Did the Tampa Bay Lightning Give Evgeni Nabokov A Fair Shot?
By Dan Herrejon
As everyone in Bolts Nation should know by now, the Tampa Bay Lightning have released backup goalie, Evgeni Nabokov. In fact, the team traded him to the San Jose Sharks in order for Nabby to officially retire from the NHL as a member of the team that drafted him and played for over 10 seasons.
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Steve Yzerman originally signed Evgeni Nabokov to avoid the issue that the team experienced last year. When Ben Bishop got hurt at the end of the season, the Lightning were forced to use Anders Lindback in the playoffs against Montreal.
We all know how that turned out. In fact, Lindback was so shaky that a lot of fans were calling for Jon Cooper to start Kristers Gudlevskis in game three against the Montreal Canadiens. He didn’t but did replace Lindback in the middle of the game.
Nabokov was supposed to bring the veteran stability that was evident last April. Obviously, with his release, that part of the Yzer-Plan did not work.
Coming towards the trade deadline with about 25 games left in the season, the writers here at Bolts by The Bay asked the roundtable question: Did Evgeni Nabokov receive a fair shot from the Tampa Bay Lightning?
Here are the responses.
Next: Angelo Resciniti's take
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