Lightning fan

@hf101 In hindsight it was a great trade for us, at least it appears to be as of now, which is funny because the general consensus when the trade went down was that the Sens fleeced us big time. Funny how it works. That being said, I find it hard to believe Conacher's performance in Ottawa was waiver worthy. :blink:

I spotted the edit button!

With his shutout against the Devils yesterday Bishop recorded his 31st win this season, surpassing Khabibulin's 30 wins from the 2002/03 season. Guy's been outstanding for us this season, he looks like a keeper. We shall see what the future brings.

I take it the Hawks haven't looked good at all lately but at the same time the Wings have been decimated by injuries (5+? roster players out IIRC) so I'm expecting Chicago to take this one... it's hockey though, so any predictions are meaningless.

@jammer2 Absolutely, I'm very excited about the state the club is in right now; it's a good time to be a Bolts fan IMO. We finally have a competent owner who's willing and able to spend (arena reconstruction, adequate budget for a solid management group, ability to spend to the salary cap, etc.), a great Gm in Yzerman and a great development program combined with great scouting. Cooper seems like a great coach, too. We have youngster on our roster that nobody around the league has heard before doing great and turning some heads. Ondrej Palat, 22 yo, drafted 208th overall in 2011 is second (!) in rookie scoring. 66GP 17G 26A +25 Tyler Johson, 23 yo, who didn't get drafted because he was perceived to be too small, third in rookie scoring 66GP 21G 21A +16 Alex Killorn, 24 yo, drafted 77th overall in 2007 66GP 15G 21A +7 Radko Gudas, D, 23 yo, drafted 66th overall in 2010, being very solid in his first full season - he's improved a lot defensively on his last season 57GP 2G 14A +5 On top of that there are prospects who might be ready to make the jump to the NHL: Drouin, Ikonen... I heard the news about Slater, it's very unfortunate. I hope the shoulder injury and this one will not stall his development. It's not all rosy in the Lightning land, we could definitely use a solid Top 4 D-man, but it's a work in progress; no need to rush prospects or commit to panic moves - we are a young team on the rise after all.

That's rough for the Pens, hope he recovers fast. The Penguins seem to have players go down with concussions more so than any other team, but that may be just my impression.

Not surprising IMO, they're by far the best team in the East. Rask is also a Top 2 goalie in the world (it's between him and Quick IMO). ^_^ Bruins are the only team I wouldn't want to face in the first round - provided the Lightning make it.

I don't mind fighting at all. What I plainly dislike are staged fights and goons whose sole purpose is to punch faces.

True. I'll just correct you, we did get a 1st (2015) and a conditional 2nd (2014; becomes a first if the NYR make ECF this year). Furthermore, if Yzerman manages to re-sign Callahan the NYR will get a 2nd in 2015 in exchange for a 7th in 2015. So yeah, it could potentially be two firsts, but chances are slim. Hey jammer, thanks! Think he wants 6m? Or somewhere in the neighbourhood. I think Yzerman will pay him, he's the kind of player we had been lacking for some time. ^_^

Thanks fan4ever. I suspect the vast majority of Lightning fans do not share my opinion and view MSL's actions as trashing his legacy. I'm more pragmatic and don't tend to get too emotional anymore... it's not worth it. MSL has done a lot of good things for this franchise and I'm grateful for that. It might be a different story were he 25.

Hi yave, thanks, glad to be aboard. Only three more years. No idea what Buffalo's intentions are with him, might as well buy him out.

And now Burrows scored two goals yesterday. The world as we knew it is no more.

The trade request came seemingly out of nowhere and it all went down so quickly, kind of crazy when you think about it. If Marty had wanted out before, he sure had done a good job keeping it private. In any case, I'm not mad about it, in all honesty not even upset. It is his life and he has the right do what he deems appropriate for him and his family. It sucks for the Lightning since Yzerman had to accomodate his request to be traded to a specific team but such is life. It is all not bad though, MSL is 38 years old, his career is nearing an end. Provided Yzerman can re-sign Callahan (which I have full faith he will be able to do) then it wasn't a bad trade for us. Callahan, 1st, 2nd (NYR's chance to advance to ECF is slim, so let's just assume it will remain a 2nd round pick) for MSL who would waive only for the NYR. Sure, losing MSL will hurt our chances of a deep playoff run this year, but Lightning fans (dare I say, including Yzerman and management) were not expecting that at the season start. That must be of on the reasons Marty wanted out. I assume there are three reasons Marty wanted out: 1. his family situation: Marty's home is in Greenwich, Conn. 2. the initial Olympic snub One major reason: He was initially snubbed for the Canadian Olympic team. “That had something to do with it, for sure,” St. Louis said http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/06/sports/hockey/rangers-trade-ryan-callahan-to-lightning-for-martin-st-louis.html?_r=0 3. Yzerman's belief to not go all in and rather take a 'wait-and-see' approach. Yzerman knows the Lightning are a work in progress, no reason to go for it now. That time will come, but it is not right now. I suspect MSL and Yzerman talked on this topic and the conversation did not go in the direction MSL would like to. NYR are in a 'win now' mode and they will be until Lundqvist retires/his skill deteriorates, which is exactly what MSL is looking for. That being said, I don't think the Rangers have a much better chance of going deep than the Lightning, if they have a better chance at all. Anyway, good luck in NY Marty. Certainly the end of an era for the Bolts. On a side note, Drouin has big shoes to fill.