I'm done, f*ck the lightning.
- vinnybolt4life

Come on over to the dark side...

Tavares offensive instincts were considered elite and special his draft year. Those skills obviously have translated to the NHL in spite of his "slow" skating. Nowhere have I seen Barkov be considered special offensively. He is well respected for his 2 way game but overall his offensive abilities and instincts are nowhere near the same level. Again, he could be a Joe Thronton as a bigger but slower center. Or he could be Gaustad who is really good in the back half but not so much in the front half.

No matter what we do, when it comes to drafting I won't question Yzerman and Murray.
- uf1910

Ummm...top 10 in scoring in the Finnish league as a 17 year old...need I say more??

couldn't cancel my tickets fast enough today, this is so stupid, sign bums like brewer, carle and salo being paid big money and then wave goodbye one of the classiest guys in hockey.

F*CK YOU steve and until you're fired, I will only go to games when vinny comes to town.
Without vinny this team would of no longer been in tampa let alone won a cup in 2004, called loyalty and no longer will I give them my money.
- vinnybolt4life

I know it's messed up. I think he should go to the KHL sign 1 year deal or sign a 1 year deal where he can win a cup. Money shouldn't be a problem for him.

Good post man, you have every right to feel the way you do.

Ummm...top 10 in scoring in the Finnish league as a 17 year old...need I say more??

- Jaciems

- Michael_Stuart

Unless we get a top Center some other way, I think we take Barkov.

I know it's messed up. I think he should go to the KHL sign 1 year deal or sign a 1 year deal where he can win a cup. Money shouldn't be a problem for him.

Good post man, you have every right to feel the way you do.
- AlfieisKing

KHL? lol...why would he do that?

Unless we get a top Center some other way, I think we take Barkov.
- Panthers88

Then we'll get Jones and that wouldn't be the end of the world either.

Ummm...top 10 in scoring in the Finnish league as a 17 year old...need I say more??

- Jaciems

It's all about how his game translates to the NHL. I understand his accomplishments, but the NHL is not the Finnish elite league.

Again, like I said. I could be wrong about him. But I will absolutely stand by my stance that at #3 he is not my pick.

Then we'll get Jones and that wouldn't be the end of the world either.
- Michael_Stuart

Yep. Rooting for ya! No I'm not

It's all about how his game translates to the NHL. I understand his accomplishments, but the NHL is not the Finnish elite league.

Again, like I said. I could be wrong about him. But I will absolutely stand by my stance that at #3 he is not my pick.
- uf1910

The NHL isn't Canadian Major Junior either.

The NHL isn't Canadian Major Junior either.
- Michael_Stuart

Understood.

And on that note nowhere have I ever used Drouin's stats as my reasoning.

Understood.

And on that note nowhere have I ever used Drouin's stats as my reasoning.
- uf1910

I still feel like Drouin will be the guy, but I feel like Barkov is the better fit for the team. That's just my $0.02.

9th and Zajac for your first ?

The C is going to Gudas now, Just for beard alone

I doubt Malone will be back, but we'll see. Everything's been thrown out of whack now. Do you believe that Lecavalier's contract was a good thing for the franchise? This is a business. The last thing you want is to have a $7.7MM cap hit on the books five years from now for a player who probably isn't producing nearly as much as he used to.
- Michael_Stuart

Just listened to the babbling idiot called steve say that they have no desire to buy out Malone? maybe we can get 25 games before he shelved for most of the year? plus overpay for another soft defenseman for 6 years plus!!!!!!

I've said it before, but Bobby Ryan, Hiller and a 1st, for that 2nd overall and maybe Kulikov... Imagine if you can get Vinny to move to Florida so his kids don't have to change schools and you can pair him up with Huberdeau and Ryan....that'd be a pretty dangerous PP with Soupy quarterbacking them.

Lord, Please dont take Barkov.....then we'll end up with Jones!!! We need scoring not another Norris contender 3 years from now on an anemically scoring team!!!

Michael Stuart: Tampa Bay Lightning Buy Out Vincent Lecavalier
- Michael_Stuart

You lied to me. I'll never trust you again.

Rangers (BFF Richards is there),
Toronto (will pay big bucks for a C),
Vancouver or
Montreal.
- Orpik44

I have no doubt Richards also gets a CBO.

Vinny has been, and will still be, my favourite player of all time. Been following his career since his Rimouski days, and he has been a star, a leader and a class act all the way. It's going to be very strange seeing him in another sweater, and I hope he can sign on for one more year at the end of his career to be able to retire a Bolt (maybe a la Modano).

This was the right decision. Almost $8 million in cap space has been freed up. When Malone goes (more on that in a sec) that will be a total of almost $12.5 million worth of cap space no longer committed. One cannot overstate how huge that is for a franchise with so many young, potential star players. I predict Killorn, Panik and Aulie (recently resigned to a one-year "show me" deal) are going to be due for some hefty raises in a few years, and by that time Vinny's wear-and-tear would be a heck of a lot worse.

The guy is probably worth about $5 million right now... in 3-4 years? Probably "worth" less than $3 million. Again, as much as it is oh-so sad to see my personal fave leave the team I will always cheer for... it was the right thing to do.


As for Malone, I have a funny feeling there could be a trade in the works with a team that has actual "dollar" issues, and may need to reach the cap floor or "spend" to the cap for public optics purposes (Phoenix, Nashville, Long Island etc.).

Brewer should probably be given another year to redeem himself. He's had one great season (when he was first traded here), one so-so season and one abysmal season. Proud guy, former Captain and former Olympian... he has more to give, and is definitely fired up for a chance to show that.

As for the gaping hole at center, Johnson is probably worth a look. AHL MVP, has a bit of NHL experience now and projects to be a very good, albeit undersized, skilled centerman. Putting a guy like Killorn on his wing will help that, and if Connolly puts it all together this season, you could have the Calder Cup line- one that can easily fill in the secondary scoring.

Anyways, very sad to see Vinny go, but we'll always remember you as our Captain and it'll be great to see #4 up in the rafters, whenever that decision is made.

Just listened to the babbling idiot called steve say that they have no desire to buy out Malone? maybe we can get 25 games before he shelved for most of the year? plus overpay for another soft defenseman for 6 years plus!!!!!!
- vinnybolt4life

They don't plan on buying him out, but they've been trying to deal him per multiple reports.

You lied to me. I'll never trust you again.
- bloatedmosquito

Lord, Please dont take Barkov.....then we'll end up with Jones!!! We need scoring not another Norris contender 3 years from now on an anemically scoring team!!!
- HockeyHop

Barkov and Forsberg would be incredible for you guys.

Vinny has been, and will still be, my favourite player of all time. Been following his career since his Rimouski days, and he has been a star, a leader and a class act all the way. It's going to be very strange seeing him in another sweater, and I hope he can sign on for one more year at the end of his career to be able to retire a Bolt (maybe a la Modano).

This was the right decision. Almost $8 million in cap space has been freed up. When Malone goes (more on that in a sec) that will be a total of almost $12.5 million worth of cap space no longer committed. One cannot overstate how huge that is for a franchise with so many young, potential star players. I predict Killorn, Panik and Aulie (recently resigned to a one-year "show me" deal) are going to be due for some hefty raises in a few years, and by that time Vinny's wear-and-tear would be a heck of a lot worse.

The guy is probably worth about $5 million right now... in 3-4 years? Probably "worth" less than $3 million. Again, as much as it is oh-so sad to see my personal fave leave the team I will always cheer for... it was the right thing to do.


As for Malone, I have a funny feeling there could be a trade in the works with a team that has actual "dollar" issues, and may need to reach the cap floor or "spend" to the cap for public optics purposes (Phoenix, Nashville, Long Island etc.).

Brewer should probably be given another year to redeem himself. He's had one great season (when he was first traded here), one so-so season and one abysmal season. Proud guy, former Captain and former Olympian... he has more to give, and is definitely fired up for a chance to show that.

As for the gaping hole at center, Johnson is probably worth a look. AHL MVP, has a bit of NHL experience now and projects to be a very good, albeit undersized, skilled centerman. Putting a guy like Killorn on his wing will help that, and if Connolly puts it all together this season, you could have the Calder Cup line- one that can easily fill in the secondary scoring.

Anyways, very sad to see Vinny go, but we'll always remember you as our Captain and it'll be great to see #4 up in the rafters, whenever that decision is made.
- OzBolts

Fantastic post!

I've said it before, but Bobby Ryan, Hiller and a 1st, for that 2nd overall and maybe Kulikov... Imagine if you can get Vinny to move to Florida so his kids don't have to change schools and you can pair him up with Huberdeau and Ryan....that'd be a pretty dangerous PP with Soupy quarterbacking them.
- sudburyboy

Deal.