them around (sometimes, not shuffling at all) through the system without committing to any of them. Hutchinson was a byproduct of that — a byproduct with a huge plus rating. This deal amounts to hoping to add marginal offense by way of sacrificing defensive depth.

While St. Petersburg Times sports columnist Gary Shelton summarizes ownership as the quick-draw-running-joke of the NHL, another punchline has come into play.

The Bolts have been one of several teams courtin’ and chasing Mats Sundin. The following blockquote characterizes why, in most part, it’s a joke that the team is one of ten with interest in Mats.

It would not be simple for Tampa Bay to make such a move. The team already has 14 forwards and it expects center Jeff Halpern (knee) to be ready by mid to late December. That means it would have to clear out roster and salary space.

Sundin is expected to sign for about $7-million, pro-rated to the remainder of the season. If he signs on Dec. 12, that’s 60 days, one-third, into the season, so his contract would be for two-thirds of for whatever he signs.

The Lightning salary cap number is about $52-million. The limit is $56.7-million.

Finally, Sundin, who is good friends with Tampa Bay wing Gary Roberts, wants to play for a Stanley Cup. Where Tampa Bay stands in terms of pl

I’m not doubting Sundin’s ability. As a rent-a-player, however, and as another cog in a team that has no cohesion? Another big name with big expectations? It’s time, energy, and a financial commitment that management would best be spending elsewhere.