Well, there it is, the new logo in all of its glory. It’s the same design that was leaked out a little over a month ago so it’s not a surprise, although today was the first time to see it on a jersey. I know from reading the message boards a lot of the die hard fans are not fans of the new design. Myself, I like the look on the jerseys. The lettering isn’t anything special, but the dual toned lightning bolt is a nice touch. I don’t think it’s a radical change, and that in itself is a good thing. I think that over time, it doesn’t really matter what the logo on the chest is (unless of course it’s those hideous New York Islanders jersey with the fisherman at the wheel or the acid-trip Canucks jerseys). The bottom line is what takes place on the ice and how successful the team is in the standings.

As far as what took place on Saturday, I do say that you have to hand it to the Lightning, they know how to do things right when it comes to taking care of its fans for events like this. I arrived right at 10 a.m. and my wife followed behind shortly after with the kids in tow. By the time I caught up with them they already had four bobblehead dolls, a couple of pennants, hackey-sack balls and some decals they were giving away. Nothing like giving away freebies to the kids to make them remember the occasion. I know they had a good time, even though I wasn’t able to join with them other than to watch them take a ride down the ice slide (a nice touch by the way).

After escorting them over to the line to get Marty St. Louis’ autograph, I had to run upstairs to Icons before the question and answer session with GM Jay Feaster and Coach John Tortorella held with season ticket holders. These events are always entertaining as two engaging figures speak frankly with fans, who in turn tend to ask frank questions.

Highlights of the Q&A:
* The first question was how the team’s goaltender issues were going to be solved by bringing back the goaltender who sat in the press box for the playoff series. Feaster’s initial response - I tried this summer to get Ken Dryden out of retirement but it didn’t work.
  Feaster also went on to say that Marc Denis will do one of three things, play his way back to a spot, play his way to the minor leagues or play his way into a trade. He mentioned that Denis, Johan Holmqvist and Karri Ramo will be competing for two spots and that while the issues are not necessarily solved or fixed at this point, Denis and Holmqvist were good enough to win 44 games last year and gave them a chance to win.

* Tortorella stuck up for Feaster at one point when a question was asked about Tampa Bay not signing big-name free agents stating that “How many big names do you need to bring in under salary cap.’’ considering Vinny Lecavalier, Brad Richards, St. Louis and Dan Boyle are already on the roster.

* Somebody asked about Lecavalier’s contract running out after the 2008-09 season and if Feaster would discuss extending Vinny’s contract.
  “We will do everything we can to get Vinny re-signed before it ever gets to that point’’ of free agency, Feaster said.
  Feaster also stated that when they were in negotiations with Vinny prior to the 2005-06 season, they had discussed the possibility of a Rick DiPietro type deal (you know, the deal that keeps DiPietro an Islander until he is 40 years old). First time Feaster revealed that and considering the type of long-term deals guys are signing right now (a lot of six-year contracts), it might be the trend for young talent.

* Somebody asked about the game in Boston last season when Zdeno Chara scored the tying goal on what appeared to be a high stick (I still think it was a blatant high stick from a guy who stands seven-feet tall on skates). Feaster recalled his conversation with Colin Campbell after the game.
  “Coly said I didn’t have the right perspective, that I didn’t have the 3-D angle. And since I had already had a couple of glasses of wine, I told him what he could do with his 3-D. Coly then told me something that I can’t repeat here.’‘
  Feaster added he thinks a lot of high blood pressure medicine would stay on the shelf if, rather than leaving things open to interpretation, anytime a puck goes in the net it should be a goal whether it went in off a high stick or if it was kicked in.

* On the relationship with potential owner Doug MacLean, known to be an emotional and volatile personality, meshing with Feaster and Tortorella, who have similar personalities. Feaster basically said that as long as any decisions made are not done in the heat of the moment and that things are looked at and analyzed properly, then he believes the three of them will have no problem getting along and working together.

* Tortorella took another shot at out-going CEO Tom Wilson stating “The guy I’m glad is the hell out of here is Tom Wilson, who did nothing but throw obstacles up in front of us. And I guess there is a chance that this [ownership change] may not go through, but I really don’t care.’’ Torts also stated that he hopes the new owners realize that nothing is broken, and he believes that in conversations he has had, he thinks they do understand that they can still be left in the loop on everything that takes place while still allowing hockey ops to do their jobs.

* Feaster said that current team president Ron Campbell has been a very vocal leader among the board of governors about getting the NHL back on ESPN and that while its nice to be the main draw on Versus, what does that matter if nobody is getting the network. (I have to agree completely with Jay on this point, BTW). Feaster feels the league has not done a good job of marketing the players, particularly since the lockout ended.

* Tortorella said he has to do a better job of playing his fourth line this year, although he said he couldn’t make any promises since it depends on how effective they are when they do play. Also said that while he appreciates the calls for Andre Roy during the games, he can’t hear them on the bench anyway!!!!

* A question was asked about the shootouts and Feaster’s comment was “It’s Gary’s world’‘

There were a ton of people on attendence, a really impressive showing considering the heat. Team officials were quite pleased and surprised by the number of fans. After the session with Feaster and Tortorella was over, I couldn’t believe the number of people gathered around the red carpet before the unveiling. Not sure why players were paired with local TV personalities other then maybe it ensured that each station would be there with their cameras and would air their anchors taking part in the festivities.