GM Brian Lawton, who has made a bevy of questionable moves since taking over the GM duties last summer made one of his most perplexing moves yesterday.  The team informed Vinny Prospal that he would be placed on waivers or be bought out of his contract.
With Lawton telling the world that the Lightning were willing to buy out the deal, I think the leverage is gone and the chance for a waiver claim are about -25%.   He has 3 years and about 10 million dollars left on his contract, so he is signed for a very reasonable rate for [...]

The Bolts released their schedule for the upcoming season earlier this week.  We will host 6 home stands with 4 games or more this season.  This is what the rest of the season  looks like.

2009-2010 Regular Season Schedule

October 2009

Date

Visitor

Home

Score

Dec
T
ime (ET)

TV Nat’l

Local (A)

Local (H)

Sat Oct 3, 2009

Lightning

Thrashers

7:00 PM

Tue Oct 6, 2009
Lightning
Hurricanes

7:00 PM

Thu Oct 8, 2009
Devils
Lightning

7:30 PM

Tickets

Sat Oct 10, 2009
Hurricanes
Lightning

7:30 PM

Tickets

Mon Oct 12, 2009
Panthers
Lightning

7:30 PM

Tickets

Thu Oct 15, 2009
Lightning
Senators

7:30 PM

Sat Oct 17, 2009
Lightning
Penguins

7:30 PM

Thu Oct 22, 2009
Sharks
Lightning

7:30 PM

Tickets

Sat Oct 24, 2009
Sabres
Lightning

7:30 PM

Tickets

Thu Oct 29, 2009
Senators
Lightning

7:00 PM

Tickets

Sat Oct 31, 2009
Devils
Lightning

3:00 PM

Tickets

November 2009

Date

Visitor

Home

Score

Dec

Time (ET)

TV Nat’l

Local (A)

Local (H)

Mon Nov 2, 2009

Lightning

Flyers

7:00 PM

Tue Nov 3, 2009
Lightning
Maple Leafs

7:30 PM

Thu Nov [...]

Not that this should come as any surprise, because the NHL is not the NFL, but yesterday Victor Hedman signed his standard NHL Rookie Contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning. I guess it holds more of a symbolic meaning for me personally, as I’m pinning a lot of my future hope in the organization on this guy in particular.  One thing that our organization has consistently failed to realize, even in the year that we won the Cup is that the dominant teams have dominant defenseman.   The Pens and the Red Wings are testaments to that, and they [...]

This is why I love hockey.

Today is the first day of free agency for the NHL 2009-2010 season. Already there have been a bevy of moves. The Bolts have made some improvements to the largest problem area on the ice. Today they signed free agents Matias Ohlund, from the Vancouver Canucks, as well as Matt Walker, from the Chicago Blackhawks.  Matias Ohlund is the veteran defender that we need for our mostly young defensive corps. He will also be a good mentor to fellow country man, and top draft choice,Victor Hedman. Walker is a physical guy that will make his presence known.
So for those who [...]