I've long been a fan of alternative history fiction.  My infatuation with the genre began when I read Harry Turtledove's "Guns of the South."  His take on the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor is, in my mind, a better work--but I digress.

On the subject of alternative history fiction, Jonathan Willis from Houses of Hockey writes an interesting article about the trade Jay Feaster didn't make when Nashville was looking to trade Tomas Vokoun.

Like any good peice of alternative fiction, Willis makes some assumptions that are reasonable:  Brad Richards still would have been traded (though not for Mike Smith) and the Holmqvist/Ramo/Niitymaki lineup would have served as Vokoun's backup.

His analysis is very interesting, and it's plain to see the Lightning would have been better off in the short term by trading for Vokoun.  But it's also clear Stamkos would not be wearing a Lightning sweater, and the team's management dysfunctionality would have still been a problem.

At the risk of spoiling the article (I do recommend reading it for yourself), Willis reaches the conclusion any of us would think:  Vokoun has performed well, but not well enough to undo the bad from the team management in years previous.  Besides:  would any of us like to see Stamkos wearing the sweater of any other team?