They aren't official names, and they aren't even all candidates, but there have been more people coming to light for the Lightning General Manager role -- some expressing interest, while others using and receiving the vaulted "no comment".

So who is out there?  Los Angeles Kings Vice President/Assistant GM Ron Hextall's name is the one that came up fresh over the weekend as a potential candidate (and that later proved to be rumor of substance).

Mike Santos of the Nashville Predators expressed interest in the role.  Santos, Director of Hockey Operations for the Preds, has ties to the Tampa Bay area and hockey in Florida (he worked for the Panthers in the past).

While Dale Tallon is now off the market, the flip side is that Florida Panthers GM Randy Sexton has become available. Looking at this in a human capacity, I'd doubt Randy truly is a candidate.  He was just fired, after all, so this would be a rebound job.  It is worth mentioning he's now out there, though.  The Litter Box did a write up on his short tenure as GM for the Kitties. 

Of course, it's only rumor that says Detroit Red Wings VP / Assistant GM Steve Yzerman may be out of the running for the GM job in Tampa.  There has been no official word from Steve, nor from the Lightning to give an ultimate "not happening".

...and those rumors tend to mention the fact Regis "Pierre" McGuire is a candidate for the job.  We talked about that yesterday, no need to rehash (or desire to).

Who else is out there that Jeff Vinik should take a look at for the General Manager position in TB?