The Season Preview Rolls On

Part II of the Lightning Season Preview. If you missed part I (how dare you!) click here :

Lightning Season Preview Part I


No Win Situation:



Oh Mr. Stamkos. You’ve had a good year haven’t you? Your first NHL trophy, your first scoring title, your first Vanity Fair photo shot, and you’ve won the hearts of Lightning fans all over the world. So what’s the reward for all of those kudos? How about your first no win situation.

If he scores 50 goals this year then it’s not that big of deal, one might say it’s even expected. After all, he’s going to have a stable line this year (or at least as stable as Guy Boucher’s system allows - which it sounds like might be as chaotic as the previous regime’s), the power play is already being touted as the best in the league and there is a coach that wants to play an up-tempo offensive style. Heck, he should score 70 this year!

If, for some reason, he doesn’t hit the magic mark then the cynics will wonder if last year was a fluke. If he scores 40, then the question will be why did he back track? God forbid if he doesn’t get at least 40. I guarantee that if he slumps coming out of the gate there will be at least one column penned about him being a “one year wonder”.

Honestly, at this point I don’t think he’ll net 50 goals. I do think he’ll be in the mid to high 40’s, but for all of the reason’s I mentioned in the second paragraph he won’t hit the magic number. Let’s face it, there are only so many goals to go around. Newcomer Simon Gagne will take his fare share on the power play as should Pavel Kubina. Since Vincent seems to have his head on straight look for him to tack on another 10 goals or so to his total.

Stamkos is now a marked man. Teams are going to start marking him a bit closer on the power play. All of the room that he had in that circle last year is going to rapidly diminish. He will be seeing more of the top defensive pairs as well so that’s going to hurt him during even strength play.

The good news is that he is still learning and growing stronger. Sometimes it’s hard to believe that he’s not even allowed to drink a beer in the U.S. yet. At 20 years-old he hasn’t developed into the player he’s going to be. There is so much more ahead of him. Right now he’s getting by on natural talent, once his knowledge increases, once he has a veteran’s understanding of how the game is played he will be truly dangerous.

So fans, don’t be hard on the young kid. Let him develop at his own pace. And if he scores 50 goals celebrate like you did last year.

Tampa Bay Season Preview Part One

Great is not enough


Lofty goals set by a first year coach. If he’s a mad genius or a crazy-eyed lunatic hasn‘t been determined yet. Guy Boucher’s ability to coach in the NHL is a blank slate. His success at the lower levels has been well documented. Will that change when the young guys desperate for a chance to play at the next level are replaced by millionaires coasting on past accomplishments? The Lightning players have nothing but positive things to say after the preseason. However, the players also raved about the previous coach during his early months as well.

The future is murky for the Tampa Bay Lightning, but the light seems to be starting to shine through. New blood has been brought in off the ice and on the ice. New GM Steve Yzerman has earned kudos throughout the league and the web-o-sphere for his moves in rebuilding the team. Boucher and his untested 1-3-1 system have everyone (including me) giddy with the anticipation of seeing a ferocious fore-checking squad that out hustles every team it plays. Will playing in Tampa turn into Three Periods of Hell for opposing teams?

That remains to be seen, after all they still have to play the games. What looks good on paper has to be good on the ice. New winger Simon Gagne has to stay healthy and spark Vincent Lecavalier’s resurgence. The new blue liners have to actually block the shots they’re being brought in to block. Marty St Louis has to earn the big money he resigned for by continuing his consistent consistency.

With that being said, the playoffs are not out of the question. Winning the division might be a stretch, but it’s not hard to picture the Lightning as one of the 8 best teams in the Eastern Conference. Now I could give you a standard pre-season preview of the team, but I’d rather not. Instead, over the next week I’ll post a couple of key storylines to watch during the season.

Hope you enjoy.



Hey Don’t Forget About Me!



Let’s run down Ryan Malone’s off-season. He was rumored to be traded to Toronto for much of the summer. Then he lost his number to the Lightning’s shiniest new toy, Simon Gagne, and, oh by the way, lost his position on the right wing of Vincent Lecavalier’s line. With Guy Boucher’s system that last one might not mean that much as all of the forwards will rotate throughout the different positions during their shift. Still, it hasn’t been pretty for the Pittsburgh native who has scored a total of 47 goals for the Lightning in the last two season.

While much of the press has focused Steven Stamkos, Marty St Louis, Lecavalier, Gagne and Steve Downie, Malone has found himself as a bit of an afterthought. For someone who was tied for the team lead with 7 game winning goals last season that has to be a bitter pill to swallow.

Part of that could be because of the way he ended last season. After a red hot start he faded in the second half of the season, just when the Bolts were making their unsuccessful playoff run. He battled injuries for most of the second year How bad was the second half of the year? He only scored two goals in 2010 and none since January 21st.

He also seems to be an odd fit for Boucher’s puck pursuit style of offense. Malone isn’t the fastest skater. His defensive work can be questionable at best and he’s not the best passer on the team. What he does well is plant himself in front of the net and create havoc for other team’s goaltenders. With that he still has value. The rest of the offensive stars are “skills” guys. They benefit from having a grinder, a rock in front of the net to redirect shots or stuff home rebounds.

How much ice time he sees will be determined by his efforts on the ice. Based on the new players brought in, Malone won’t be seeing much time on the first power play unit. His spot on Lecavalier’s line could be at risk if one of the wingers on the third line shows a bit of tenacity (I’m looking at you Dana Tyrell). It will be interesting to see how he responds. Under the previous regime he was penciled into one of the top lines and left alone. Now he’ll have to show that he can keep pace with the rest of the offense.

If he does then the Lightning have a bonafide chance of boasting six 20 goal scorers. If they do that, then the playoffs should be assured. Two big ifs, but it’s going to be fun to watch them try.

The Winner

Wow, I'm really kind of slow at posting things aren't I?

Let's not keep the world in suspense any longer. The winner of my spur of the moment contest is none other than...



Captain Canuck.

Yes, the masked superhero from the north. Writer of not one, but two blogs. Commissioner of a Fantasy Hockey League and all around excellent trader wins with this entry:

Captain Canuck said...
after a tantrum, and his mum fixing his hair with a kleenex spit bath, little Steven finally relented to having his picture taken in the sweater Grandma made him.

What made this a winning entry?

I enjoyed the reference to the hair, the sweater and the use of the word "mum". We need to use that more in everyday life.

What did he win?

A hand signed card that I was able to procure during my unemployment last year. And maybe some other prizes I can dig up in the next week or so. The card will be sent to you and hopefully clear customs sometime before the playoffs start. Unfortunately, I no longer have a photo of it so maybe once he receives it he will be nice enough to post it :)

Congrats. Stay tuned there might be more contests (with things other than cards, Dani!)

So congrats Capt.

A Winner Has Been Found

Negotiations are under way as to what the prize will be. Once the prize has been finalized a former announcement will be posted. Thank you to all of the contestents.

If You Win It, Will They Come?

Via the Twitter:

THE_ADAM_JONES: If we were on the verge of clinching a playoff spot. How many fans would we have? Cause at the Trop there was about 1500 ppl. Ppl are pissed about 21 hours ago via Twitterrific


DAVIDprice14: Had a chance to clinch a post season spot tonight with about 10,000 fans in the stands....embarrassing about 21 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone

"Obviously we want to bring a championship to Tampa. And we'd like more than 12,000 to 15,000 to know about it." --Evan Longoria

12,466 - Monday Night’s Attendence


Where to start? Will it ever end? While it might just now be perking the national consciousness, the attendance issue for Tampa Bay Rays games has been a bone of contention in the TBA for years. Ever since they’ve started playing in the Dome the radio airwaves have been filled with excuses as to why no one goes to the game.

For those of you not familiar with the arguments they go as follows:

St Pete is too far away and hard to get to. I mean there’s a bridge to cross!

In this economy who can afford to go to games what with their $5.00 parking, $10 tickets and bring your own food policy.?

The Trop is dreary. There should be an outdoor stadium.

The team sucks, why should I pay my hard earned money to go watch a minor league team?


For the longest time that last excuse was the most compelling. It was the easiest to throw out there, and perhaps the most true. After all, the majority of fans in the TBA aren’t natural Rays fans. The baseball fans have moved from other parts of the country so they are Red Sox fans, Yankee fans, Orioles fans (at least I was) first and Rays fans second.

Why should they fork over money to see Felix Martinez throw a ball into the stands or Ten-Run Sturtze give up another homerun? When their team was in town they would go, but that was it. Because they’re not Ray’s fans they are not going to the Wednesday night tilt to watch a bunch of castoffs play against the Royals.

Since 2008, however, that argument has been invalid. The Rays are no longer the laughing stock of the league. They have emerged as a legitimate power not only in the AL East, but in all of the major leagues. Even better, they are a fun team to watch. They pitch well, the run well, they hit...well not all the time, but most of the time.

You can make an argument that they have a potential future Cy Young winner in David Price, a future Hall of Famer in Carl Crawford and one of the best young hitters/fielders in Evan Longoria. With their level of talent and relatively bargain basement payroll this team is the envy of all other teams in the league. If the Rays players played for New York or Boston you would hate them because of all of the air time they would get on ESPN, MLB Network and the other media outlets in the world.

Not only are they a fun team to watch they are primarily a home grown team. Look at the starting rotation. With the exception of Matt Garza, the other 4/5ths of their rotation are comprised of players drafted by the organization. They aren’t the Yankees or Red Sox bringing in talent from the outside. These are “Tampa Bay guys” for the lack of a better term.

That’s why you’re seeing some of the disappointment seep through from the players (and I mean disappointment the same way you’re parents did when they said “I’m not mad at you, I’m just disappointed”). There was always that feeling that if the team was better the fans would rally up and support them and make the Trop a fun place to play.

You saw it in 2008 in the playoffs. When that building is full of Rays fans it is loud. Sure the cowbells are somewhat annoying, but it’s better than dead silence. It’s better than sitting in the left field bleachers and hearing the beer guy shout out his wares behind 1st base (that’s a true story, Rays vs. Pirates four or five years ago. “BEER HERE!” reverberated throughout the stadium).

Now they’re winning, and winning on a consistent basis. The town should be excited for the team, they should be supporting the team and yet the players look up and see row upon row of empty seats. This site has decried the presence of front running fans in the past, but now it would be nice to see them show up. Bandwagon, true fans, other fans, serial killer clowns, anyone would be welcome in the stands.

The players have lived up to their end of the bargain. No one likes owners based on principle, but Stu Sternberg has kept his promise. He’s funded a winning team. When the critics declared he would gut the team after buying them he proved them wrong by escalating the payroll and keeping the young talent around. When Andrew Friedman made the case for dropping $8 million on a closer, Sternberg signed the check. Everyone has kept their end of the bargain but the fans. They have to go to the games.

Where’s Sternberg’s payback? It certainly hasn’t been in his wallet. While he might not be hemorrhaging money or collecting food stamps he isn’t seeing the return he would like for the investment that he put in. At the end of the day it is, after all, his signature on the paychecks - not the fans. He has to see some sort of financial incentive or he will find a more lucrative place to house his team.

According to the U.S. Census there are about 2.7 million people living in the Tampa Bay Area. The TBA generally comprises Tampa, Clearwater, Sarasota, St Petersburg and the smaller surrounding cities like Brandon , Largo (LAR-GHETTO in the HOUSE!), and Dunedin. It’s hard to believe that out of that 2.7 million people there aren’t 150,000 folks dedicated enough to go to games on a regular basis.

Longoria and Price issued the appropriate apologies, but why should they have to? If they aren’t performing to par the fans have every right to criticize them. Can’t it work both ways? If the fans aren’t performing up to standard why shouldn’t the players be frustrated? Why do I ask so many questions in my posts?

Fans can’t have it both ways. If you say you won’t go because the team sucks, then you better go when they don’t suck. Simple isn’t it? If you don’t go then don’t get upset when the team is relocated to Las Vegas.

A Quick Contest.

As i perused the internets at work this afternoon, on my 15 minute break of course, I stumbled across the below picture on Puck Daddy. It's everyone's favorite 51 goal scorer from Tampa Bay - Steven Stamkos.

The young center was part of a Vanity Fair photoshoot by Buffalo Sabres goalie Ryan Miller. Also involved in the netminders photo spread were Patrice Bergeron of the Bruins, Montreal's Mike Cammalleri, young defenseman Drew Doughty of the Kings and the Rangers Goalie, Henrik Lundqvist.

Does this mean the goalie who led the US to the 2010 Olympic Silver Medal is trading his pads for a new Nikon? Unfortunately for the rest of the NHL the answer is no. It's a one time promotion for the NHL's Hockey Fights Cancer charity. The entire photo shoot is available at VanityFair.com. Check it out.

Because I have nothing out to write about today I figured I would jot down as many captions as I can think of in 5 minutes, a la Tosh.0

Here we go.....





My Name is Steven Stamkos and I approved this ad.

Hi. My name is Steven and I'm an Acquarias. I enjoy long walks on the beach, puppies and slap shots from the top of the circle.

I don't feel so good. Do I look a little pale?

Hey Vinny, I don't have to take my shirt offto get in a magazine.

Ryan, can I put my arm down. I think it fell asleep. It's all tingly.

You want to see my poker face? My p-p-p-poker face? (sorry)

That's all I got.

Now it's your turn. Best caption as voted by me and a select group of others will win something. I don't know what, but something. The winner will be announced friday.

It's That Time Again

Is that live hockey I spy? Why yes it is. Thanks to my love of bad TV I'm not able to watch the Lightning/Blackhawks preseason tilt, but I can listen to the subdued Dave Mishkin over the Internet while I post about something totally un-hockey related.

It's Mailbag Monday! But Justin, you say, it's not Monday. I know, but I didn't get to it on Monday. So you get it on Wednesday. Which is better than Monday - 'cause it's closer to Friday.

First up. Fellow blogger and trader Nachos Grande added to my Carl Crawford collection (a collection I've neglected a bit this year). In exchange for some Reds cards and Allen & Ginter that I didn't need he sent over a care package highlighted by this card.



It's blue and shiny. I like blue and shiny.



Being the kind blogger he is, he threw in some assorted O's cards. Gosh darn I love me that Don Aase '88 Topps. It's the entire junk wax era wrapped up in one card. Posed shot, awesome mustache, curly afro poking out of the cap. I love it.

I also like the Markakis card. He's staring off into the distance contemplating something. What could it be? Perhaps his inexplicable loss of power? How many cheeseburgers he can buy with one paycheck? We'll never know.

Moving on

Ebay provided the first of the next two lots.




Like I mentioned I've been neglecting my Crawford collection so I figured I'd go for the best deal I could find. I actually needed four of these cards and they became mine for less than $3.00 so, yea me. I also like the fact that he is wearing 5 different uniforms.



This last one was more of an impulse buy. Not sure why, but I have very few Brooks Robinson cards in my collection. I decided to rectify that. The cards aren't in the best condition, but they're mine and they're older then I am which is cool.


So there ya go. More thoughts on hockey later, oh by the way Simon Gagne scored for the Lightning while I was typing this. The Bolts might be feisty this year.