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- The Lightning still have more moves to come
- Zenon Konopka to the Bolts?
- Leave Dan Boyle a departing message
- Dan Boyle deal complete
- Boyle's decision to come Friday?
- Dan Boyle vents his frustration.
- Boyle to San Jose
- Boyle trade still pending approval
- Boyle conference call about done (updated)
- About face on Boyle situation
- Lightning sign minor league depth
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I guess this is what the media world is coming to. Rather than bringing Vinny to the media for an update on his rehab from shoulder surgery, they just send in a camera and then provide a direct video report on where he stands at this point, a little over a week out from his surgery. The interview is done in the team’s training room with Lecavalier and assistant team trainer Jason Serbus.
On one other note regarding Lightning players, Jeff Halpern will serve as captain for Team USA for the World Championships, which begin Friday in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Marty St. Louis, meanwhile, will serve as an alternate captain, along with Steve Staios, for Team Canada. Shane Doan is captain for Canada.
Other players scheduled to participate in the World Championships are: Finland - Jussi Jokinen and Karri Ramo; Russia - Evgeny Artyukhin; Czech Republic - Filip Kuba. The preliminary rosters are listed on the IIHF website. Final rosters are to be submitted on Thursday, from what I can tell.
And finally, the finalists for the Hart Trophy were announced today by the league, and they are
Jarome Iginla - Calgary
Evgeni Malkin - Pittsburgh
Alex Ovechkin - Washington
Ovechkin will almost certainly be a runaway winner of the award, and it might be close to being unanimous. But I know for a fact it won’t be unanimous, because........
My votes were:
1. Martin Brodeur - New Jersey
2. Ovechkin
3. Iginla
4. Nicklas Lidstrom - Detroit
5. Malkin
I wrestled with this decision many times in the final weeks leading up to the end of the season. My sway was toward Brodeur for a lengthy period of time. Then as Washington kept staying in the mix and Ovechkin kept piling up the goals, I started to have some secondary thoughts as to who my vote should go to. In some conversations down the stretch, I was starting to lean toward Ovechkin. But I just couldn’t get this one thought out of my head in regards to Brodeur - the Devils would be a middle-of-the-road team if not for him. And I know it’s easy to say that about any team in regards to their goaltender. But what gets me about Brodeur is that you can change the coach in New Jersey, you can alter the system in New Jersey, you can take away a pair of Hall of Fame defenseman away from New Jersey and yet at the end of the year, there’s Brodeur with 40 wins and in the top 10 in goaltending once again while New Jersey is competing for a division/conference title, which they were up to the final few weeks of the season before Pittsburgh and Montreal pulled away. The Devils were one of the lowest scoring teams in the league while Patrik Elias had a subpar season, and yet New Jersey earned a No. 4 seed. And I believe that if you took Brodeur out of net for the Devils, they would have been a lot closer to Tampa Bay in the standings than Pittsburgh. And to me, that’s the true measure of the player “judged to be most valuable to his team’’
Posted by Lisa, Lithia on 04/30 at 10:22 PM
Hi Erik,
Last week it was said that the deal with Koules would probably be finalized by the end of last week. I still haven’t heard anything about it being finalized. Have you heard anything more about that?
Thanks!
Posted by Mark, Tampa on 04/30 at 09:29 AM
Erik,
Is there any reason that the Lightning are not showing up as a potential team for this kid from Sweden, Fabian Brunnstrom, who is a free agent?
Posted by Mike Joyce, Bangkok, Thailand on 04/30 at 04:34 AM
I think that the biggest need, apart from a goalie, on the Bolts is on-ice leadership, and Halpern is the best there is on this team. Vinny and Marty have had plenty of time to take on that role and the obviously don’t want it. Look at what Halpern did with the Richards’ rejects when he got to Tampa. If he walks like a Captain, plays like a Captain and motivates like a Captain, then maybe he is a Captain.
Posted by Erik Erlendsson, on 04/29 at 06:53 PM
Greg, Boyle indicated to me late in the year when we were asking him about Team Canada that he didn’t think he was going to participate if he was asked because he had endured such a mentally fatiguing season that he wanted to just get away from the ice and clear his mind with the intent of putting everything behind him and starting fresh with training camp. And knowing Dan the way I do, I completely understand where he’s coming from on that one. (Not to mention he’s getting married this summer, so he has that to focus on as well)
Posted by Greg M, Tampa, FL on 04/29 at 05:35 PM
Erik, any idea why Boyle isn’t playing for team Canada he would have been arguably their best defenseman.
Posted by Lisa, Lithia on 04/29 at 04:13 PM
Thanks, Erik for the update on Vinny. Glad to see him doing well in good humor. Take care, Vinny and enjoy the summer as much as you can!
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Posted by Brent, Lutz on 05/07 at 11:15 AM
I had a similar rotator cuff surgery as Vinny exactly a week after his. It is depressing for the first week or two since your range of motion (ROM) is almost zero, and the pain is high. Watching his video and listening to his prognosis made me feel so much better. Although he has tons of money; the best surgeons and trainers protecting his viability, his recovery time is no faster than mine.
I wish him well and hope he is ready to play at 100% by October—as his workouts won’t be intense until July’ish.
Go Bolts!!!