Lightning News

"Lightning center Jeff Halpern knows what a torn anterior cruciate ligament feels like. He suffered a complete tear of his left ACL in 2002, requiring surgery that cost him half a season. That's why the 32-year-old was apparently so concerned when he was helped off the ice with an injured right knee in Team USA's 5-4 loss to Canada on Tuesday in the IIHF World Championships at Halifax, Nova Scotia. He was more right than he knew, and it could cost him at least the first month of the 2008-09 NHL season."

"The voice on the phone sounds familiar. It is still sturdy and forever laconic, although now there is a hint of something else. All these weeks later, is that the sound of loneliness in Brad Richards' tone? Turns out, it is not so easy to move on. Even when you're young and fabulously wealthy. Even when you're back in the middle of the Stanley Cup playoffs and back to averaging a point per game. Even when the team you grew up with makes it clear you're no longer wanted. "It's been hard," Richards said. "A lot harder than I expected." "

"After months of doubt surrounding the proposed sale of the Lightning to Hollywood producer Oren Koules, the process is in the final stages of being completed."

"Vinny Lecavalier said he slept five straight hours one night this week on his living room recliner, an ice pack melting on his surgically repaired right shoulder. Not exactly what good night sleeps are made of. But compared with the fitful, painful lie-downs the Lightning center has endured since an April 15 arthroscopic procedure to repair a torn glinoid labrum, it was like heaven. "I've had other surgeries," Lecavalier said, "but this one has been pretty tough with the pain and not being able to sleep." And that it could take longer than expected to fully heal."

"In an era when "viral" homemade videos on YouTube and guerilla marketing campaigns take products to the people, the Lightning has taken a clever approach to generating excitement for its 2008-09 season and the player it will select with the first overall pick in the June 20 draft: Steven Stamkos. Average Tampa Bay residents don't know the 6-foot-1, 180-pound center scored 58 goals and had 47 assists in 61 games for Sarnia of the Ontario Hockey League this season, is ranked as the top prospect by Central Scouting and is the most heralded prospect since Sidney Crosby in 2005."

"But Emery, who turns 26 in the fall, has done little to build up goodwill around the league. He's only played 134 NHL games and he's coming off a pedestrian 12-13-4 record with a 3.13 average and .890 save percentage. Here's the usual trade suspects: Tampa, Los Angeles, St. Louis."

"In short, he pretty much has all the credentials Senators general manager Bryan Murray says he's looking for in a coach to take over his dysfunctional club. That makes Tortorella perhaps the most colourful possibility among a group of candidates that also includes fellow veteran coaches Bob Hartley, Pat Burns, Pat Quinn, and Terry Murray, Bryan's brother."

"Apparently Lightning defenseman Paul Ranger didn't want Vinny Lecavalier to feel alone this summer because Ranger underwent surgery on his right shoulder this week to repair a labrum. Ranger had the procedure done in the same place as Lecavalier, as well, at St. Vincent's Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama, where Dr. James Andrews did the surgery. Andrews also operated on Lecavalier last week."

"Lightning coach John Tortorella has a big birthday in June, and for the longest time I wondered if getting fired was on his things-to-do-before-he's-50 list. Apparently it isn't. Tortorella has thought it over and decided the Lightning don't need another coach. I'm not so sure. Johnny Torts is up in Maine, coaching the U.S. for the upcoming world championships. It's a real thought, coaching other teams. I talked to Tortorella late this lost season and came away not knowing whether he wanted to be fired, or stay, or walk. Here's the thing: I don't think he knew, either."

"Detroit center Pavel Datsyuk, Buffalo right wing Jason Pominville and Tampa Bay right wing Marty St. Louis are finalists for the Lady Byng Trophy given to the NHL player who best combines sportsmanship with playing ability. Datsyuk won the Lady Byng in 2006 and 2007, and could become the first player to win it three times in a row since the New York Rangers' Frank Boucher captured the award from 1933-35. Boucher won the award seven times in eight seasons. "

"Two-time winner Pavel Datsyuk of the Detroit Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres winger Jason Pominville and Tampa Bay Lightning forward Martin St. Louis were named finalists for the Lady Byng Trophy on Thursday."

"John Tortorella wishes he could do it over again because he certainly would do it differently. The Lightning coach said he regrets telling general manager Jay Feaster perhaps it was time he step down because he discovered that is not how he feels. "I want to stay here and fight and try to make this team better with the new ownership group and Jay Feaster," Tortorella said Wednesday. "I want to be part of the retooling.""

"Hollywood producer Oren Koules and his partner Len Barrie have secured financing on their $206 million (all figures U.S.) purchase of the Tampa Bay Lightning... With the Lightning ownership closer to being settled, several industry executives say attention will now shift to the Phoenix Coyotes, who are said to be losing upwards of $30 million a season."

"The on-again, off-again saga of the sale of the Lightning may finally be entering an end game. Although a report surfaced in Sports Business Journal on Monday stating a second lender scheduled to be used by perspective owner Oren Koules backed out of a deal, the sale of the team is nearly complete. When the deal is finally announced, current owner Palace Sports and Entertainment will end up being the primary lender. "

" The worldwide credit crunch made the proposed sale of the Lightning to Hollywood producer Oren Koules difficult. To remove the uncertainty that has been a constant of the four-month process, owner Palace Sports and Entertainment and Galatioto Sports Partners, a sports investment bank in New York that had been brokering the deal, will finance the sale. "

"Lightning all-star center Vinny Lecavalier is scheduled to undergo surgery on his right shoulder today in Birmingham, Ala. The procedure will be performed by widely renowned orthopedic specialist James Andrews at St. Vincent's Hospital sometime between late morning and early afternoon. Once the surgery is completed, Lecavalier is expected to require 12-15 weeks of recovery time. The team will provide an update on the surgery later today."

"If you're Jay Feaster, general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning, the upside to finishing last in the NHL is you have the best shot at the top draft pick just a few years after winning the Stanley Cup. That's not so bad. The Bolts get to pick the consensus top prospect, Steven Stamkos, a center for Sarnia of the Ontario Hockey League."

"Seven years of memories don't pack up into a cardboard box, move to the next destination and sit in storage to be pulled out only at convenient times. For center Brad Richards, the start of the playoffs triggers memories of his success with the Lightning. Raising the Stanley Cup will do that for a player."

"Lightning brass made it clear the organization must get itself together off the ice before any sustained effort can put things right on it. Retaining the No. 1 pick in the draft was fine, and selecting center Steve Stamkos, as is expected, will be dandy. But general manager Jay Feaster said the team still does not have a player payroll or operating budget for next season because the sale to Hollywood producer Oren Koules, after almost four months, still isn't done. "

"In a season full of hovering storm clouds, complete with drenching rain and frequent lightning strikes, some sunshine could finally be breaking through for Tampa Bay. The Lightning hit the jackpot Monday, winning the NHL draft lottery and retaining the No. 1 overall selection in the June entry draft. The prize is expected to be Sarnia Sting center Steven Stamkos, a 6-foot-1, 180-pound potential star who is the consensus top prospect in a draft considered to be among the best in recent seasons."

"Jay Feaster and company have quite the quandary facing them during the offseason. How do they put a plan together to rebuild a last-place hockey team without knowing who is calling the shots? Who do you discuss player contracts with without knowing who is going to be writing the checks?"

"Andre Roy said he regrets being scratched for the season's final 15 games. As for his actions in a March 6 game in Philadelphia, where he jawed to such an extent with the Flyers bench he had to be restrained by coach John Tortorella and then was sent home from the three-game road trip, not so much. "I don't regret anything I did,'' Roy said Monday. "I've got a job to do and sometimes I get a little bit overwhelmed. But that's the job of an enforcer.'' "

" Tampa Bay took a huge step in its rebuilding process Monday night when it won the No. 1 pick in the draft lottery. And while general manager Jay Feaster said "you never say never," it would take "a no brainer" for the organization to trade the pick. There is no doubt the pick will be Stamkos, 18, the NHL-ready center from Sarnia of the Ontario Hockey League; the consensus best player in the draft and perhaps a franchise player as well. "

"Lightning has struck again in the NHL draft lottery. Tampa Bay, which used the No.1 pick in 1998 to select star centre Vincent Lecavalier, will pick first on June 20. The Lightning, who finished last overall, retained the top pick by winning last night's lottery."

"The Tampa Bay Lightning, by virtue of their lousy 31-win season, had the best odds of winning last night's televised draft lottery and, lo and behold, they did."

"It might as well serve as a funeral march on a Lightning season that ended sooner than any other in the past six years. It will officially end a season in which Tampa Bay was at the bottom of the league standings for the third time in franchise history, snapping a string of four consecutive seasons with a playoff berth."

"If Vinny Lecavalier is near a television at 8 o'clock tonight, the Lightning's star center said he will be sure to click on the draft lottery. After finishing last in the 30-team league, Tampa Bay has a 48.2 percent chance of getting the No. 1 pick, with which it almost certainly would select center Steve Stamkos, this year's most highly regarded prospect."

"Tampa Bay's regular season ended the same way it started, with a major player needing major surgery. While Saturday's 4-1 loss to Atlanta in the season finale left Tampa Bay in the NHL cellar for the third time in franchise history, guaranteeing the Lightning the best odds of landing the top pick in Monday's draft lottery, the focal point was the news involving All-Star center Vinny Lecavalier."

"Another 13 minutes, 15 seconds and Vinny Lecavalier might have been home free. Kent Hughes, agent for the Lightning star, said his client was not going to play in Saturday night's season-ending 4-1 loss to the Thrashers because of Friday's planned arthroscopic surgery to clean up his painful wrist."

"Tim Taylor's last day as a Lightning player was full of regret. The captain wondered if he was right not to play in one last game to end his 13-year career. He wondered if the decision would have been easier had he not accompanied the team on its season-ending road trip."

"The room had an overwhelming feeling of disappointment. The only indication that the Thrashers had just beaten Tampa Bay 4-1 in the final game of the season was the loud music. But the mood of the players was anything but celebratory. A somber Don Waddell walked around the locker room, shaking hands with every player. He offered a quick thank you to each one, he said, for not quitting on a season that was all but over weeks ago."

"Months of jockeying, fighting and scrapping have come down to this for the Lightning - they hold their fate in their hands in tonight's season finale."

"The Lightning has been in a constant state of turmoil this season. Why should the final weekend be any different? The team is expected to announce today how badly star center Vinny Lecavalier was hurt by what coach John Tortorella said was "an absolute cheap shot" from the Capitals' Matt Cooke."

"If the Lightning wins Monday's draft lottery, the only way it trades the No.??1 pick is if someone backs up a truck to the St. Pete Times Forum. Otherwise, it almost certainly will choose Steve Stamkos from Sarnia of the Ontario Hockey League."

"When an irresistible force meets a movable object, things don't often work out too well for the object. Tampa Bay was just that Wednesday, a minor barrier on Carolina's route to another Southeast Division title as the Hurricanes steamrolled the Lightning 5-2 at RBC Center."

"Despite the efforts of Karri Ramo to play the role of blockade to the Washington Capitals' playoff drive, Tampa Bay proved to be just a speed bump in Washington's path. In the end, however, it was the pair of goals by 22-year-old Russian MVP candidate Alex Ovechkin that spoiled the efforts of 21-year-old Lightning goaltender Karri Ramo. When Ovechkin scored his 65th goal of the year - and second of the game - to break a tie in the third period, he used his drive to help will Washington to a 4-1 victory Thursday, its sixth consecutive win..."

"Vinny Lecavalier walked briskly out of the locker room, eyes forward, his right arm in a sling. The Lightning superstar's shoulder is hurt, to what extent no one is saying, even if they know. But there was no missing how Lecavalier felt about the open-ice hit from the Capitals' Matt Cooke on Thursday night that caused the fall that caused the injury. "No puck, and I'm not looking," Lecavalier said, "and no penalty." "

"Lightning defenseman Dan Boyle said he never has heard around the locker room it would be better to lose games to be in the best position to secure the No. 1 pick in the June draft. "No, honest to God, no one has ever said anything about the draft or the lottery," Boyle said."

"It was a game the Washington Capitals pretty much had to win to preserve their hopes of earning a playoff berth. Alex Ovechkin -- with a dramatic third-period goal -- made sure they did. Ovechkin scored goals 64 and 65, the second breaking a tie early in the final period, to lead the Capitals to a 4-1 victory over the last-place Tampa Bay Lightning last night at Verizon Center. "

"When an irresistible force meets a movable object, things don't often work out too well for the object. Tampa Bay was just that Wednesday, a minor barrier on Carolina's route to another Southeast Division title as the Hurricanes steamrolled the Lightning 5-2 at RBC Center."

"Marty St. Louis admitted there were times the past three or four weeks he had difficulty accepting how the Lightning's season will end. Out of the playoffs, games without meaning, the wing admitted his game "chipped down a little bit." "I'm trying to get it back," he added, "so I can finish with a good frame of mind." That wasn't easily found after Wednesday night's 6-2 loss to the Hurricanes at the RBC Center. "

"Chad LaRose couldn't have picked a much better time for the most impressive game of his NHL career. The Carolina Hurricanes' diminutive centerman collected his first career hat trick, getting the game-winner in the second period and adding a backhanded goal on a breakaway from Erik Cole at 18:21 of the third, leading his team to a much-needed 6-2 rout of the Tampa Bay Lightning. "

"Sometimes, it all goes right. For the Carolina Hurricanes, it couldn't have happened at a better time. With their playoff fate on the line, the Canes scored on their first shot, got a hat trick from Chad LaRose and used a preposterously favorable bounce to put the game away on their way to a critical 6-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday."

" Oh, what a bad season this was. It was a season of falling skates and fallen stars, a season of blown leads and battered reputations. It was last-place bad. Worse, it was Kokusai Green bad. And now for the money question: Was it heads-should-roll bad? "

"Captain Tim Taylor said the almost eight months in which the Lightning's ownership situation has been unresolved has been "like a cloud" over the team. "This team has been on hold for the whole season," Taylor said. "I really think if this would have come to the forefront earlier and been done, I truly believe the season could have been a lot different. Lots of people's hands wouldn't have been tied, so to speak." "

" The pending sale of the Lightning to Hollywood producer Oren Koules has lingered almost four months. Steve Pagliuca is not surprised. A managing director at Bain Capital, a Boston investment firm, doesn't know specifics or background, so he would only speak generally. But he does know the lay of the financial land. "

"Soon, possibly even by the time the ink dries on this newsprint, the ice will have been melted down while the glass and dasher boards will be put into storage for the summer. Hometown hockey ended Monday with the Lightning's 2-0 loss to Atlanta as the city of Tampa jumps into the national spotlight this weekend with the NCAA Women's Final Four taking over the Forum. With the playoffs not in the immediate future for Tampa Bay, the building officially closed up shop for hockey until October."

"Lightning players stood at center ice after Monday night's game and raised their sticks to salute the fans who remained to the bitter end of a dreary 2-0 loss to the Thrashers. It was the least they could do. "

"Somebody asked Ilya Kovalchuk if the Thrashers' 2-0 win over Tampa Bay meant anything. It kept the Thrashers in front of Tampa Bay in the standings. And out of the Eastern Conference basement."

"A little more than a year after Forbes Magazine ranked the Lightning's Jay Feaster as the top GM in the NHL, the Hockey News has ranked Feaster 30th out of 30. Lightning president Ron Campbell took issue. "I think Jay is still one of the top tier general managers in the league," Campbell said, "and I think he'll be that way for years and years to come.""