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With the conclusion of last night's drubbing at the hands of the Philadelphia Flyers -- completing their season sweep of the Lightning, and having outscored them 22-7 over that  four-game season series -- I finally got away from optimism for the season and decided to be realistic.

The Lightning aren't as close to the playoffs as the standing show.  The last four games have proved it -- as the Lightning have fallen to teams contending for the lower playoff seeds.  In Spectacular fashion, too.

Some will blame the coach, others play the makeup of the team outside of key cogs.  Whatever the case, things cannot stand as they are.  The situation is not going to be cured, and the inconsistency miraculously erased.

The Bolts need to invest long-term, as painful as that is to swallow.  I'm not saying "fire-sale", but getting rid of the "buyer" stance for the team and selling off free-agents-to-be would be wiser than an ill-fated binge spending for a one-and-done playoff push.

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More photos » Frank Franklin II - AP

As the trade deadline edges closer, the Atlanta Thrashers have to make a decision on keeping Ilya Kovalchuk (17) or trading him. Raw Charge asks Lightning fans just what would you give for Kovalchuk? Or does he even work for the Bolts? (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

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SB Nation's Atlanta Thrashers blog, our friends at Bird Watchers Anonymous, is putting together a post about the future of Ilya Kovalchuk in Atlanta... And what other teams might offer for the services of Kovy and first-signing-chance rights to him before July 1st.  

There were some ground rules on trade proposals in order to quell those who want to make massive 15-player deals with multiple players from each team changing hands.  Matthew Gunning, head writer at Bird Watchers Anonymous, lays it out exactly what you'd be trading for:

I'm offering 1) only Kovalchuk, 2) for extend of current contract and 3) first right to extend him before July 1st UFA kicks in. That's it, no "sign and trade" offers please!

OK, that's a good starting point...  And the Thrashers needs?

• GM will want a roster player and a quality prospect(s)
  
• Conditional 1st rounder(s) if Kovalchuk re-signs with your club.
• No goalies needed (team has three already)
• Not looking for over 33 guys or bloated contracts (sorry no Campbell or Huet)

You have a pretty sound idea of the parameters.  This is not some official memo that's gone out from Don Waddell or something.  This is just fun -- fantasy but with ground rules, if you will. 

The problem is, that even when contemplating Lightning offers for Ilya Kovalchuk - as a rent-a-player or in the scenario the Lightning actually acquired him and inked him to a deal - he just does not fit in the current state of the Tampa Bay Lightning franchise.

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More photos » Chris O'Meara - AP

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Lightning fans have got to be wondering just why Mike Smith is getting a load of starts as of late, with flashes of brilliance intertwined with inconsistencies and soft goals.  With six starts in the past nine games, Smith has faced the most regular action since his concussion this time last year. 

Both wins during that span were under Smith's watch, posting a shutout against the Isles and a near-shutout against the Rangers on November 28th.  But for every great start, there have been follow up weak efforts by the team - no matter who is in net. 

Two media publications in the Philadelphia area shed light on why Smith has seen so much action as of late:  Brian Lawton may have been showcasing him for a potential trade.

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Ryan Craig is currently on re-entry waivers and may be recalled by the Lightning... image via cluster.leaguestat.com

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The Lightning are carrying a total of 23 players - the league maximum.

23 players -- nine defensemen, twelve forwards, two goaltenders. 

That's what makes the news that Ryan Craig was placed on recall waivers (meaning the Bolts are trying to call him up) so intriguing.  Craig, sent down to the Norfolk Admirals before the season, has 7 goals and 2 assists in 11 AHL games this season.  

It's not a poor move to make whatsoever, though the Bolts risk losing Ryan if another team claims him off waivers...  But having fresh forward depth would be a great thing to have...

But at what cost?

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We've all been waiting, we've been waiting a while.  We've dealt with the silence and the hearsay, we've dealt with the speculation both positive and negative..

Still, we waited...

And it seems, now, what we've been waiting for seems to be on the threshold of happening.

Friday evening, Jon Jordan reported that the wait was coming to an end - though conflicting reports were out there.  Stay tuned, and all that jazz...

And while the Minnesota WIld continue to wait patiently for Alex Tanguay to decide if he will join the Wild or not, reports from RDS (French sports network of Quebec) have stated that Tanguay has made his decision -- and it's Tampa Bay.

here could be a new French Connection in the works as RDS is reporting that the Tampa Bay Lightning have agreed to terms of a contract with Alex Tanguay pending a physical.  Terms of the deal were not released.

The two-sides have reportedly been in negotiation since July, however it was not until two-weeks ago when Tanguay was contacted by Lightning stars Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis that he decided to join the Bolts.

The paperwork is not all done, a physical is still needed, but this is what we've been waiting for.

The quest for left winger Alex Tanguay is mired in... something.  What that is, I don't know.  Couldn't say for certain. Sorry.

Something's up, though.  The Tanguay courtship is turning out much like Jacques Lemaire joining the Bolts as a consultant, or Adam Oates joining the team as a power play coach.  It was announced in rumor, it was there in talks... But in the end it ended up being like Macbeth's famous soliloquy: full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

That's where the negotiations feel like they are going, or so I fear.

Damian at the Times posted an update today as if to remind the fanbase the possibility is still out there. There's an offer out there, there is more going on that we know...

The scuttlebutt is the competition is between the Lightning and Wild, and Tanguay's agent did not respond to a text message.

What I found funny way that the Minnesota Star-Tribune also did an article on Alex Tanguay and got plenty out of Rich Winter.

"Alex has been on the phone with Chuck and I've been on the phone with Chuck," Tanguay's agent Ritch Winter said. "We're working on some other teams, too. We're just doing as much homework as we can to help Alex make an informed decision.''

"This will be a decision that is based largely on opportunity,'' Winter continued. "Minnesota or somewhere else will be a place he's going to go to have a career year. We're continuing those discussions, and the Wild is very, very much on his radar."

Was it the contact method alone that kept Cristodero from getting a response from Rich Winter? Or was it something more?  Lets also note that while Tanguay played in the QMJHL in juniors and would presumably click with forwards Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier (the hubaloo that's been out there for the entire pursuit of Tanguay), he has played the majority of his NHL career in the Western Conference.

Colorado, Calgary... Montreal was his sole sojourn into the Eastern conference. Could the preference for the West actually play into why Tanguay hasn't inked a deal? Maybe it's the fact he'd be at the center of the spotlight elsewhere, instead of a contributor sharing the limelight in Tampa? Or, perhaps, the ownership situation makes Alex hesistant to join the fray in TB?

Three weeks are left until Camp starts... That's not a lot of time to explore backup plans, but I'd think the best negotiating tool the Lightning could do would be just that: Explore who else could be obtained (free agency or via trade) to play wing on a line centered by Lecavalier.

A month makes a world of difference.

Reporting in on July 14th about how Alex Tanguay did not fit in Tampa Bay's plans due to money issues, Damian Cristodero of the St. Petersburg Times dumped a bucket of cold water on things:

Asked how Tanguay, 29, with 193 goals and 580 points in 659 career games, might feel about lining up next to Vinny Lecavalier, [Agent Bob] Sauve laughed and again said he could not comment.

The conversation is probably moot, though, if the scuttlebutt about what Tanguay wants in a contract are true. One agent said he heard Tanguay wants $5 million for one year. He made $5.375 million last season. If his asking price is true, that's way too much for Tampa Bay, which has a payroll headed toward $50 million before signing players such as Matt Smaby, Matt Lashoff, Martins Karsums and Mike Lundin.

A couple of weeks later, that tune changed and Tanguay was indeed a target.

And now?  It's a mutual interest between the two parties.  Cristodero cites Tanguay's new agent Steve Kotlowitz being more open and forthcoming about any interest and negotiations:

"Tampa is certainly one of the teams Alex has strong interest in," Kotlowitz said Thursday.

But then reminds fans that the Lightning are on a budget - if still greatly under the Salary Cap.  He floats trimming payroll by tryign to move three different targets on the Lightning roster: defensemen David Hale, Lukas Krajicek or forwards Ryan Craig and Brandon Bochenski. 

Erik Erlendsson at the Tampa Tribune had supposedly also made positive comments about Tanguay talks, via Twitter (which I cannot confirm at this time due to Twitter's technical issues today).

Two noteworthy points from Steve Simmons at the Toronto Sun, published on Sunday...  I'm going to provide each by themselves for the sake of not lumping two very different points together (in the Sun context, these two news pieces were next to each other in the article):

Lets begin with a draft rumor:

Word around is that the New York Islanders will utilize their first pick in the NHL draft on Swedish defenceman Victor Hedman. What we don't know is, are the Islanders letting people know this to throw off others or are they legitimately going defenceman first? ... 

It's speculation and it's a rumor.  "Word around is..." doesn't tell you around where, from who, and just how they've learned the Isles plans for the #1 pick in the draft.  Even as a quick hit news-bit, it's rumor-mongering at best.

But still, it leaves me curious if the improbable scenario could actually play out?

Dominik at Lighthouse Hockey has an interesting quote up (a highlight from a New York Newsday chat) that further makes one wonder just what to expect come Draft Day:

"I'm told fan polls and surveys and such won't affect the decision. But honestly, I think the environment surrounding the pick will be super-heated by June 26th. Who knows whether Charles Wang will suggest that Tavares could be awfully good for the box office? ... If they go a different direction, it will be out of a very strong conviction because they'll need a lot of backbone to back it up and explain it to the fan base."

Isles owner Charles Wang has shown loyalty to Isles executives in the past, those who shuffled top-draft-pick deck chairs...  This could be another case of it, if Isles GM Garth Snow is sold on the Swedish blue-liner above the scoring-machien that is John Tavares.

Going back to the Toronto Sun, here's the second point of note from the article:

Tampa Bay co-owner Oren Koules insists that he and fellow owner Len Barrie get along and talk to each other, contrary to what many people in the hockey community insist. Koules is frustrated that the Tampa Bay Lightning has become the butt of many NHL jokes and he's trying to let people know that all -- finances, front office, future -- apparently is well.

Well, first of all, it's understandable for Koules to be frustrated with how the Lightning (and OK Hockey) are being perceived in both hockey circles and the media.  What I find odd is that an observation such as this played out in Canadian media and not through the Tampa Bay media.  Of course, locals have grown skeptical and worried about the direction of the franchise...  At the same time, it's usually the Canadian media that savages OK Hockey's financial situation, or the Koules/Barrie "Feud" BS for that matter. 

Specifically of the Barrie/Koules hearsay, I'm wondering just how Steve Simmons defines the "Hockey Community" (which, he claims, many around it are sure there is trouble between the two owners)?  In the same light that he declared "Word around" regarding the Isles?

In the end, the issue being highlighted is just a case of message control and how well OK Hockey spins it.  There's no way to truly fight off the notion the Lightning are the butt of jokes (two horrid seasons, back-to-back, and the off-season in between relying on highly public acquisitions that didn't work out) but the hearsay of ownership strife along with different PR blunders can be reigned in with a staff savvy in protecting the brand that they are a part of. 

Sure, we want things to be transparent with the franchise, but at the same time, an even-handed approach needs to be used in public.  Otherwise a frank discussion about the Lightning turns into stories of financial disarray and wild speculation.