TAMPA - The Lightning went into the offseason looking to pick up a No.3 goalie with a little NHL experience. On Wednesday it got a goalie with a lot of the NHL experience.
Jamie Storr, a former first-round pick with nine seasons of NHL experience, is expected to serve as the team's third goalie behind Nikolai Khabibulin and John Grahame.
Technically, the Lightning cannot sign any players because of the lockout, so Storr was officially signed by the Lightning's American Hockey League affiliate in Springfield. But he should be available for the Lightning when the lockout ends. Storr is expected to play in Springfield along with Brian Eklund and be on call in case Khabibulin or Grahame gets hurt.
The Kings made Storr the seventh overall pick in the 1994 draft and he ranks fourth on their victory list. In 219 games, Storr is 85-86-23 with a 2.54 goals-against average and .908 save percentage.
EURUOPE-BOUND: Sabres center Daniel Briere agreed to a deal with SC Bern of the Swiss league, becoming the latest NHL player to head to Europe.
Three others signed with European teams: Calgary center Steve Reinprecht (Muhouse in France), Penguins forward Konstantin Koltsov (Dynamo Minsk in Belarus) and Predators wing Vladimir Orszagh (Banska Bystrica in Slovakia).
There are 178 NHL players in Europe, about 25 percent of the league's roster spots. Most of those players have clauses in their contracts that permit them to return to the NHL if the labor impasse ends in time to salvage a season.
The Czech league leads the way with 49 players, including Jaromir Jagr of the New York Rangers, followed by Sweden at 40 and Russia at 38.
