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Lightning must sign Fedorov by June 1

By DAMIAN CRISTODERO

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 25, 2001

DENVER -- Lightning management has a bit of work to do in the coming week, and signing junior center Fedor Fedorov is at the top of the list.

If the 6-foot-3, 187-pound prospect is not signed by June 1, he would no longer be Tampa Bay's property and would be eligible for next month's draft.

The Lightning is in the same situation with Brett Scheffelmaier, a rugged 6-5, 202-pound defenseman. But the spotlight is on Fedorov.

The brother of Red Wings star Sergei Fedorov blossomed last season for Sudbury of the Ontario Hockey League, scoring 33 goals with 45 assists and 88 penalty minutes in 67 regular-season games. He added four goals and six assists in 10 playoff games.

"Negotiations are ongoing," Lightning spokesman Bill Wickett said Thursday. "There is nothing to report."

NHL teams have two years to sign draft picks before they return to the draft.

Fedorov was taken in the sixth round (182nd overall) in 1999. Scheffelmaier, who had three goals with 10 assists and 279 penalty minutes in 62 games for Medicine Hat of the Western Hockey League, was taken in the third round (75th overall).

The Lightning could select the players again if they return to the draft.

Left wings Jimmie Olvestad and Ivan Rachunek, goaltender Michal Lanicek and forward Erkki Rajamaki also were drafted in 1999. Because they were drafted from and play in Europe, the Lightning will not lose their rights if they remain unsigned.

STRENGTH COACH ADDED: The Lightning hired Eric Lawson as strength and conditioning coach. He replaces Brian Peterson, who left the team.

Lawson, 41, spent the past five years in Colorado Springs with the U.S. Olympic Committee as its speed/strength and conditioning physiologist.

He worked extensively with the men's and women's hockey teams.

AVALANCHE: Two weeks after surgery to remove his ruptured spleen, forward Peter Forsberg laced up his skates and took to the ice Wednesday, prompting more speculation he would return for the Stanley Cup final.

The immediate pain in his stitched-up abdomen indicated that a quick comeback remains unlikely.

"Obviously he's doing very well," coach Bob Hartley said Thursday after another practice without Forsberg. "He's burning to come back, but we have to go with common sense. Miracles could happen. It would take a miracle two see Peter Forsberg back in the lineup."

FLYERS-PREDATORS TRADE: Philadelphia acquired minor-league center Mike Watt from Nashville for defenseman Mikhail Chernov.

Watt split last season with Nashville and the Milwaukee Admirals of the IHL. He had a goal and an assist in 18 regular-season games with Nashville, and 20 goals and 20 assists in 60 games for Milwaukee.

Watt, a second-round pick by Edmonton in the 1994 entry draft, has 15 goals and 26 assists in 152 regular-season games in the NHL.

Chernov, who was picked in the fourth round by the Flyers in the 1997 entry draft, has played his career with their AHL affiliate, the Philadelphia Phantoms. In 163 regular-season games, he has 22 goals and 21 assists.

RED WINGS: Defenseman Fredrik Olausson signed a one-year contract. Terms weren't disclosed.

He spent the season playing for Bern in the Swiss Hockey League, with 12 goals and 16 assists in 42 games.

Before playing in the Swiss League, Olausson spent 14 years in the NHL, where he had 142 goals and 415 assists for 557 points in 931 career games.

"He's a very skilled player that can provide an offensive threat from the blue line and will fit into our puck control style of play," GM Ken Holland said in a statement.

IHL: The league will shut down the Cleveland Lumberjacks.

"At this time, IHL ownership believes it is in the best interests of the league to cease operations of the Lumberjacks franchise," IHL president Douglas G. Moss said in a statement.

The Lumberjacks' affiliation with their NHL parent club, the Minnesota Wild, came to an end Monday, when the Wild reached an agreement with the IHL's Houston Aeros to become their primary minor-league affiliate.

-- Information from other news organizations was used in this report.

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