If you haven't already done so, mark your calendars ladies and gentlemen. February 27th, at 3 P.M. EST is the date and time of the NHL trade deadline. This date, annually, serves as the last fuel-stop for NHL teams on the race to the post-season. Some bow out, restocking their franchises with prospects and draft picks while navigating toward next season. Others bring on what they hope will be the final pieces of the puzzle to put their team into a stronger position for a final sprint to the Stanley Cup.

That brings us back to the Tampa Bay Lightning, who sit nine points behind the division leading Florida Panthers. Nine points are also what separates Tampa Bay from the #8 seeded New Jersey Devils. The current five-game win streak has breathed new life into the Lightning season, but should it dictate what the Bolts do as the deadline approaches?

Lightning GM Steve Yzerman is keeping all options on the table, according to Erik Erlendsson at the Tampa Tribune (reporting via Twitter):

Spoke to Steve Yzerman, said he's prepared to be buyer or seller at trade deadline, depending on how next handful of games transpire

Less than three weeks ago, it seemed like the Bolts had nothing to do but place a "For Sale" sign in the front yard, sticking the likes of Dominic Moore, Steve Downie, Pavel Kubina and Ryan Malone on a sales table and seeing what bargain hunters were going to offer. Now? Now the future looks a little more hazy. And I mean that in a good way from the fan perspective, but it's an odd boggle for a General Manager to deal with.

Rumors of Dominic Moore being sought after are out there, and the same goes for Ryan Malone (who has been subject of trade rumors for quite some time). Pierre LeBrun reported that Moore's camp has actually been approached by the Lightning regarding a contract extension. Never the less, don't expect either player's name to disappear from those trade musings until the deadline comes and goes.

Yzerman has to listen to everything right now, sales pitches from the buyers and keeping his ears open for what's available among the sellers. There will be no shame, however, if Steve decides to stand pat and wait for the off-season to make key major player moves.

This summer, Tampa Bay Lightning General Manager Steve Yzerman is likely to be looking to fill in the holes on the defense and in the net. It's unclear exactly what sort of players he's going to be looking for, but "young" and "proven" are likely to be pretty high on his checklist. Going by the numbers from capgeek.com, as of June 15 the Lightning will have 14 players under contract for 2012-13 with a total cap payroll (full bonuses are included) of $45,263,583.

So, where does that leave the team? It's hard to say, but fun to speculate. I have to start, though by laying out my assumptions:

• Same salary cap of $63.4 million. It's likely to go up; it may go down. We just don't know. That means that there will be approximately $19 million available.

• Ohlund will play in 2012-13. Again we just don't know. If he retires the team gets $3.8 million; if he's still on Long-Term Injured Reserve, the team can get a credit for what they spend above the cap to replace him.

• Cory Conacher will be signed for about the same amount as Brett Connolly.

• The team won't spend a whole lot more than 10% above what they are spending now on the 4 forward other spots that will be open, whether its on extensions/re-signs or on new guys: I budgeted $8 million, which gives about $1.8 million cushion above that 10% increase.

This leaves $11 million for 3 defensemen and a goalie. Right now, I'm just looking at UFAs, because there's no personnel trading involved. It's all about the money. These are just suggestions, of course--really just a starting point for the discussion. They're not in any particular order. Make a case for your choices, either ones I've suggested or someone I've forgotten, in the comments.

Continue reading this post »

The Tampa Bay Lightning season is in shambles and the natives are restless. You can find fans crowing for some type of change across the online social sphere.

"Fire everybody" is on the table, really. General Manager Steve Yzerman may have been hired in the first place to begin a long-term building process and Guy Boucher hired as the man to oversee the team on-ice during this long-term development. But Yzerman has only overseen one draft class with his own scouts reporting back to him. He's had a total of two off-seasons to mold the roster to his liking, and the end results have been a single season of success, and a partial season of failing at this point.

The response to this, the chorus of jeers from members of the mob, is that Yzerman needs to pull the rug out from under everyone and everything to improve the situation at hand in Tampa immediately.

Like, now.

Continue reading this post »

There's been some talk recently about the Tampa Bay Lightning calling up goalie prospect Dustin Tokarski from the Norfolk Admirals. Wednesday morning, Damian Cristodero of the St. Petersburg Times posed the possibility that General Manager Steve Yzerman might be considering the move.

It may not happen right away (it actually may not happen at all) but it is not a stretch to believe that if Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Dwayne Roloson continues struggling, GM Steve Yzerman might soon bring goaltender Dustin Tokarski up from AHL Norfolk for a couple-game look-see.

Joe Yerdon, from ProHockeyTalk.com, cited Cristodero's article, but his headline went a bit further than Cristodero's did: "Don't worry, Dustin Tokarski might save Tampa Bay in goal."

Now I'm certain that Cristodero knows a lot more about what Yzerman is thinking than I am. I'm also sure that both Cristodero and Joe Yerdon are very smart fellows, and that they aren't the only ones thinking this. However, as much as I sympathize with fans who want to see some move made to shore up the back end, my first reaction is that the potential promotion of Tokarski is not a good idea. It essentially risks future stability in the slim hopes of gaining in the short-term.

Continue reading this post »

The free agent season for the National Hockey League begins at Noon EDT today.  Everything and nothing will happen within the first several hours of free agency.  There will be so much of so little going on that we, the fans, will salivate (or laugh derisively) over every rumor and every free agent signing by all 30 NHL clubs.

It compares to Christmas in that not only will there be gifts for teams fans, but there will be let downs ("That's not what I wanted!") and this last saturation of hockey will have to last you for months on end (until training camps open, to be more precise).

Of course, this is Raw Charge and the focus for Tampa Bay Lightning fans is on Steven Stamkos, and seeing what Steve Yzerman, the Jedi Master and General Manager, cooks up for an encore to his well received first season as GM of the Bolts.

With whatever happens, and whatever is forthcoming, this is your open thread for discussion of the days events from across the NHL.  Chat as you please about the future of Brad Richards, Tomas Vokoun, and the rest of the 2011 NHL free agency class.

The reality of the Steven Stamkos situation in one excessively long sentence is as follows:

If the Tampa Bay Lightning don't sign the 21-year-old center, who has scored more goals (96) than anybody else in the NHL the last two years, before noon on Friday, July 1st, he will become a restricted free agent and can receive offers from any other team in the NHL, although the Lightning still have the option of matching that offer and retaining him, even though all those that are actively involved in the negotiation process at this point have expressed nothing but optimism that a deal will be made with the Lightning before that point.

Right. So in other words, contrary to overwhelmingly popular and thoughtful opinion, not to mention simple, basic reason itself, now is the perfect time to freak out and panic over the prospect of him leaving town.

Continue reading this post »

Maybe it's already spread around the Boltosphere and hockey blogosphere far and wide, but Erik Erlendsson's interview with free-agent-to-be Brad Richards, the Dallas Stars center and former Tampa Bay Lightning member, certainly had a remark worth noting:

"If you get the right owner, a general manager like Steve Yzerman, people who know how to do things, it's great. I think we just needed the right kind of owner to come in here. Um, maybe I shouldn't say 'we,' right?''

I got a real chuckle out of this.  Not exactly a confidence chuckle, as the obvious slip up.  Before people go goo-goo over the idea of the Bradmaster (my apologies to former NFL QB Brad Johnson, I stole your nickname ages ago and applied it to Richards) returning to Tampa Bay.

Read the full context of the interview.  Take it for what it was - Brad's remarks were prefaced with his discussion of attending 2011 NHL Playoff games in Tampa as a fan and seeing the crowd and being part of it; being outside the bubble of playoff hockey that he experienced in Tampa in 2004:

 "It was pretty cool to see the town like that, the way it was before,'' Richards said. "When I played with the Lightning (in 2004), I was in a bubble. This time, I could see how people react to the team. It's a good thing going on.

So, hopes may be raised by slipping up on "we", or the reader (yeah, you) can take it as the dilemma that all writers (bloggers, fans, journalists) have when talking about a team they care about: "We" is taboo.  You're not a member of the roster, or organization.  You just support them.

I'm glad to see Brad cares, but I'll leave it at that.