Well, Steve Yzerman made his grand entrance into the NHL’s summer silly season.
The Tampa Bay Lightning have a new goaltender, Anders Lindback. And with him comes a fair share of detraction, as well as a nice helping of optimism. The most peculiar disdain of the move is the Lightning gave up far too much for a guy not yet considered a ‘home run.’
Well, really, the only true home run goalies in the league are Pekka Rinne, Henrik Lundqvist, and Jonathan Quick. And if you thought the Bolts gave up a bunch for Lindback, then let’s just say you’d have to say goodbye to everyone you previously thought was important to the team to land one of those guys.
But at the end of the day, what did the team really give up? Three draft picks – two of which weren’t even originally theirs – and a guy most people probably forgot the Lightning still had in Sebastien Caron. I know I did. And sure, three draft picks sounds like a lot, but on the day the trade was made, those picks are simply mythical beings. Mythical beings that, even when they do turn into real people this weekend, may never see a day in the NHL. Especially should any of those picks turn out to be other goalies. And even if they do, not many second and third rounders have made the jump to the NHL in any quick fashion. No, they went through any combination of a year more of major juniors, any number of years of AHL cultivation, and the inevitable year of back-and-forth between the NHL and AHL.
Lindback, however, has already been through all of that.
At any rate, that wasn’t the only hockey news this week, though almost. After the break, your Lightning links.
Lightning Links:
- If you ever wondered about Jeff Vinik’s long-term commitment to Tampa, well, you can probably quit wondering. He’s moving his Asset Management Group from Boston to Tampa. That should tell you all you need to know.
In one of the least surprising stories of all time, the owner of the Syracuse Crunch is pretty excited to be gaining the reigning champs. Shocker, I know. - Here’s a more detailed look at the marriage. I wonder what the players think.
Norfolk fans handled the move a hell of a lot better than I probably would have. Good for them. - And lastly, Mitch Korn (side note: what a great freaking name, right?) dives into the Lindback trade and what to expect from the giant. /
