Bolts Blog: THE source for Lightning Hockey

Heading into the offseason, the Bolts had three main areas to address. First they needed to sure up the defense, the bolts ranked 24th in the NHL in '06-'07. Second they needed to get some scoring help for Marty and Vinny, specifically on the second line with Brad Richards. His linemates Eric Perrin and Ruslan Fedotenko proved to be offensive disappointments, and both are now with othher teams. Finally, and most importantly, the needed goaltending. The Bolts spent most of the season playing musical goalies with Johan Holmqvist and Marc Denis, with Holmer eventually taking the #1 role. For Denis the season was forgettable. He posted a league worst 3.19 GAa and a .883 save percentage. To further add insult to injury, Denis was benched in the playoffs in favor of rookie Karri Ramo.

Defense
The offseason saw the departures of Cory Sarich and Nolan Pratt. Sarich signed a lucrative deal with Calgary, while Pratt still remains unsigned. The Lightning brought back former Bolts defenseman Brad Lukowich. They re-signed Shane O'Brien who they acquired at the trade deadline from Anaheim. That's it. No other moves were made, and although the signing of Lukowich was a good move, it may not have been enough to sure up a shaky defense. The 6th defenseman spot was up for grabs come training camp, and the battle was between Janik, Smaby and Lundin for the spot. All three are on the opening night roster, and more than likely 2 of the 3 will stick beyond the beginning of the season after the return of Dan Boyle who is recovering from surgery to repair ligaments in his wrist that were cut by a freak accident with a skate blade. The move that was made that may make the most difference with the defense was the firing of Assistant Coach Craig Ramsey, and the hiring of Mike Sullivan. Expect to se a more agressive defensive style played this season with less backing in from the blue line, and with more shots form the point.

Forwards
The Bolts first line seemed to run out of gas in last seasons first round playoff matchup with the Devils. Torts was forced to ride those horses into the ground. This season they will need some help if the Bolts are to get out of the first round. There is no question Brad Richards didn't perform up to his $7.8 mil cap number last season. He knows it, management knows it and fans know it. The Conn Smythe winner had a down year in '06-'07, partly due to the departure of Fredric Modin to Columbus and Cory Stillman to Carolina. Without Modin and Stillman on his wings, Richards struggled to find a rhythm, and with new linemates Eric Perrin and Ruslan Fedotenko, only mustered up 70 points. To address this problem, Feaster went out and got a former Junior teammate of Richards from his days in Rimouski, Michel Ouellet. Ouellet was left unprotected by Pittsburgh in the offseason, and hoping spark the second line, Feaster snatched him up to pair with Richards. Along side Richards and Ouellet will be Jan Hlavac. Hlavac last played in the NHL in '03-'04 with the Rangers. He has spent the last couple of seasons in the Czech and Swiss elite leagues honing his game. The Bolts are hoping he can get back to the form he had early in his career with the Rangers where he put up 64 points in the '00-'01 season. Perhaps the best pickup this off season was former Lightning first round draft pick Chris Gratton. He will be paired up with Andreas Karlsson and Jason Ward, and aside from adding some needed grit, should provide some good minutes and chip in a few points. Keep an eye on Vinny Prospal. This is a contract year for him, probably his last chance to land that big money deal. He worked out hard in the off season and has looked good in camp. A rejuvenated Prospal would be a welcomed site!

Goaltending
Ah yes, the ole' goalies. Perhaps the most talked about subject this off season. And for good reason. When you bench your $2.8 million, supposed #1 for the playoffs in favor of 2 rookies, there's bound to be talk. Marc Denis hardly lived up to his #1 goalie billing, putting up a league worst 3.19 GAA and a .883 save percentage. He was supplanted as the Bolts #1 by rookie Johan Holmqvist heading down the stretch. In what seemed to be a bizarre move, Denis was watching from the press box, as another rookie, Karri Ramo, took his roster spot for the playoffs. The move left everyone in Tampa wondering what was going to happen in the off season. Obviously Denis was done in Tampa, right? Oh contraire' monfraire'. Heeeees Baack. With no trade value since his benching, the Bolts were left holding the bag with Denis. They had two choices; bring him back and let him compete, or cut him and eat $900k for the next 4 years. The Bolts have chosen to keep Denis, but is it because they have faith he can rebound, or merely to get his value back up a bit in hopes someone will show interest? I feel it is the later, but what do I know? This coming season the Bolts will field the same two guys in goal as last season, just with their roles reversed. If Saturday's loss in Dallas is any indication of Denis off season progress, look for Ramo to be in the line up early in the season.

Outlook
Not to beat a dead horse, but this season comes down to the guys between the pipes. Defense wins championships, and when it comes to hockey, the last line of defense is the goalie. If these guys don't improve on last season's numbers, it could be a long season here in Tampa. If Holmer takes that next step, the defense improves and someone other than Marty and Vinny can score, the sky's the limit. A whole lotta "if's" to go into a new season with, it will be interesting to see how it all plays out.