Quick note: Catch me on
Faceoff on XM 204 at around 6:25, PM (EST) Tuesday to discuss Lightning draft needs and the draft lottery.
***
Welcome, everyone, to the first ever edition of
The JJ Awards, showcasing both the positive and the negative of the 2008-09 Tampa Bay Lightning season. Before we get started, some FYI so we’re all on the same page.
The final tally for each category reflects upwards of 180 fan submissions and each category has both the fans’ choice, based on total number of votes, as well as a choice made by yours truly. Percentage of votes for the fan winners is also indicated, rounded to the nearest whole number.
The winner of the
actual JJ Award takes home the “hardware”, or at least the hokey digital representation of as much. (Oh, and for the awards that aren’t exactly positive, no “trophy” will be given, as I thought I might find one or two smashed on my head some time over the summer …)
Without further delay, your 2008-09
JJ Award winners:
Team MVP
Fan choice: Martin St. Louis (85%)
JJ Award winner: Martin St. Louis
As the whopping 85% of the fan vote indicates, this was really no contest at all. In a season full of adversity, St. Louis set the tone early and persisted with his trademark heart-and-soul play throughout. His face rivaled that of Frankenstein’s monster on more than one occasion from errant pucks, sticks and even the skate blade of a linesman at one point. Nevertheless, Marty’s warrior mentality willed him through and his teammates couldn’t help but notice. When the team hit an extreme low in December, losing 4-3 in Atlanta, the former Hart Trophy winner’s infamous “clock killer” comments, directed at certain anonymous teammates, helped change the vibe around a team that could have been described as “near death” at the time.
St. Louis on being selected as the team’s MVP:
“I don’t think there’s any MVPs when you’ve had a season like we have. I try to play hard every game and try to be there for the team. Do I take myself off the hook because I hear those things? No. People say that I had a good year but I know that maybe I could have done more at certain times, especially early on.”
It’s this type of comment exactly that led me to award Marty a special
JJ Award as well, which has been dubbed the,
“Stay the Hell Away From Me if We Lose” Award. Don’t take that the wrong way either, folks. Marty’s as accommodating as anyone win
or lose but, if the Lightning end up on the short end of things, he’s just not any fun to be around.
And you know what??? I
like that. A
lot.
Others receiving significant votes: Ryan Malone, Mike Smith
Best Forward
Fan choice: Martin St. Louis (95%)
JJ Award winner: Martin St. Louis
Again, really no contest here, with an even bigger landslide in the fan vote than the MVP poll. But, how can you argue with the results? St. Louis led the Lightning with 30 goals and 80 points and carried the team, production-wise and just about everywhere else for the majority of the 2008-09 campaign.
St. Louis on possible positives to take from such a trying season:
“Obviously, it’s hard for everybody when you go through the kind of injuries we’ve had. It limits you as a team and as a player but I think the one positive that we can take out of this is all the guys that were pushed in to play probably earlier than they thought they would, it probably helps our depth chart and helps the organization to see where all the young guys are, in terms of development.”
Others receiving significant votes: Vincent Lecavalier, Ryan Malone
Best Defenseman
Fan choice: Paul Ranger (61%)
JJ Award winner: Matt Smaby
Tough call here, as noted by my difference in opinion to that of the collective fan vote. Ranger was plagued by injury to start the season and again to end it. His body of work (2-11-13 in 42 games, -5) doesn’t stand out as phenomenal, but what Lightning defender can say
that this year? Ranger will be depended on next year to be a top pair guy along with Andrej Meszaros (assuming, of course, these two aren’t leapfrogged by a new acquisition or two – a goal that is clearly already atop the off-season priority list).
I went with Smaby for the JJ Award largely because of improvement shown throughout the season. As injury after injury whittled away the Lightning blueline, Smaby was leaned on more and more and fought through his own ailments all the while. He’s a different defenseman than Ranger, more suited to the shut-down role, ideally, and when pressed into playing key minutes, Smaby answered the call.
Smaby on winning his first
JJ Award:
“It means a lot (to be recognized). Before this year, I don’t want to say I didn’t have a chance but I’d played minimally. I think my time in the minors helped me out a little bit and I was pleased to get an opportunity this year, even through some unfortunate circumstances for the team which kind of opened some doors for me. As tough as it was to lose some guys on defense, (the chance to play) was pretty good for me.”
Others receiving significant votes: Andrej Meszaros, Cory Murphy
Best Defensive Forward
Fan choice: Martin St. Louis (64%)
JJ Award winner: Martin St. Louis
I’m assuming here that St. Louis’ fan choice
JJ Award hat trick is completed more because of an overall appreciation of his effort this season than specifically to honor his defensive play with the nod in this category but, as was the case with his other two wins, it was hard to consider anyone else. That said, St. Louis was a plus-4, joining only Evgeni Artyukhin and Ryan Malone as full-time Lightning forwards with a plus-rating. Fans of the plus-minus statistic will tell you that it doesn’t lie. Consider me a fan.
The win in this category only further cements Marty’s laudable efforts this season as well as his willingness to lead in
all areas of the game.
Others receiving significant votes: Jeff Halpern, Ryan Malone
Rookie of the Year
Fan choice: Steven Stamkos (91%)
JJ Award winner: Steven Stamkos
Another essential slam dunk choice here in Stamkos, whose second half really showed a remarkable turnaround (more on that later). Considering he started the season under a head coach who clearly had little-to-no confidence in the kid and the potential damage that may have caused from the onset, Stamkos’ season totals of 23-23-46, good for fifth overall in rookie scoring, are commendable. Clearly the future centerpiece of the Lightning franchise, fans have every reason to get behind #91 for a long time to come.
Captain Vinny Lecavalier on similarities between Stamkos as a rookie and himself:
“I remember telling him at the beginning of the year that it took me about 40-45 games to feel better out there. I didn’t produce as much that year as he did (this season) but I was telling him it happens gradually and you started seeing him after 40-50 games, how good he got. He’s a great scorer. He’s a great skater. He’s a smart player and he’s already very, very dangerous.”
Others receiving significant votes: Matt Smaby, Paul Szczechura
Best Goaltender
Fan choice: Mike Smith (98%)
JJ Award winner: Mike Smith
This was your “gimmie”, folks. I’m sure Messrs. McKenna and Ramo appreciated the love from the few of you who went
waaaaaaay against the grain here but Smitty is now a permanent fixture in the Lightning crease, despite the concussion-related symptoms that kept him out of the lineup from January on. (And be glad they were careful with him, people. From the moment his “mystery ailment” started to linger, the playoffs were a pipe dream for Tampa Bay. Risking further injury, particularly involving the brain, would have opened up the possibility of utter disaster for both player and team.) Looking for stability in goal since the days of Nikolai Khabibulin, the Bolts need look no further as the centerpiece of the Brad Richards-to-Dallas deal, who kept this team afloat in the early part of the season, is
the guy for the long haul, hands down.
Still not feeling his best, Smith’s recuperation is his number one priority this summer.
“I’m not feeling great yet but there’s a lot of time until next season starts so, things are moving in the right direction and we’ll keep working out this off-season.”
Sounds like rest, for now, is first on the agenda.
“You have to get away from it all and get it out of your mind, the stuff that went on this year. We’ll get refocused and start training and be ready for next year.”
Also, gang, an honorary
JJ Award - JJ's “Good Guy” Award - to McKenna. Mac’s got a great story, is fun to talk to, a very positive individual and well-liked by his teammates. As I wrote earlier in the season, it’s hard
not to root for guys like him.
Biggest Disappointment
Fan choice: Radim Vrbata (33%)
JJ Award “winner”: Vincent Lecavalier
Let me be perfectly clear here. Vrbata
was certainly a major disappointment and one that didn’t even make it to the quarter pole of the NHL season before asking permission (or being told, depending on who you ask) to return to Europe for the year but, even considering the nagging injuries he had to battle, a shoulder that was probably never close to 100% and another round of trade rumors out of Montreal and elsewhere, Vincent Lecavalier’s modest point production was this season’s biggest disappointment. Look no further back than just last season when a Lightning team that wasn’t much better than this year’s crew (71 points as opposed to 66) was led by Lecavalier with 40 goals and 92 points. This year, Vinny’s 29-38-67 was nowhere near enough to make an impact. Couple that with some nights that, if I’m going to be fair, I simply have to admit it was difficult to even
notice the guy and you have the definition of disappointment, especially for the team captain.
He’s a fantastic talent and one of the all-around good guys in this league. He also deserves a lot of credit for fighting through a lot of his own adversity this season but, in the end, he simply didn’t deliver enough. For the Tampa Bay Lightning to succeed, assuming he’s here (more on that, too, later) that cannot be the case moving forward.
Others receiving significant votes: Steven Stamkos (
Really, people?
Really?)
Biggest Surprise
Fan’s choice: Mike Smith (40%)
JJ Award winner: Matt Smaby
Talk about a surprise … Yours truly was mighty surprised that you folks considered Mike Smith such a surprise! I mean, I guess we couldn’t have expected the insane performances from Smitty early on where he would routinely face upwards of 40 (and even 50) shots per game and was still, arguably, the best goaltender in the entire league at one point, but all you had to do was chat about Smith to a Dallas Stars follower to know that he had the goods. It was simply a matter of getting that number one job and running with it. Check and check.
I chose to make Smaby a two-time
JJ Award winner because of the leaps and bounds he made since the beginning of the year. What was overly surprising was his rapid progression, made a necessity by the rash of injuries to the defensemen. Last year at this time, had you told the average Lightning fan that by the end of this season,
anyone would be recognizing Matt Smaby as the club’s best defenseman, they’d have called you crazy. I did so here, of course, earlier. If you must, feel free to call me crazy.
Smith on the “surprise” aspect of the fans' choice in this category:
“Wow. Well, I think the big thing was, coming in from Dallas, I didn’t get into as many games before this year. Maybe people hadn’t seen me play enough. I think, for the most part though, I was fairly decent.”
JJ Note: You were far better than decent, Smitty.
On the year’s lessons:
“The team went through a lot and it frustrated a lot of us but we’ll come back next year, learn a lot from what happened this year and be better because of it.”
Others receiving significant votes: Steve Eminger
Best Game
Fan choice: 2-0 win vs. Pittsburgh, 12/23/08 (33%)
JJ Award winner: 4-3 win vs. Boston, 2/22/09
Maybe the fans voting here were just remembering the sigh of relief they breathed after the 2-0 victory in Pittsburgh just before Christmas. The Lightning were losers of three straight coming into that game and, worse yet, 12 of their last 13. Mike Smith earned the shutout with plenty of help from the defense in front of him, who only allowed 15 shots to Sid, Geno and company.
My choice for best game of the season, though, goes to what I considered to be the best all-around effort put forth all year in February 22nd’s 4-3 win over the Eastern Conference-best Boston Bruins. The Bolts battled back from an early 1-0 deficit, and bested Boston after they twice tied the score. It was a physical battle that featured a couple of fights in the opening period, including a Gary Roberts/Mark Stuart tilt that will go down as the 20-year veteran’s last scrap in the NHL. Vinny Prospal won the game for Tampa Bay with a power play tally with 1:33 to go.
Lightning head coach Rick Tocchet had a different choice for his team’s best effort of the season which turned out to be, ironically enough, a loss.
“I thought we outplayed them (January 29th in Carolina). I think we were five points out at the time. We had two bad goals. We found out Smitty had a concussion after that but that game – just the intensity level, the playoff atmosphere, we had end-to-end rushes, we had discipline, we were finishing checks, our best players did their best, our role players did their jobs – it was probably the closest to seeing the team play the way I’d like to see them play, even thought we ended up losing the game 3-2.”
Others receiving significant votes: 8-6 win vs. Calgary, 3/1/09
Worst Game
Fan choice: 9-3 loss vs. Carolina, 3/7/09 (51%)
JJ Award “winner”: 9-3 loss vs. Carolina, 3/7/09
No doubt about my agreeing with the people on this one. Thankfully, this debacle was one of three home games I missed all season.
Since I didn’t see it and you probably don’t want to hear any more about Eric Staal’s four-goal, six-point effort, Erik Cole’s assist quartet or Carolina’s six-goal second period, I’ll leave you with your own memories.
Others receiving significant votes: 6-1 loss vs. Philadelphia, 1/30/09, 7-3 loss vs. New Jersey, 11/23/08
Best Free Agent Signing
Fan choice: Ryan Malone (88%)
JJ Award winner: Ryan Malone
In a hit-or-miss off-season of transactions, the acquisition of Malone’s rights and his subsequent signing to a long-term contract was the Lightning’s only home run from the summer spending spree. An immediate fan favorite with his gritty style and penchant for big goals, Malone is entrenched as an integral part of the team’s core.
Others receiving significant votes: Vaclav Prospal, Mark Recchi
Worst Free Agent Signing
Fan choice: Radim Vrbata (79%)
JJ Award “winner”: Radim Vrbata
A three-year, $9 million dollar deal for 18 games played, three goals and three assists. Worst of all? While small, there is still a possibility that the four of you who purchased Radim Vrbata Lightning jerseys will not have done so in vain. Team sources will
not completely rule out his return – yet.
Others receiving significant votes: Marek Malik, Gary Roberts
Best Transaction (non-FA)
Fan choice: Cory Murphy claimed on re-entry waivers from Florida (35%)
JJ Award winner: Mark Recchi and a 2nd to Boston for Martins Karsums and Matt Lashoff
I told you there was a cult following building behind Cory Murphy since he was brought on board in mid-January. For a team that made an exorbitant amount of roster moves throughout the season, the fans singled out Murphy being claimed off re-entry waivers from the Florida Panthers as the best of all. While I’m on record as saying Murphy’s pickup was immensely underrated and I’m all for his re-signing, long-term, the assets acquired in exchange for Mark Recchi make that deal the
JJ Award winner.
Prior to the deadline, I wrote that I expected a second round pick and a marginal prospect in exchange for Recchi’s stretch run services and, by moving him along with a second in 2010 for Karsums and Lashoff, I’ll argue that Lightning general manager Brian Lawton did better than that. An expiring UFA contract (how Recchi helps Boston is totally irrelevant) was swapped for a former first rounder in Lashoff and the pick and Karsums (a second rounder in ’04) essentially cancel each other out. A comparable player in Bill Guerin went from the New York Islanders to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a fifth round choice (that could, yes, become a fourth and could, yes, become a third based on Pittsburgh’s playoff success but, still …) Excellent return for a 41-year-old with no contract come July 1 – even one that’s pegged for the Hall of Fame.
Murphy on the honor of winning the fan vote:
“Obviously, that’s nice to hear. It was a good transaction for me too. It was a fresh start for me and I had a chance to play. I was excited about it and I’m glad I got to come here and get a chance.”
On the uncertainty of an expiring contract:
“I’m not going to worry about that too much. I’m just going to do what I do every summer, get in shape and see what happens.”
On the aesthetic “excellence” of the
JJ Award itself:
“That’s pretty special. I can’t wait to get that. Are you gonna mail that to me, or what? That’s pretty … um … unique.”
I didn’t have the heart to tell Murph that only the winners selected by me get the actual hardware … Hope he isn’t too disappointed …
Worst Transaction (non-FA)
Fan choice: Dan Boyle/Brad Lukowich to San Jose for Matt Carle/Ty Wishart, a 1st and a 4th (92%)
JJ Award “winner”: Dan Boyle/Brad Lukowich to San Jose for Matt Carle/Ty Wishart, a 1st and a 4th
I was angry with myself when I set the guidelines for this particular category to encompass transactions any time after July 1st. Had I made that just a few days later, I wouldn’t have to have rehashed the Boyle deal all over again. Still don’t want to, honestly, so I’ll keep it simple. If they could somehow undo this deal, I’m sure Lightning management would, though they would never admit as much.
Puck-moving defensemen don’t grow on trees and, when you have a guy considered to be the best around in that category by many in the know, you hold on to him.
But you know what? It’s long over and done with by now. Clean break time. Let’s move on.
Others receiving significant votes: Jussi Jokinen to Carolina for Wade Brookbank, Josef Melichar and a 4th, Steve Eminger to Florida for Noah Welch and a 3rd
Most Improved Player
Fan choice: Steven Stamkos (60%)
JJ Award winner: Steven Stamkos
The turnaround that Stamkos made after a slow start was so impossible to ignore that the conditioning program he was put on, involving scheduled games where he would be a healthy scratch, had to be altered after just three nights in the press box. Stamkos wouldn’t miss another contest and he finished the season on a high note, finding instant chemistry with St. Louis and, by most accounts, closing out a successful rookie season, in terms of individual performance.
Stamkos on the fan recognition of his improvement:
“To me, for the fans to recognize the success I had in the second half, is pretty big. There was a transition from junior but I think what helped was just working hard and keeping that positive mentality.”
On his steady progression:
It was tough at the beginning of the year but I stuck with it. I worked hard on and off the ice. I played with some pretty good players in the second half and I got some opportunities in different situations. I just tried to make the most of it and I’m pretty pleased with the way I played in the second half. Hopefully, I can continue it.
Others receiving significant votes: Matt Smaby, Mike Smith
Best Prospect (Most of the season spent in Norfolk)
Fan choice: Ty Wishart (29%)
JJ Award winner: Steve Downie
I disagreed with the fan choice here not because I’m down on Wishart. Not at all. He was only summoned this season out of necessity and he didn’t look out of place in filling the void during those times. It’s the potential I still see in Downie that sends the
JJ Award his way for this particular category.
Tocchet often talks about abrasiveness and competing. If nothing else, that’s Downie’s game to the ‘T’. We all know by now what, if anything, will get in his way. At this point, another incident or two could derail everything for Downie and I think (that’s
think, folks) he understands that at this point.
I fully expect Downie to do everything possible to nail down a full-time job in Tampa next season.
Others receiving significant votes: Riku Helenius
Biggest Team Strength
Fan choice: goaltending depth (27%)
JJ Award winner: goaltending depth
What was once a detriment is now a major organizational asset. The fans have spoken. JJ agrees. And so does the team’s GM.
Lawton on the goaltending as a major strength for the club:
“There’s no doubt about that when Mike Smith is healthy and with the strides that Karri Ramo made. (Mike) McKenna did a nice job filling in. Then throw in Riku Helenius as well and Dustin Tokarski who’s just absolutely stealing games for Spokane right now in the Western Hockey League playoffs against Vancouver and, top to bottom, it’s got good spacing and it’s got good potential.”
Still, in this particular department as well as every other throughout the organization, Lawton knows not to lean too much on potential.
“As we found out this year, potential only gets you so far. At some point, you have to deliver. We’ve had enough talk around here. Now it’s time to deliver and move things forward.”
Others receiving significant votes: Martin St. Louis, Steven Stamkos
(
Note: I was looking for something other than individual players here – more like areas of team play. This category, as you can see, was clearly one of those that were misinterpreted.)
Biggest Team Weakness
Fan choice: defense (58%)
JJ Award “winner”: defense
As pleased as Tampa Bay fans have to be with one area in which they’ve long suffered – goaltending – another long-standing problem area remains on defense. There’s been some progress that was tempered by injury, as we’ve chronicled already, but a cornerstone defenseman is still a necessity and maybe even two. No disrespect to Meszaros and Ranger, currently slated at 1-2 on the defensive depth chart, but I don’t think you’d find many Lightning fans that would tell you they wouldn’t feel more comfortable with those two as a second pairing rather than a first.
Is the blueline immediately fixed with the addition of an 18-year-old stud d-man? No. But maybe I’ll touch on that in a minute …
Others receiving significant votes: overly aggressive management, scoring depth
Ideal Off-season Addition
Fan choice: Victor Hedman (18%)
JJ Award winner: Victor Hedman
Hey! What do you know? An 18-year-old stud d-man! Tuesday night’s draft lottery will determine if the Bolts get the chance to go after Hedman who, by all accounts, is NHL-ready. So too is London Knights center John Tavares and, if the Lightning win the draft lottery and pick first for the second consecutive season, they might be tempted by the thought of adding another potential wunderkind pivot. But I haven’t seen many textbook perfect matches better than Hedman and the Tampa Bay Lightning. You want a franchise defenseman. You need a franchise defenseman. Last summer’s spending spree didn’t go as planned and here could be your chance to land a guy who could instantly
be your franchise defenseman for a long, long time. Makes sense to me anyway, though Lawton has indicated he’ll leave room for many different options come draft day.
Others receiving significant votes: Mike Komisarek, Mattias Ohlund
Player Better Off Elsewhere
Fan choice: Marek Malik (27%)
JJ Award “winner”: Vincent Lecavalier
Maybe it was the reputation provided by Rangers fans after his time spent in New York but Lightning Nation simply wouldn’t warm up to Marek Malik in the least from day one on. He wasn’t horrible, in my opinion, but he wasn’t great either and I think he came to exemplify the frustration of a fanbase tired of Johnny-come-lately journeymen defensemen.
I disagreed with the fans one final time with their choice for who they’d ship out of town if they had the chance but, in doing so, I still don’t think trading Lecavalier is the best course of action for the Bolts. My rationale here instead is exactly how the category is worded. Vinny Lecavalier might just be better off elsewhere.
Would the Lightning ever get fair value in return? Maybe. Could this type of deal, one that would surely be considered a blockbuster, bring assets back that would fill holes in several areas and put the team in better overall position for both the short-term and the long-term future? Sure could. Would
any scenario that sees Lecavalier leave Tampa Bay hurt ticket sales? Probably. But maybe not as much as I once thought and certainly not badly enough that a full court press PR spin machine couldn’t rectify – eventually.
But Lecavalier has been through a whirlwind of injuries, surgeries, team struggles and trade rumors in the last few seasons and he appears to be just a bit beaten down. Maybe it’s all taken a toll on him and maybe he’d ... well ... be better off elsewhere.
For the first time ever, he certainly doesn’t
appear to be completely opposed to the idea, reminding reporters as recently as today that, if something were to happen, the team has said that they’d come to him first, rather than doing his best to squash the talk, as is generally the status quo when this sort of thing pops up from time to time in the sports world.
Maybe in the end it’s a win-win situation. You hang onto Vincent Lecavalier past July 1st, he’s yours for a
very long time. And he’s
still Vinny
freakin’ Lecavalier! Decide to move him some time before then and you receive a king’s ransom in return. Win. Win. That’s how I’d sell the latter to the fans, certainly.
I’d simply
have to.
Others receiving significant votes: Ryan Craig, Noah Welch
That wraps up the 2008-09
JJ Awards and, essentially, the 2008-09 season for me. It also gives me one last opportunity to say a big
THANK YOU to the loyal readers of my work here at HB. There’s been plenty to talk about this year in these parts and I’m just thankful to have an audience.
Enjoy the summer and stay right here for any and all off-season happenings, beginning with Tuesday night’s draft lottery.
JJ
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