Posts Tagged ‘Tampa Bay Lightning
Tampa Bay: Proof That Money Does Not Equal Sense
In the wake of the predictable firing of Barry Melrose, let’s take a stroll down memory lane and evaluate Tampa Bay’s recent string of decisions and moves:
- Tampa trades Brad Richards to the Dallas Stars. Richards struggled in 07-08 and finished with 62 points, well below is 91 mark from 05-06, and a painful +/- of -25. However, Richards is still 28 years old and he’s still the guy that led them to a Stanley cup a few years ago. Richards’ off year, though the entire team was pretty bad so let’s not forget that, the emergence of Vincent Lecavalier combined with Richards salary to make him expendable. However, in hockey you build down the middle (ask the Ducks how important a second line center really is) and giving up Richards was cushioned by the fact that they won the draft lottery and got Stamkos. Had they not, they would have no one to center their second line. However, the important piece of the puzzle to that trade was Mike Smith, a young goalie with tons of promise. Overall, this trade worked out for Tampa, which is more than I can say for anything else on this list.
- Tampa signs Boyle to a six year extension including a no-trade clause shortly after trading Richards. Boyle was a huge part of the team and they struggled mightily in their transition game when he was hurt last season in a freak accident. It appeared that trading Richards opened up the money to lock-up Boyle long-term.
- Tampa signs Barry Melrose despite other, more experienced and proven coaches on the market. They sign Melrose for publicity, plain and simple. Melrose coached 1.5 seasons if I remember correctly, and led the Kings to the Stanley cup finals in his first year. However, it’s important to note that his team was stacked and included The Great One. The Kings struggled the very next season and Melrose was promptly fired. Melrose was a move to gain more notoriety, not a move to win more games. This is a common thread here.
- After weeks of outright denial in the media Tampa trades away Dan Boyle, after the team struggled to move the puck up the ice without him, by forcing him to waive his no-trade clause by threatening to demote him, which would have punched his ticket to Atlanta. Boyle was sent, along with Lukowhich to the Sharks for Matt Carle, a young d-man who had struggled the previous season but was dynamite his rookie year, Ty Wishart, a top rated defensive prospect still a season or two away from the NHL, and 1st and fourth round pick. Trading Boyle opened up cap space, but left the team very inexperienced on the back-end and poised for troubles in the transition game.
- Tampa, who’s goaltending and defense destroyed them over the last few seasons, goes out and signs every forward they can find, including the over-rated (and now overpaid) Ryan Malone. To elaborate on my opinion of Malone I thought he was more valuable to the Penguins and their style than any other team. He had chemistry with Malkin. Now he’s reverted back to what he was in Pittsburgh before the breakout year. They do add a veteran goaltending backup in Olaf Kolzig, who has been better than expected this year after a number of mediocre years in Washington. On defense, they get no one.
- They trade Filip Kuba, a solid but unremarkable experienced d-man (who is over performing right now), Alex Picard, a 22 year old highly rated prospect and a first round pick to the Senators for Andre Meszaros. Meszaros is a young d-man who had a great rookie year and struggled mightily throughout his sophomore campaign. So now the Lightning trade away more experience for yet another young player who may end up being good but is still developing. They also might have gotten robbed on this deal since the Sens needed to unload Meszaros after failing to sign him to a long-term deal. Rumors are that Tampa accomplished this trade, however, by threatening the Senators with offer sheets which has left a bad taste in many people’s mouths.
- Steven Stamkos, who was supposed to be the second line center, plays around 9-10 minutes a game and struggles mightily right along with the team. However, since the ownership in Tampa marketed so heavily around Stamkos, they can’t afford to send him to the minors where he’d get more playing time and develop properly. Instead, Stamkos will stay in the NHL, continue to play third line minutes and ultimately be set back by possibly a full season.
- After 16 games, Tampa is at the bottom of the NHL . They have the worst goals per game average in the league by a large margin. Their powerplay ranks 21st in the NHL. Their penalty kill is 24th. They allow more shots per game than any team in the NHL. Strangely enough, they are in the middle of the league when it comes to goals allowed. However, that stat can be deceiving. Mike Smith is 4-4-3 in 11 games but with a sparkling 2.47 GAA and a .929 save percentage. Kolzig’s save percentage is also solid. Those are amazing numbers for such a bad team and without those two goalies, Tampa would easily be even lower in all of those categories (where possible).
- Tampa then trades Matt Carle, acquired in the aforementioned Boyle deal, along with a fourth round pick to the Philadelphia Flyers for Steve Downie, a sure to be career third liner, and Steve Eminger, a career underachiever. Matt Carle had been one of their top guys in terms of minutes played and was actually at an even +/- which is impressive considering the horrid nature of their offense. He was also signed to a relatively cheap contract for a few more seasons. Apparently, this was a “salary cutting” move, which seems strange to cut salary on defense. The Flyers absolutely punked the Lightning in this trade.
So what’s the summary? What can we take from all of this? You build a team, you don’t just sign players. You need experience on the back-end not just youth. The NHL is all about the transition game, which is a difficult thing to find. Goaltending saves the day. Barry Melrose is not a coach, he was barely an announcer, and all the theatrics and stabs at garnering attention have brought the Tampa Bay lightning no closer to competing than they were last season. In fact, they may be further from it. The good news for Tampa is that at least they’re guaranteed a few entries into the John Tavares sweepstakes. Of course, they’d be smarter to take defenseman Victor Hedman, but who needs defense anyways.
Barry Melrose Says …
Here we are, not 2 games into the season and Barry is already giving us sound bites and quotes that make me laugh! I guess he is not to keen on the 2 games in Prague where the Bolts were outshot 2-1 (well, 80-40 … but who is counting?).
The other day, after Tampa lost back to back games in Prague … Barry was holding his press conference and I think he was so pissed that his brain slipped back into “Analyst” mode! I swear, I am going to send my resume to the Lightning organization requesting an interview as Barry Melrose’s speech and quote writer!!! From his interview there were a few quotes that stood out … I am going to list his quotes in reverse order, David Letterman style!!!
5. “I hope our guys are embarrassed by that second period. I know the coaching staff was and I’m sure our ownership and management were. Our guys are trying to win without working and that doesn’t happen.”
4. “We have a sign in our mirror over our dressing room that says, ‘Are you proud of what you see?’ Right now I don’t think that many guys are proud of what they see.”
3. “We don’t compete, we’re too easy to play against. We have a lot of skill on our team, but skill means nothing if you don’t work hard.”
2. “My biggest problem was I can’t play Gratton’s line every shift. It’s probably the lowest paid line we’ve got on the ice, but by far the best line in the last two games.”
And … the #1 quote from Barry Melrose is … *queue the drum roll*
1. “For some reason, I think our guys think you’ll get a two-minute minor for shooting the puck.”
So there it is … dont forget ladies and gentlemen!!! Its ONLY been 2 games. I am really looking forward to the next 80!!! Especially if Barry is going to be the crazy coach with the bad ass quotes after stupidity spills all over the ice!!!
I think I am going to start a whole new thread on The Best of Barry Melrose Quotes for 2008/2009 NHL Season!