Por (berlin) on June 30, 2008 (Suggest removal)

Team defense is pathetic,getting rid of Boyle would be a horrible move.He’s the quarterback of the team,especially on quick transitions or rush’s out of our own end.That first pass out is so important.Which works perfectly with our skilled,speedy forwards.Is anyone else worried about melrose thinking this defense is “sound” and believing O’brien has skill? There’s no way he watched 70 games last year.

Por (Drew) on June 30, 2008 (Suggest removal)

I wouldnt necessarily put Boyle as helping “team defense.” But I don’t understand why they would want to move him. Offensive Defensemen/ PP quarterbacks like him dont grow on trees, and his defense is somewhat underrated although erratic at times. Unless we get equal value, save money, and get younger, I say its not worth it.

Por (Matt) on June 30, 2008 (Suggest removal)

Boyle is good at certain things and awful at others. Playing defense(which should be his 1st priority) is not his strong suit. Passing and carrying the puck up ice are his strong points. Which do you think is the most important for a DEFENSE-MAN? 6.6 milion for a glorified wing is a joke. Trading Boyle could get a defense-man and a wing or multiple draft picks(which the Bolts have been trading recently). Oh and that other thing, using his 6.6 million dollar salary on more than one player.  And please people, don’t start comparing him to Campbell or Redden because he couldn’t hold their jock. Let him go soak up a roster spot on Tort’s team, oh wait Torts doesn’t have a team.

Por (Don Margeson) on June 30, 2008 (Suggest removal)

Boyle, Is a liability on defense the way Torts used him. He shouldn’t be playing 25 minutes a game and he should never be up against the other teams top line. Signing Rolston could make Boyle expendable as Rolston can QB the PP. Then you get one of the cheper puckmoving guys that is a little more consistent on D. We’ll see what happens but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Boyle wearing another sweater this coming season.

Por (TampaFan) on June 30, 2008 (Suggest removal)

Boyle shouldn’t have been given the contract he was.  He isn’t worth that much for that long.  A good defenseman knows how to play defense, knows what to do on an odd man rush—oh wait he is the reason there is always an odd man rush.

Por (Geografer) on June 30, 2008 (Suggest removal)

What is up with the sudden Boyle smashing? The guy had one bad season - he kinda had a reason for it. He is totally worth the contract he has been given and we would be nuts to trade him. Whoever got him would win the trade hands down - no matter what we got in return!! Does he cause turnovers - absolutly but that has to do with Torts “system” of play as much as Boyle. All “puck-moving” d-man have a lot of turnovers - it is the problem with have defense be offensive.

Por (TampaFan) on June 30, 2008 (Suggest removal)

So what your saying is that now Torts is gone, Boyle will play real defense?  I would hope so now that we have all these new good forwards to count on.  We don’t need Boyle to rush the puck, he can stay in the zone and be a defenseman.

Por (BOLTS RULE !!!!) on June 30, 2008 (Suggest removal)

In case you havent heard,  The bolts just signed Niskala from Philly, he was traded to Philly on June 24, he is now coming to the lightning, so they got a seasoned defensemen.

Por (Geografer) on June 30, 2008 (Suggest removal)

Bolts Rule - seriously hope you are being sarcastic. Niskala a seasoned d-man??? He had 19 goals and 25 assists last season in 80 games for Milwaukee in the AHL. How is this seasoned (unless you mean for Norfolk)?

Por (Mike Joyce) on June 30, 2008 (Suggest removal)

The problem is that Boyle doesn’t know how to play defense.  He is very good when he brings the puck up and plays just outside the opponents’ goal crease.  Unfortunately, that is a liability on defense and not a good thing.

This is not new Boyle bashing by me.  I’ve been saying that he doesn’t know how to play defense for years.  All you have to do is watch his pathetic efforts on odd man rushes.  The only one worse on the Bolts is Kuba.

Por (Geografer) on June 30, 2008 (Suggest removal)

By the way - he also has signed a contract to play in Russia (back in June) so he may or may not play in Norfolk next year. I am sure the money in Russia is much better than the $70K he will make in Norfolk. He was issued a qualifying offer before he was traded to Philly - no indication he has signed it. At what point do the owners quit sacrificing the future for the now?? If we had a strong minor league team I might go along with it more but we don’t. Hope there are some big signings coming for Norfolk or we are up a creek again with the first injury.

Por (Mitchell Margo) on June 30, 2008 (Suggest removal)

Ok we all know that Boyle’s strengths are not in his defense. he is a puck moving d-man and to be honest compared to some of them boyle’s contract is cheap for us. Also people who say our defense and goalie were bad last year. Our team was bad last year. To have a good defense you need responsible fowards. If you have good fowards that play defense then your d-men and goalie look a heck of a lot better. The fowards corps that we have now is a lot better than last year, and the fowards will contribute to the defensive side of the game a lot more than last year as well. I still think signing Cullimore and then a veteran goalie (along with Rolston) and our team is really good.

Por (Justin) on June 30, 2008 (Suggest removal)

I think this time of year is one of the more exciting parts of the year for a fan.