Trade winds have begun to swirl
With the deadline to make deals in sight, the rumors start to fly, and the Lightning has been mentioned.
By TOM JONES
Published January 7, 2006
BOSTON - 'Tis the season.
When the rest of the world rings in the new year, the bell rings in the NHL to start a new season: Trade Rumor season. From now until the trade deadline, which this year is March 9, rumors will have hundreds of players switching jerseys.
The Lightning has been involved in the rumors. Some are outright wacky while others actually make sense. But none, as of yet, appears to be based on anything other than pure conjecture.
There's the one that has defenseman Pavel Kubina going to Buffalo for goalie Martin Biron. There's the one that has a big-name forward such as Fredrik Modin going to Minnesota for goalie Manny Fernandez. The wildest involves three teams trading players like cards with the Lightning somehow ending up with Florida goalie Roberto Luongo.
Just Thursday night, the rumors grew so strong that captain Dave Andreychuk went to general manager Jay Feaster to ask if he was being shopped. (He's not, according to Andreychuk.)
While none of these rumors appear likely to result in an actual deal, it does raise the question of whether the Lightning will make a major deal or two before the trade deadline.
Swimming in inconsistency all season, the Lightning is no sure thing to even make the playoffs, let alone contend for a Stanley Cup, and that could make it a participant when the rumors turn to real deals. Just last week, the Lightning essentially cut ties with Chris Dingman, and in explaining the move, Feaster admitted it was partly to clear salary cap room in case the Lightning wanted to make a deal down the stretch.
But that doesn't mean Feaster's finger is itchy to pull the trigger on a trade.
"We've identified our key players, and I think a key to our success," Feaster said, "has been our stability. That we don't knee-jerk and we don't react emotionally. I think that has been a hallmark of why we have been successful. Again, if you believe in your players, you have to give them an opportunity to work through it."
Coach John Tortorella seconds Feaster's thoughts, saying, "We have good people here."
However, the Lightning does have a few holes. For starters, the defense could use another body. When Kubina went down with an injury two weeks ago, the Lightning elected to play two games with only five defensemen instead of bringing adefenseman from the minors. Part of the reason, Tortorella said, was the Lightning didn't have a defenseman in the minors playing well enough to call up.
A key move during the Stanley Cup season was acquiring defenseman Darryl Sydor from Columbus, and that deal came even though the Lightning had seven defensemen with NHL experience on the roster. With only six now, the Lightning might have to bring in a defenseman.
Then there is goaltending. While John Grahame and Sean Burke have played well recently, Feaster likely will get calls to see if he is interested in Biron, Fernandez, Minnesota's Dwayne Roloson, Washington's Olaf Kolzig and others. How well or poorly Grahame and Burke play over the next several weeks could help Feaster make up his mind. "As players, we hope that there are no changes," veteran center Tim Taylor said. "We believe we have the team that can win it all. We won the Cup with this team. We've proven we can win. We see no reason to do anything."
There are considerations other than improving the team, mainly the salary cap. The Lightning, at the moment, can add about $1.5-million in salary. To clear room, it might have to part with another player or two. Then Feaster has to consider how a trade might affect his ability to re-sign potential free agents such as Kubina, Grahame, Brad Richards and Cory Sarich.
"It's not like the old days when you could just do whatever you wanted," Burke said. "As players, we just have to live with the rumors. They're always there. It's not easy when it's your name involved, and it can affect you. But we, as players, also know that it's part of the game, and you have to live with it."
The Lightning will have to live with it for the next two months. Whether the rumors turn into deals remains to be seen.
RAMSAY SURGERY: Associate coach Craig Ramsay had successful surgery Friday in Tampa to remove his cancerous prostate. He is scheduled to go home today and is expected to make a full recovery. Ramsay's goal is to return to the team next weekend.