That last poll? About the #1 draft pick? It’s irrelevant. Brant James article in the St. Petersburg Times this morning shows why. Steve Stamkos will indeed be the top pick for the Lightning.

Why so sure? Because when a sports franchise employs a Hollywood marketing blitz comparable to what has been used the last year for The Dark Knight (in theaters later this summer) hyping a prospect, you know they are big on them.

Seen Stamkos?

(hats off to the guys who thought up the flash mob viral marketing, if it was Koules people or an ad agency somewhere in the Bay area)

I gave no coverage to the Lightning winning the Draft Lottery… But I will ask you for your thoughts on what the Lightning should do with the pick.

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And While we’re at it — and local media lacks any coverage of this stuff — head on over to MyNHLDraft and view some fo the mock drafts and other draft and prospect information.

See a negative? Follow it with a positive… I can’t confirm this but Dan Boyle inked a six year deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Forty Million Dollars over six years almost guarantees Brad Richards will be heading out of town tomorrow.

Which really upsets me.

Boltsmag is four years old at this point late int eh month of February and I’ve made no secret of the fact Brad is my favorite player. That being said, I also know he has grown unpopular with the Lightning regulars due to lower production numbers than Vinny and Marty. it doesn’t justify his cost. He has the potential to be a top line center and hasn’t gotten that opportunity due to Vincent being in the lineup… But taht contract of his will limit those who can show interest in him.

RJ had stated this offseason that trading Vaclav Prospal for Anaheim Ducks goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov was a possibility. At least that was the rumor.

Forget a trade now, Bryzgalov is on waivers. Would Jay Feaster want to, or be able to, pick up Ilya if he wanted? Or does the in-flux status of ownership prevent him from taking on more payroll? Also, would acquiring a new goalie show too much of a lack-of-confidence in Johan Holmqvist?

It’s worth exploring, but the team is ultimately handcuffed unless PSE/Absolute Hockey reach an understanding.

A couple of days ago, Damian at the Times via his Lightning Strikes blog reported (and I cannot find this post any more, bloggers don’t remove even false reports - only clarify them) that Doug Maclean had been in touch with former Lightning member (fleetingly former Lightning team member who grudgingly joined the team to begin with and played for one and a quarter seasons here and yet the guy draws raves like he is a career Bolt in some circles. I don’t get this) Dino Cicarelli about joining Absolute Hockey’s ownership group. Dino reportedly nixed the idea (ho hum) but the entire concept just made me more resolute on who should find an in with Doug, Jim and Oren.

Phil Esposito.

I don’t hold Phil in the highest regard as a GM but I do know Phil is the father of the Tampa Bay Lightning franchise. He worked his ass off to get a team in this very non-traditional market. He’s poured more love, more blood, more sweat and tears into the Lightning as an executive and GM than anyone who has played for this team… If there is anyone that should be approached for approaching sake about joining Absolute Hockey, it’s Phil.

Of course, with Phil (as with Doug) I get the fears of hand-in-the-cookie-jar type dealings with the Lightning roster from ownership. I don’t want Jay Feaster or John Tortorella second guessed by the higher ups — I trust them (though seldomly question their judgment) and believe they know what they are doing. Having such a hands-on owner (and I expect Phil or Doug to be as such) could cause trouble.

Yet I can’t get past the fact this (the Lightning) is Phil’s baby. Even if he just invests a dollar a year, get him back into the fold please? It’s only fitting.

With Doug MacLean stepping in as team CEO in the new ownership group, one has to wonder how soon (if they haven’t already started) the Lecavalier/Richards/St. Louis/Boyle trade rumors start up again. Though Jay Feaster remains General Manager of the Lightning, you have to wonder if Lecavalier and the rest will be held in as high a regard as Palace Sports has held the four.

If the status quo remains, I fully expect Lecavalier re-signed before he becomes an Unrestricted Free Agent.. That mega-buck contract might lead to Dan Boyle’s departure from the team… But that’s if the status-quo holds.

If MacLean starts thinking extra-long term however, or has his mind in such a place and it leads to clashes between him and Feaster…. What happens? Does the group have the money to invest in Lecavalier and the rest? Or consistently handle the minimum threshold of the Salary cap?

RJ at Bolts Blog made mention of the same old rumor, making the same old rounds: Vincent Lecavalier is going to Montreal! Les Habs will sell the farm for Vinny! It’ll happen! It’ll happen! It’ll…

**sigh** It’ll never end, will it? :rolleyes:

Let me simply quote Lyle Richardson over at Spectors Hockey (this quote lifted from a Michael Ryder news post):

And no, Habs fans, it won’t be for Vincent Lecavalier, Brad Richards or Patrick Marleau. Those are pipe dreams, ain’t gonna happen, so get over it.

The same pipe dreams, year after year after year.

Jay Feaster
General Manager
Tampa Bay Lightning Hockey Club
401 Channelside Drive
Tampa, Florida 33602

7-15-2007

Dear Jay Feaster —

It’s been a couple of months since I talked to you directly about the future of the Tampa Bay Lightning… That was at the trade deadline where I implored you not to make a move that would put the Lightning’s long term picture into murky territory if you made a move for a big name instead of planning for the long term.

Yet here we are, just a few months later and there is a rumor Jassen Cullimore will be brought back to Tampa to round out the defense, again shutting the door on the young players in Tampa Bay’s system. Smaby, Rogers, Egener, Mahlik — by selecting these players near the top of the last few drafts, you have committed the franchise to them. There are rumblings, however, that this isn’t the case. Management doesn’t seem comfortable with these players for one reason or another and more depth at defense has been brought in. Brad Lukowich was re-acquired in part because he knows the system and fills that depth need. And now there are rumblings that Jassen Cullimore - another former Lightning player that will it your “locker room chemistry” MO, will be brought in as defensiveman #6.

Please, no.

This isn’t sullying Jassen Cullimore and what he has meant to the team in the past. This is, however, thinking both long term and present with the Bolts. The past the past and trying to re-capture the past through old roster members doesn’t always work out in professional sports. The team needs to plan for the future and start addressing the future by giving other players the shot at the #6 defensiveman role. You do recall the 2005 pre-season, where John Tortorella was happy with no one as a 6th defensiveman, correct? Timo Helbing ended up making the roster for opening night, and yet in a matter of days Paul Ranger replaced Helbing in the lineup and shined with his opportunity.

You’ve voiced the desire to have the Lightning’s defensive prospects play more minutes in Springfield instead of potentially riding the pine in Tampa… Just when are they supposed to get NHL experience though? How are they supposed to break into the league? Mid season in last-resort call-ups?

Jay, these players need exposure to the NHL game. Filling out the roster with seasoned veterans may be perceived as the clearest path for the 2007-08 season but what about beyond that? The focus cannot be on the immediate return at all times, it has got to be on both current and long-range planning. That’s why I liked the Shane O’Brien acquisition and that’s why I’m asking you to let the prospects and “depth addition” acquisitions get a shot at the role. Stunting and blocking the growth of the players you’ve invested time and patience in isn’t the way to go about things unless you intend to move these players for other pieces of the puzzle.

When will the Lightning chose if their prospects are pieces of the puzzle? Deferring that moment to a later time clouds the franchises long term future and risks the team further depending on free agency instead of player development (which is an additional risk under the NHL’s Salary cap system and the Lightning’s self imposed budget).

Look to the future on defense, Jay, and let the chips fall where they may. Do not get caught looking to the past as if it will be the same as it once was. It won’t. It almost never is.

Sincerely,
John
Boltsmag.com

P.s. Go Bolts!

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).