R&R: Andreychuk Takes Two

Jay Feaster might just be a miracle worker if I have anything to say about it. Not only did he sign Lecavalier and St. Louis to multi-year deals, but the team announced today that Dave Andreychuk is returning — for two years!

Figuring in his age and the fact that after 22 years he just won his first Stanley Cup, I would've guessed him to choose to end his career. But not our Dave. The captain is back for two years, likely the final two before he really does retire.

Other than that, news around the NHL was light today.

The Carolina Hurricanes decided to name Rod Brind'Amour captain, a title he held very shortly during his days in Philadelphia. He succeeds Ron Francis, who was traded to Toronto late last season, and has probably seen his last days in the NHL.

On a Lightning-related note, Cory Stillman was named an alternate captain, joining Kevyn Adams and Glen Wesley.

Also, the Capitals locked down Chris Clark, whose rights they acquired from Calgary a few weeks ago in exchange for a 2007 draft pick.

The new rules being implemented in the new NHL this fall are being met by a smidgen of controversy. Ed Belfour commented in the Toronto Sun the other day that the new rules allowing goalies to play the puck less is "a bit of a joke."

"Maybe some forwards should play with their opposite hand. Or, better yet, play with their sticks upside down. That's what I equate it to.

I'm sure the general managers who don't have a puck-handling goaltender were the ones who voted for this rule.

We have the world's fastest game, one of skill, and, like Marty [Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur] has said, they are taking one of our skills away. ... I will find a way around it, though."

Those were some of the Belfour quotes worth repeating. My brother, a recently graduated high school goaltender, strictly objects to the limitations being places on goalies in the NHL now.

That said, I found it funny that an article appeared on NHL.com today wherein Mats Sundin suggests patience as the new rules find their place. Seems to me that since Belfour mouthed off to a reporter, the league's looking to do a little damage control. Though I could easily be wrong.

Personally, I can't make an honest comment on the new goalie restrictions as I am not now nor have I ever been a goalie. However, any rule that opens up the possibility of more scoring is, in my opinion, worth trying out.




At Long Last   After 22 years in the NHL, Lightning captain Dave Andreychuk finally earned the chance to carry the Stanley Cup. Now he's opted to add another two years in Tampa onto his career.

Bloggers Taking Notice

Here's a rare sidestep from my overused "Relocating & Replacing" (R&R) posts. But I've been pretty surprised to see the number of other hockey blog writers who have actually read my blog. It's kind of shocking, really, mostly because I haven't been writing that long. Not only that, but they've taken the time to mention Delay of Game in their own blogs. Well as impressed as they are by my blog, I'm fascinated by theirs just the same.

• Boltsmag   This is one of my favorite hockey blogs mainly because writer John Fontana follows the Lightning even more closely than I do. I found it shortly after I started Delay of Game last month. The reason I think anyone else even found my blog was because I once posted a comment on his.


• the habs blog   Obviously, this is a Montreal Canadiens blog Ryan Henderson, like me, writes on the events of the league as well as the news of his team.


• In The Crease   Another blog worth mentioning is run by Buffalo Sabres fan Lindsey Ungar who was recently kind enough to point out my series of satellite pictures over NHL arenas. Apparently some of you think they are pretty cool.


• HockeyBlogs.org   The people at HockeyBlogs.org were kind enough to add me to their listings. Delay of Game is listed in the Tampa Bay Lightning section.

Obviously I'm fairly new to the world of hockey blogging. But I haven't even really begun yet. As soon as the Lightning hit the ice, I plan to expand my coverage of them. Personally, I think TampaBayLightning.com could use some new writers and, like John said recently, a facelift. I'd redesign it for them for free. They've had the same site for a few years now. Time to upgrade.

Not only that but I missed hockey so much last year that I really just want to immerse myself in it. And I lack a lot of friends with whom to discuss the sport and my team. Here, I can write to whoever, whenever. Floridian hockey fans are tough to come by.

Plus, in the few weeks I've been writing Delay of Game, I've already met a few new people with whom I can talk hockey. People who like the Lightning and know more than me. I'm happy to surround myself with smart people. They can only make me smarter.

Anyhow, I just felt like I should make mention of these cool blogs I've been introduced to since starting my own. Should any others come across my hockey radar, I'll be sure to make mention of them.

I think two posts is enough for today. Until next time.




Detroit's Hockey Mecca (Space's Perspective)   This is for In The Crease's Lindsey Ungar who was the first to make a request for an NHL arena satellite photo (borrowed from Google Maps). Lindsey wanted to see The Joe from a bird's eye view. Enjoy.

R&R: Here To Stay!

Marty St. Louis re-signed his contract with the Lightning today. For six years! Surely you know how important that is for a team coming off its first Stanley Cup championship.

Marty was the MVP and scoring champ last season and now he'll be a Bolt until at least 2011. The contract is worth $31.5 million, meaning that in all likelihood he'll be eating the last $5 million left in the team's salary budget for this season. That said, Tampa Bay is all but done with this year's contract signings.

It also puts a hurt on the possibility of retaining Brad Richards when he goes up for restricted free agency next summer. But that's still a year away and I'm going to pretend to be blind to it until then. Not only that, but none of this figures Dave Andreychuk into the mix at the moment. What matters now is our 2005-06 Lightning are pretty well locked down. A second consecutive Cup run is certainly not out of the question.

I knew Jay would get the job done.

With regard to the rest of the league, there isn't much to report today. The Mighty Ducks shipped Steve Rucchin to the Rangers for a six-pack of Labatt's or something and Mattias Ohlund inked a new contract in Vancouver.

Short show today. Let's all just revel in Marty's big commitment today.




All Smiles   It took a few extra weeks to nail it all down, but Vinny Lecavalier and Marty St. Louis are both here to stay. And it's a good thing, too. We Lightning fans want to see another playoff run.

R&R: Heatley's Request Granted

When I saw the ESPN.com headline earlier that read "Thrashers trade Heatley," I had to do a double-take. But reading a little more into it, it makes a lot more sense. Not only will the Thrashers collect ex-Sens Marian Hossa and Greg de Vries out of the deal, but Dany Heatley asked to be traded.

When he got drafted, he was touted as the next big thing. He didn't get the press Sidney Crosby has had this year, but he was a young player to keep an eye on. Things took a turn in the wrong direction, however, when Heatley was the driver in a car wreck that killed friend and teammate Dan Snyder in 2003.

A change of scenery might help to abate the dark cloud around him. As for Hossa, it's been anyone's guess as to whether or not he'd sign with or hold out in Ottawa. But when he finally did sign, his contract was transferred to Atlanta with stunning speed.

Hossa may be as or more skilled a player than Heatley is, has been, or ever will be (based on, if nothing else, Heatley's turbulent personal life). Hossa will obviously be a tremendous help to the Thrashers in the scoring department, as will de Vries on the blue line. Prior to this, Atlanta's only other big move of the summer involved the signing of free agent Bobby Holik.

Now all that is fine and interesting, but what I really care about is Marty St. Louis jotting his name down on a new Lightning contract. I understand that championship contenders (and defenders) are always going to have trouble keeping their best players under the thumb of a salary cap, but I really want Marty to come back.

I recognize the business of sports, like anything else, and I'm not blind to the fact that there's a very little amount of cash left in the till for a guy who went from making the league's minimum salary to winning the scoring title and NHL MVP in just a few short years. And as much as he deserves to make the big bucks, surely he can see the logic in staying with a team he knows he fits so well into.

All right then. Consider my peace said. It was a slow weekend on the free agent market, but below is the list of notable moves that happened the last two days.

• Teemu Selanne decided the hot California sun beats the cold Rocky Mountains and so left the Avalanche to return to Anaheim;


• Todd Simpson left Ottawa to join the Blackhawks;


• Ex-Bolt Paul Mara re-upped with Phoenix;


• The Blackhawks sent Steve McCarthy to Vancouver;


• The Mighty Ducks shipped Mike Leclerc to Phoenix;


• and Petr Sykora signed with the Washington Capitals.

What might be the most amazing thing is that I didn't know we ever had Jamie Storr until he was signed by the Flyers. That's weird, right? I only remember him ever having talent years ago when he goaltended for the Kings. So I guess it's no big loss.

The last piece of news for today is Stephane Quintal's retirement announcement. After 16 years in the NHL, he's ready to hang up his skates. Quintal considers his dreams fulfilled — he got the chance to skate for Montreal. Then during last year's entry draft, he was traded to Los Angeles. He signed a one-year contract with the Kings, which was nixed by the lockout. So he felt compelled to end his career on his own terms.

Nothing wrong with that.




Georgian Hockey   I wrote a lot about Atlanta today, so I was going to post the Philips Arena satellite picture until I remembered I was there last year and have my own picture from the front. It's cooler anyway because of the way they spell out "Atlanta" with the beams. When you're standing in front of it, you don't notice it right away.