Lightning pare down roster by four

Adam Hall, Ryan Craig and Brandon Bochenski were waived by the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday. Brett McLean was released from his tryout as well.

This leaves the Bolts with 25 men on their roster. The team must get to or under 23 by Wednesday.

5 months ago John Fontana 10 comments 0 recs |

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Well, I guess this answers some of the questions we had during the game thread yesterday. 2 more to go. I believe it’ll be 2 D-men. Either on waivers or traded if Lawton can pull a rabbit out of his hat before Wednesday. So it appears that Wright and Konopka made the team, at least to start off the season, and that is what cost Hall and Craig their roster spots. I don’t think Bochenski was going to be on the team anyway. Good luck to Brett McLean; he played well in the pre-season and I hope he catches on with another team. He just got caught in the numbers crunch here.

by TB_hockey_fan on Sep 28, 2009 12:23 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I love the 11 defencemen still on the team, while only 12 forwards remain. Congrats to Kovalev Killer James Wright. May he stay the hell away from my team’s third-best forward!

ryanclassic.net

by Ryan Classic on Sep 28, 2009 2:46 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I was thinking about this

There may be a trade in the works for a specific forward…. The trade would involve sending a D-man (d-men ? ) back..

But this is only an educated guess. still a full day before final cut downs.

To strive, to seek, to find, and to forever keep it Raw. Raw Charge.

by John Fontana on Sep 28, 2009 3:48 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Konopka would be my first cut if another forward came in, but hopefully they’ll go with 13 forwards at worst. I have a soft spot for Zenon. That comes from growing up in Ottawa, where he was a pretty popular captain with the city’s junior team. I also have one for Kurtis Foster, but he grew up five minutes from where I did.

I really do hope that Wright makes the team. Extra soft spot for him right now.

ryanclassic.net

by Ryan Classic on Sep 28, 2009 4:10 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think Foster's been the most overlooked pickup in town

Another Lightning blog had predicted he wouldn’t even make the team… I thought that was a testament about how little people looked into some of the player moves. There were big name signings and then there were also-rans. Foster, for some people, fell (mistakenly) into the also-ran column because of so few games played last year, or because of lack of research on his assets.

I’m not big on Zenon to be honest. I would have kept Craig before him. But everyone roots for the underdog and the underdog right now is Wright. I am surprised… no, SHOCKED, that he got signed and McLean cut loose.

To strive, to seek, to find, and to forever keep it Raw. Raw Charge.

by John Fontana on Sep 28, 2009 4:26 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I’m with you on Foster. I was rather proud of him when he found his way back into the Wild lineup last year after rehab (he even got married while his leg was busted). He has a hell of a slapshot and could be really good on the power play if necessary.

As for Wright, I’m a bit biased. Okay, a lot biased. Dating his cousin will do that. Beyond that, he made Jeff Halpern score not one but TWO goals in a game. His night in Saskatchewan against my Senators gave him the nickname I love and am determined to make stick. He’s got a chip on his shoulder because he’s the whipping boy for the Vancouver Giants’ coach, and if he goes back he’s going to be pissed (to say the least).

ryanclassic.net

by Ryan Classic on Sep 28, 2009 4:31 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

It's an uphill battle to stick though for Wright

He’s got nine games to prove this is where he belongs. He’s off to a good start. And as I was saying in our game thread last night, him makign the team basically assured Craig was going to be cut.

Back to foster — that booming shot has stood out in camp and in the preseason. He’s been given a couple of assists after his shots were re-directed during the pre-season. I think he could break out here… But that remains to be seen.

To strive, to seek, to find, and to forever keep it Raw. Raw Charge.

by John Fontana on Sep 28, 2009 4:47 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I hope so. Assists and points don’t matter if he’s still making things happen on the power play. Can’t have a tertiary assist, and you can’t quantify first passes out the zone. Best of luck to Kurtis.

ryanclassic.net

by Ryan Classic on Sep 28, 2009 4:48 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs