Lightning

Search for scorers starts today

Feaster feels no pressure to jump and make trades this free agency.

By BY DAMIAN CRISTODERO
Published June 23, 2007

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Head scout Jake Goertzen said he thought about it "briefly" when a friend called and asked if the Lightning's lack of a first-round draft pick was a bummer.

More like a shrug, Goertzen replied.

"That's life, " he said, telling the story Friday on the floor of Nationwide Arena. "That's just how it goes."

The tale was the high point of a quiet night for Tampa Bay, which did not make a trade and whose first pick today might be in the second round at No. 47 or the third at No. 75, pending a decision by the Panthers - but more about that later.

Whatever the timing, Goertzen said, the strategy remains the same: restocking a depleted minor-league system with scoring forwards. But because those gems will be more difficult to find in the later rounds of a draft considered weak, Goertzen acknowledged some modifications.

"What we're going to do is take some chances, " he said. "Even if he is deficient in one area, if he can put the puck in the net or is a playmaker, we have to determine if that's something coachable and we can get him to improve."

This draft, though, is not supposed to be about players who will help the Lightning's future. It is supposed to be about NHL-ready assets it can pick up in trades to help now.

Tampa Bay's priorities are a second-line forward and a fifth or sixth defenseman. But what really must have resonated for a team whose goaltending is so tenuous was the deal the Southeast Division-rival Panthers made with the Predators for Tomas Vokoun and the Maple Leafs' trade with the Sharks for Vesa Toskala.

Asked if he felt pressure to make a move, Feaster said, "There's still time for deals to take place this summer. There's still time in the free agent market."

He also pointed to the team's acquisitions of Chris Gratton and Jan Hlavac.

"When you look at where we are up front, we've positioned ourselves already, " said Feaster, who sent this year's first-round pick to Anaheim in the trade for Shane O'Brien. "So if nothing happens before training camp, if not a single trade is made or a player is signed, we still have a pretty good group. I don't feel any pressure at all."

Goertzen seemed equally cool describing this year's draft plan, which includes cataloging players expected to go between picks 35 and 65 and whittling them down to 10 with an emphasis on scoring forwards.

Still, Tampa Bay won't know when it picks until Florida decides if it wants the Lightning's pick at No. 47 one that could become part of the compensation in the Vokoun deal or its second-round pick in 2008. The Panthers got the option in the Gratton trade.

Doesn't matter, Goertzen said: "It's all about winning and being part of a team. We want to do what's best for the team. If the big club isn't winning, then we're not here."

Bummer.

Lightning's picks

Round 2: 47th overall

Round 3: 75th overall (from Ducks); 77th overall

Round 4: 107th overall

Round 6: 167th overall

Round 7: 197th overall

Panthers have option of taking Round 2 pick or 2008 Round 2 pick

[Last modified June 23, 2007, 00:04:03]