TAMPA - General manager Jay Feaster would love for Andreas Holmqvist to earn a spot on the Lightning roster this season.
But Feaster said he doesn't need Holmqvist to, not if his unfinished offseason business goes well.
Whether it provided a fix for the immediate or further-off future, the Lightning on Thursday signed Holmqvist, a 21-year-old Swede the club projects as the puck-handling, slick-skating defenseman it has long coveted.
"(Defensemen Dan) Boyle and (Pavel) Kubina can do it, but we don't have a lot of guys who can grab the puck behind the net and lug it up the ice," Feaster said. "As time goes on - and he's not ready for it right now - he's a player we project who can quarterback the power play, which is something we've not had."
Holmqvist, a 6-foot-4, 190-pound third-year pro, had four goals and 13 assists last season in his first year in the Swedish Elite League.
The 61st pick of the 2001 entry draft signed a two-year rookie contract, but terms weren't given. The Lightning would have owed his Linkopings club $150,000 if it had not signed him by Tuesday. It could not have signed him after Aug.15.
"I am absolutely very pleased," Holmqvist said from his home in Sweden. "It's just up to me to show I can play at this level. I have much to show them at the camp."
Feaster said he would be "very pleased" if Holmqvist and fellow rookie Gerard Dicaire press for spots in camp, but vowed to upgrade the position either through trade or free agency.
"We need to be clear," Feaster said. "These guys are guys we project to play in the NHL down the road and play for a long time. But fans should not think for a minute we signed them to take the place of not (making offers to Stan) Neckar and (Nolan) Pratt.
"(The rookies) have a lot of things to prove. We will be going out and getting veteran guys. We will not go with the five we have and two kids."
The Lightning also announced the signing of 2002 eighth-round selection Ryan Craig, a forward.
Feaster said discussions were ongoing with free-agent forward Vinny Prospal, who led the Lightning with 79 points last season.
Keefe to share team
Sheldon Keefe has bought a majority share of the Pembroke Lumber Kings, a Junior "A" team in Ontario. And though the Lightning right wing said the team, which has won nine Central Junior Hockey League championships, "has a history of making money," that was not his prime concern.
"My biggest motivation is to be involved with something to provide an environment in which players can get better," Keefe said. "I played at that level (one below juniors), and it was one of the biggest developmental steps in my career."
Keefe is the second Lightning player to go into ownership. Center Brad Richards bought a minority share of the Rocket, a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team that will play on his native Prince Edward Island.
BRUINS: Goaltender Hannu Toivonen signed a three-year deal. Toivonen, the team's top draft pick in 2002, played in the Finnish Elite League last year and probably will play with Providence of the AHL next season.
The team also signed center Sergei Sinojev for twos.
COYOTE: Defenseman Cale Hulse signed a multiyear deal but terms weren't given.
DEVILS: Defenseman Ken Daneyko, 39, is expected to retire at a news conference this morning. He broke into the NHL in 1983-84.
HURRICANES: Defenseman Bruno St. Jacques signed a one-year contract worth $375,000.
ISLANDERS: Veteran defenseman Kenny Jonsson re-signed a two-year contract.
PREDATORS: The team re-signed forward Scott Hartnell but terms weren't given.
- Times staff writer Damian Cristodero and information from other news organizations contributed to this report.
