Lecavalier Signing a Band-Aid on Bigger Wound

One day after the deal was announced, it's clear that re-signing captain Vincent Lecavalier to an 11-year contract is undoubtedly a step up in the right direction for the Tampa Bay Lightning's new ownership group, headed by Oren Koules and Len Barrie. Unfortunately for them, they're just coming off a tumble down a 12-story staircase.

Resigning Vaclav Prospal

After being dispatched to the Philadelphia Flyers last season, forward Vaclav Prospal was brought back into the fray in early June. The move, which saw a few late-round picks going the other way, was undoubtedly a good one, like the Lecavalier signing.

Prospal's best seasons have come in Tampa Bay, during a career that has included less-than-stellar campaigns in Anaheim and Ottawa. Part of the reason Prospal was traded away in the first place was because of his highly publicized problems with head coach John Tortorella and general manager Jay Feaster. Since Totorella had been fired (with Feaster soon to resign), there was little stopping a legitimately good move from taking place.

Melrose Hired

Soon afterwards, however, the first signs of trouble began appearing, starting with the coaching-career re-emergence of one Barry Melrose. Melrose's claim to fame was leading the Los Angeles Kings to the Stanley Cup final in 1993, only to lose to the Montreal Canadiens. The trend continued over his next two seasons in the National Hockey League. When it was all said and done, Melrose accuumulated an 82-103-31 record. While firing Tortorella was arguably, very arguably however, the right move to make, replacing him with an unproven coach is a very questionable one. In layman's terms, if Melrose couldn't win with Wayne Gretzky, why would anyone think he could win with Vincent Lecavalier?

Free Agent Ryan Malone

Then came the additions of Ryan Malone and Gary Roberts from the Pittsburgh Penguins. While Malone is a great player, and very underrated, paying him $31.5 million over seven years is the real-world equivalent of promoting someone in the mailroom right to the top of the sky rise. Does no one remeber Evgeni Malkin? The Hart Memorial Trophy nominee with whom Malone was riding shotgun this whole past season? Sure Malone put up career numbers, but can anyone honestly deny that Malkin played a large part in allowing that to happen?

And, as soon as the hockey community got used to the idea of Penguins skating around in 100-degree weather in Tampa, the signings kept on coming: Radim Vrbata, Adam Hall, the oft-injured Ryan Craig, Mark Recchi, Brandon Bochenski, and Chris Gratton all jotted down their John Hancock on the dotted line. For a team whose main problems were defense and goaltending, loading up on forwards is a curious philosophy to say the least.

When it came time to address the two main holes needing the most filling, Tampa got a relative sieve in his twilight years in Olaf Kolzig, a goalie nine years removed from his Vezina Trophy, and got rid of their best defenseman in Dan Boyle, sending him to San Jose for up-and-coming power-play quarterback Matt Carle, Ty Wishart, a defensive prospect, and a few draft picks. While the latter move with San Jose would be praised were it independent of all the Lightning were trying to accomplish this off-season, because of its context, all it does it lend creedence to the the school of thought that the team isn't getting out of the Southeast division basement anytime soon.

All the Lightning had to do was forego chasing after a few of their new forwards and sign either Cristobal Huet and Wade Redden or both. It really isn't rocket science. All that would have done would have made them into contenders instead of pretenders.

The Right Way to Win Championships

Defense, defense, defense! Then goaltending, goaltending, goaltending! Look at the Detroit Red Wings and New Jersey Devils for examples, the two most high-profile modern-day dynasties. Their best players in Nicklas Lidstrom and Martin Brodeur are proof to that effect. Their second-best players, Henrik Zetterberg and John Madden, are even more evidence of the fact that offense comes second; Zetterberg being a Frank J. Selke Trophy nominee and a hotshot on offense and Madden one of the league's best defensive forwards, who won the award in 2000-2001. So, a year from now, the smart money will have been on the Lightning getting in the record books for being the only team in league history to lead the league in goals for and goals against... that and missing the playoffs to boot.

Jay Feaster Resigns

While Feaster resigned from his post just a few days ago, it might turn out to be one of the best moves in his career yet. Claiming he felt as though he had little to do with the team's free-agent frenzy, all he has to do is sit pretty on the sidelines as the Lightning fall further from grace this season. Feaster was a big part of why the Lightning won the Cup in 2004, but he was also the main reason why they missed the playoffs last year. A search for a fresh start is perhaps a first step in the right direction, likewise.

As for the Lightning's new ownership group, they'll be learning their lessons the hard way, the first: You shouldn't play with too much firepower. The second: A short-term fix may win you fans, but it leaves you and them long-term losers.

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