Finnish goaltender Riku Helenius, the 2006 1^st round draft selection by the Tampa Bay Lightning, remains unsigned by parties on either the North American or European continents at this time. You've heard reports of Riku wanting a one-way contract to return to North America and the Tampa Bay Lightning. A Finnish report upped the ante on contract demands by the Helenius' camp - saying he'd like a 2-year deal, as well as its one-way status.

Let's just recap here for the sake of rehashing (and glance at his HockeyDB.com statistics for more of the story): Helenius, 24, was drafted 15^th overall by the Bolts in 2006. He played his first North American hockey season with the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL in 2007-08. He then bounced around between ECHL clubs and the Norfolk Admirals for most of 2008-09 season, though he also played a single NHL game (just a scant few minutes, facing 7 shots).

He was considered to have reached his developmental ceiling in 2009-10 by team officials, and then-GM Brian Lawton allowed Helenius to return to Europe, where Riku joined Sodertalje SK of the Swedish Elite League. All of this by the ripe old age of 21. He's played in Europe - in the SEL and Finnish SM-Liga - since, winning a championship with JYP of the SM-Liga this season.

If anything can be ascertained from looking at Helenius' North American career, it's that the Lightning failed in its development of the goaltender (which is a crime committed by Lawton). You can't expect a guy to develop when he's shuffled around and given inconsistent playing conditions.

Helenius remains Tampa Bay Lightning property, but he is in the driver's seat at this point when it comes to deciding where he will play in 2012-13 and beyond. He's considered a prospect by Assistant GM Julien BriseBois. But, if they want to get Helenius back to North America, they're going to have to treat him like a better prospect than previous regimes did - both financially as well as his roster assignment.

(Hat tip to Electric Blue Hockey Test and Bolt Prospects for mentioning the Finnish report on Twitter)

We're about a month prior to the 2012 NHL Entry Draft in Pittsburgh. The entry draft marks the last event of the hockey year that shouldn't be affected in any way by labor negotiations between the NHL and NHLPA (whereas free agency will).

The draft, however, also remains one of those long-term processes that aren't supposed to bear immediate fruit (though sometimes they do) with players selected. It's an investment guessing-game: what commodity will retain it's worth and value? Whose talents will repay your investment in them?

For the Lightning, with a pair of draft choices in the first round (#10 and #19 overall), this is an opportunity to make long-term gains by adding talented depth to the system. It's also an open opportunity (with thanks to the number of draft selections in the first two rounds - five) to focus on want more so than need.

That is, unless the want is also the need.

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The Tampa Bay Lightning's minor league affiliates have never been known for competitiveness or success. In the past, it seemed the concept of a minor league affiliate seemed to be an after-thought as the Bolts decided they would be better off investing in the NHL club. Player development? Please...

Yet things change. For the first time ever, the Lightning's top minor-league affiliate will be vying for the AHL's top prize - the Calder Cup.

The Norfolk Admirals - they of the epic 28 game winning streak - have completed a sweep of the St. John's IceCaps (AHL affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets) to claim the AHL's Eastern Conference title with a 4-0 victory this evening in St. John's. The Admirals now await the winner of the AHL's Western Conference final between the Oklahoma City Barons (Edmonton Oilers) and the Toronto Marlies (Toronto Maple Leafs).

The Ads saw goals from Tyler Johnson, Evan Oberg, Trevor Smith and Brandon Segal as well as stellar goaltending from Dustin Tokarski, who posted his second consecutive shutout of the series (in back-to-back games, no less).

Congratulations to Ads fans, the city of Norfolk, head coach Jon Cooper and Ads GM Julien BriseBois.

Of course, the Admirals aren't done yet. Not by a long shot. There's one more piece of business that they have to attend to: Claim the Calder Cup as their own by winning the looming best-of-seven championship series.

The schedule for the championship series has yet to be announced.

On a very inconsistent basis, Raw Charge (and Boltsmag before it) has chronicled movements by the Tampa Bay Lightning during the off-season in what we've called the Lined-Up Update.

With the departure of Ryan Shannon to Europe, I thought it best to get the 2012 off-season moves underway.

The listing (after the jump) is not a concise and precise list of players under contract to the Tampa Bay Lightning for 2012-13. Nor will it be a list that defines who will be in camp and who will be playing in Norfolk next season. It is, however, a listing of players on the Lightning roster as of the close to the season, and player movement that takes place between now and the start of training camp in September.

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Forward Ryan Shannon, who had his 2011-12 season with the Tampa Bay Lightning marred by injuries and never quite lived up to his promise, seems to have landed in Europe.

With NHL free agency more than a month away, it shouldn't be too puzzling why a player would sign overseas this early (read: NHL CBA negotiations and uncertainty of the future / complications that may arise from it). But with lackluster numbers to coincide his limited play, playing in Europe is another avenue for Shannon to rehabilitate his value. The length of the deal provides stability for him and his family.

So, Ryan signed with the ZSC Lions of the Swiss-A national league. The deal is reportedly a three-year engagement (and it is official per the Lions own website). What they're getting is a speedy forward who put up 12 points (4 goals and 8 assists) in 45 games this season for the Lightning. When Shannon was signed last off-season as an unrestricted free agent, he projected to replace Sean Bergenheim on the third line with the Lightning, and possibly see playing time among the top six forwards.

But with a glut of mid-level players to begin the season, Ryan was playing musical-chairs for ice-time with Mattias Ritola, Tom Pyatt, and Blair Jones also vying to be on the game day roster. But even as that glut of players gave way via waiving, demotion, and trade, Shannon still didn't start clicking offensively where and when he played.

As a follow-up to our story from a few weeks ago regarding Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik's interest in the Channelside Bay Plaza retail complex next to the Tampa Bay Times Forum, it would appear that Vinik has emerged as the top bidder for the property.

Actually, to use the words of the TBO.com article on the matter, Vinik has emerged as "the only qualified bidder".

The article accentuates the notion by providing a quote from a member of the competing bid, which sounds like a concession:

Ken Jones, who was helping to lead the Edwards bid, said, "I have a lot of respect and admiration for Vinik's group and we hope to be helpful in any way. I'm excited to see a guy with his level of commitment and dedication to be involved in this.".

The bank will present the Vinik bid to the Tampa Port Authority in the near future, though the Port is under no obligation to accept Vinik's bid/offer for the property.

"Now they will tremble again, at the sound of our silence."

-Captain Marko Ramius, The Hunt for Red October

The NHL playoffs are in full crescendo. Not only have the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs been intense, and with plenty of controversy, but they have also been popular as TV ratings and fan buzz shows. Sure, it's been helped by having six teams (the Rangers, Devils, Capitals, Bruins, Flyers and Penguins) from the northeast media corridor in the playoffs, but let's not have that take away from a very competitive and unpredictable playoffs so far.

But even as the conference finals loom large and the Stanley Cup Finals shortly after, there's a hidden malice that stirs. No fan dares give it more than a glancing mention, instead focusing on the triumphs and pratfalls of the 2012 playoffs.

Yet this noxious bane lingers, unseen, waiting for its moment, waiting for the lull of the off-season to unleash its horrors on the idle masses. Waiting.... Waiting....

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With the Western Conference finals contestants locked up, and the Eastern Conference Finals nearing a conclusion (you know the New Jersey Devils will be in the Finals against the New York Rangers or Washington Capitals is yet to be determined), the number on my mind is 367.

367 miles separates Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Arizona and Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles, California. 367 miles, that is a five-hour trip if you were driving directly from one arena to the other.

That's not exactly a short distance... But in the grand scheme of the Western Conference, it's downright miniscule.

The 15 teams in the West routinely are jumping time zones and the Mississippi to get to conference games. In comparison, the Eastern Conference hugs the Atlantic coast of North America and doesn't stray more than 500 miles west of the Atlantic Ocean. Oh, sure, it spans nearly 1400 miles as-the-crow-flies in distance running north-and-south , but the distance isn't comparable to the sojourns that teams in the Western are subjected to during the season as well as in the playoffs.

367 miles. That's a gift to the Los Angeles Kings and Phoenix Coyotes. The Coyotes just completed a series against the Nashville Predators (Phoenix to Nashville: 1683 miles) while the Kings just swept the St. Louis Blues (distance between Los Angeles and St. Louis: 1830 miles). This series will remain in their respective backyards. By comparison, the distance is shorter than a trip between the Tampa Bay Times Forum in Tampa and Phillips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia (460 miles).

This doesn't compare to what the New Jersey Devils will be "suffering" in the Eastern Conference final. They'll likely have all of a bus-ride between Prudential Center in Newark and Madison Square Garden in New York City (distance: 13.7 miles) or potentially Verizon Center in Washington D.C. (distance: 215 miles). They only had to suffer a bus trip down the New Jersey Turnpike to reach their Conference Semifinal opponent in the Philadelphia Flyers (distance: 89 miles).

Fans don't want to think about a logistical issue like travel distance when they watch a hockey game. They'd rather think about the direct matchups in on-ice talent. But travel takes its toll, a hard fact to dismiss...

Yet, until the Stanley Cup Final begins in a scant two weeks, and the commutes become coast-to-coast affairs, travel times and distance is not going to be a factor.

(Editor's note: Most distances were determined through Google Earth and its driving-directions tool).

Press release below:

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With most NHL teams idle right now, fan speculation has kicked into high gear regarding player moves and potential player moves. Some of that speculation is consistent through the league (read: Ryan Suter and Shea Weber). Other speculation is confined to certain cities and regions.

That brings us to goaltender Roberto Luongo, who requested a trade from the Vancouver Canucks. Luongo has completed two seasons of his 12 year $64 million contract and is in the driver's seat regarding where he will accept a trade with thanks to his contracts no-move clause.

Both of those facts give reason why Canucks fans need to lower the bar with speculation on what Lu could command in return in a trade. There are only so many teams that Luongo will accept a trade to... And out of those teams, how many of them are willing to take on the remaining obligations under Luongo's contract?

In other words, Vancouver is dealing from a position of weakness right now. The few teams that are on Luongo's list of trade destinations -- and Tampa Bay is supposedly there - don't need to give up an arm and a leg for Luongo if Vancouver is intent on moving him.

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We didn't report on it last week, but it's still relevant as earlier rumors had one of the Tampa Bay Lightning's own executives as part of the discussion.

The Montreal Canadiens have filled their General Manager vacancy with former NHL defenseman Marc Bergevin. From this point forward, Bergevin (who played for the Lightning during two stints in his career) will be looking to rectify the perceived crimes committed by former Habs GM Pierre Gauthier - namely the replacement of Head Coach Randy Cunneyworth in favor of a French speaker.

The Bolts dodged a bullet, for now. Assistant General Manager Julien BriseBois was oft-mentioned as a possible candidate for Les Habs new GM. And why not? BriseBois is a former Canadiens front office executive (under former GM Bob Gainey) and a native son of Quebec. He has been overseeing the Bolts AHL affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals, and they have been successful in his two seasons as the Ads GM.

Just to opine on things, I have to wonder if BriseBois' ties to Gainey's tenure as GM played a part in the Canadiens going elsewhere for the role. Gainey fell out of favor in Montreal, resigning from his role as GM / head coach in 2010, and was dismissed from the club from his adviser capacity the same day Gauthier was ousted by the club late in the season... Why bring in someone who was a member of the unsuccessful old guard?

BriseBois will get another shot at a GM role in the future. What Lightning fans might wonder about next is the future of Admirals head coach Jon Cooper. With the success of the Ads, he'll be a candidate for NHL jobs where vacancies currently exist (Calgary, Columbus if interim head coach Todd Richards is not retained, and potentially Edmonton where Tom Renney's status has not been determined... but likely not Montreal - he's an anglophone, after all).

Game 2 of the best-of-7 series is tonight at The Scope in Norfolk, Virginia, where the "Baby Bolts", aka the Norfolk Admirals, look to even up their Eastern Conference Semifinal series tonight when they take on the Connecticut Whale.

Wednesday's loss to the Whale was only the 2nd loss by the Ads since February 5th, 2012. But, of course, the playoffs are the second season and... well, they're 3-2 since the start of the playoffs.

is that cause to worry? No, it's cause to remember that the playoffs aren't the regular season. The Ads have a tough road yet to hoe and unlike the AHL regular season, everyone is bringing everything they have left. And the Ads are still the team with the bullseye on their chest (being the top seed and all that).

Game time is scheduled for 7:30 pm Eastern. You can listen to the game on 1021thegame.com online, or you can watch the game via pay-per-view online at AHL Live.

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In the Tampa Bay Lightning's 19 years of NHL play, there have been two previous efforts by a Bolts player which has garnered the attention of the powers-that-be and earned nominations for the league's Most Valuable Player award, the Hart Trophy.

Those two prior nominations - coming in 2004 and 2011, respectively - went to the same wunderkind that makes this team thrive: Mr. Martin St. Louis. Marty defied odds by even being nominated for the award in the first place (coming into the NHL as an undrafted free agent signing). Winning the honor in 2004 was even more odds-defying. His nomination last season was a testament of his value on the overachieving Lightning team of 2010-11.

Today, the Lightning celebrate their third ever nomination for the award, and the second player on the Lightning roster ever to be nominated for the award.

Steven Stamkos has been recognized by the Pro Hockey Writers Association, being named a finalist for the 2012 Hart Trophy. He's in the running against Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers for the award.

Snap reactions to Stamkos getting the nomination seem to be, "Well, wait, what bout Claude Giroux?!" Giroux had an incredible season all his own with the Philadelphia Flyers - 28 goals, 65 assists, 95 points in 77 games. Compare that to Stamkos' 60 goals, 37 assists and 97 points in 82 games, and it's a tossup. You'll have to ask Pro Hockey Writers how they voted in order to find out why Stamkos over Giroux (if you think it isn't deserved, that is).

Would the Flyers have made the playoffs without Giroux? The Lightning didn't make the playoffs with Stamkos - but they were still within spitting distance of it with more and more team adversity piling up on the club.. Maybe that factored in on voters opinions?

Whatever the case, this is likely Malkin's award to lose, but it's an incredible honor none-the-less for Stamkos to be recognized like this.

The NHL Awards ceremony will be in Las Vegas in June.

An infographic on Stamkos' season, by way of the team, is below the jump.

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(Editor's Note: Taking a cue from Rays Index, we hope to start posting articles from time to time referencing old stories on the site and with the Tampa Bay Lightning)

Club Two-Minutes: Bad Calls and Zero Accountability

Two specific monstrosities of officiating are cited - games affecting the Calgary Flames and Tampa Bay Lightning -- with one unifying theme behind them: the blessings of (then) head referee Stephen Walkom.

Three years later, nothing has changed and could even be seen as worse with inconsistent calls left and right, and complacent blessings from league administrators.

The game is fast. Referees and linemen have to make snap judgments... But brushing off botched calls, obvious referee errors, and inconsistent rule enforcement does nothing for the sport and doesn't sow trust for anyone watching or involved with the game.

Club Two-Minutes remains the most exclusive club in pro sports - where officiating cannot be questioned, while league executives turn a blind eye to the problem.

It is arguable how often adults are in the room when the NHL league offices are expected to make some type of disciplinary ruling.

Oh, there's a process to be followed and what-not, a load of pomp and circumstance and official decision-making... But then there's the boys-club moment where there's an understanding reached: we can look past this because we wouldn't want to miss the opportunity you're about to have, if the shoe was on the other foot.

There was an incident last night in the New York Rangers / Ottawa Senators game at Scotiabank Palace in Ottawa. Milan Michalek of the Ottawa Senators and Dan Girardi of the Rangers are at the center of this. The incident itself hasn't drawn my ire as-so-much the reaction from voices on the high:

M.Michalek may face sup disc for shoving (kicking)Girardi with his skate last night.Very similar to [Carolina Hurricanes Jeff Skinner] in March which earned 2 gm susp.

Following Skinner susp.Shanny said any intentional or reckless use of skate blade in this manner is dangerous and unacceptable.Similar acts.

Neither Michalek nor Skinner incidents look bad. But, precedent set. Can't use skate blade for this. Hard to take a guy out of gm 7 though.

TSN's Darren Dreger via Twitter

(emphasis added by me)

For those unhappy with league discipline and officiating, Darren Dreger has been the messenger from executive suite in the league office before rulings take place. If not Dreger, then Bob McKenzie of TSN is the one providing the insider aspects. They're not just in the know; they have a rapport with the guys making the decisions...

And what we keep hearing from either messenger is why the first round of the 2012 NHL playoffs, and previous seasons and playoffs for that matter, are so messed up: In matters of league discipline, the weight of the games are more important than enforcing the rules.

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Last night, the first team found its way through the 2012 NHL Quarterfinals: The Nashville Predators advanced to the Western Conference Semifinals with their victory over the Detroit Red Wings.

The idea the Wings are out of the playoffs seems strange. But even stranger is to know how much the Tampa Bay Lightning have just benefitted from Detroit's ouster.

As the first team bounced from the playoffs, that gives the Red Wings the #15 pick a higher draft selection in the 2012 NHL draft.... A draft pick that they had already traded to the Bolts (along with defenseman Sebastien Piche) back in February when they acquired defenseman Kyle Quincey in a three-team trade.

[Note by John Fontana, 04/21/12 12:50 PM EDT ] The NHL uses a much more precise method to determine NHL draft order for playoff teams than I had originally figured. The NHL Hockey Operations Guidelines makes a point that the Detroit draft selection may be lower in the first round than 15th overall. The pick position remains to be determined.

In essence, the Lightning traded Steve Downie for Piche and a mid-first round draft pick. That's more of a return than General Manager Steve Yzerman could have expected when he made the deal: A late-first round pick seemed likely, given Detroit's annual playoff prowess. A mid-first round pick? The potential value of that in talent (by way of selection or trading the pick) is immense.

Thank you, Nashville, for upsetting the norm of a deep Red Wings playoff run.

The 2012 NHL draft begins on June 22^nd in Pittsburgh. The Lightning currently have five draft selections (and potentially a sixth) in the first two rounds of the seven-round draft.

Friday night marks the beginning of the AHL playoffs for the Norfolk Admirals, which puts the Tampa Bay Lightning's top minor-league affiliate on display... Well, more-so. It's not like people weren't paying attention when the Ads notched their 28^th consecutive victory to close out the AHL season.

But let's not get lost in the affiliate contention. There are individual reasons why the thought of tomorrow brings optimism to some Lightning fans: it's because the young talents are there to propel the club forward next season and beyond.

That leads to the question of the week: With the Lightning season over, fans start looking at the bigger picture of organizational talent. Who do you currently think is the top prospect in the Tampa Bay Lightning organization and why? Do you think that player has a shot at making the Lightning roster next season?

We passed the question along to several members of the Tampa Bay Boltosophere along with the usual suspects from the Raw Charge staff.

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As of Wednesday afternoon, Roberto Luongo's career in Vancouver was deemed over and done with by the tabloids. Cory Schneider was to start in net instead of Luongo for the must-win Game 4 of the Vancouver Canucks / Los Angeles Kings Western Conference Quarterfinal series. It was a testament, it was telling, it was evidence that the franchise was taking a new direction in net from yesterday forward.

In other words, it was a complete overreaction. Again.

It's not the first time a backup goaltender started an elimination game in the playoffs. It's not the first time a franchise goaltender was forced to ride the pine in an attempt to jump-start the effort of the rest of his team.

Yet, in a way, the drama of Roberto Luongo and the Vancouver Canucks goaltending situation is a welcome distraction from a Quarterfinal round that has made the league into a caricature; a running joke of hockey clichés where rules aren't to be enforced and everyone has been open season with no holds barred.

Instead, now with Luongo having been benched, the playoffs take an Eklund-like turn as Roberto's future is speculated upon.

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Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeffrey Vinik is interested in the shopping and retail complex know as Channelside Bay Plaza - the facility immediately east of the Tampa Bay Times Forum. You'd possibly heard the rumors of such, which started in late 2011. It was hard to miss the official news as it broke just before Easter.

The Channelside complex, sharing its name with the greater Channel District of downtown Tampa, is separated from Times Palace by a street and pair of parking lots. Though the facilities are not directly associated, it's hard to not see their inter-dependence.

At first glance by the casual observer, this doesn't make much sense. Why would a sports team owner have interest in buying a shopping complex? Their focus should be on the team they own and it's facility, along with their own private businesses, right? Yet it's not hard to understand why further investment in the neighborhood directly surrounding the Forum would be something Vinik (and partners in this instance) would be interested in.

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This is something you don't see every day: an active, record-breaking streak by a professional sports team. Not just any team, but the one you're affiliated with as a fan.

Not since February 5^th, 2012 have the Norfolk Admirals appeared in the loss column in the box score after a game. It's unprecedented. Unprecedented in the American Hockey League (where the Ads obliterated the previous win-streaks by teams in a single season and consecutive seasons). Unprecedented in the sport of ice hockey, and a rare feat in world of professional sports.

It's been 19 seasons since a club in the National Hockey League had a streak comparable to what the Ads have done (1993's Pittsburgh Penguins hold the longest winning streak in league history with their 17 game streak in 1992-93). It's been 32 years since there was the Philadelphia Flyers amassed a 35 game unbeaten streak (with 10 ties).

Right now, the Ads have more wins in a row (27) than they had before this streak fluke began (26).

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(Editor's Note: Taking a cue from Rays Index, we hope to start posting articles from time to time referencing old stories on the site and with the Tampa Bay Lightning)

The Way Forward: Tocchet, Lawton relieved of duties in Tampa

Only a month earlier, Jeff Vinik had assumed control of the Tampa Bay Lightning franchise that he had purchased from Oren Koules and Len Barrie's OK Hockey group. With the conclusion of the 2009-2010 NHL season, he made the first personnel moves in the resurrection of the Lightning, dismissing GM Brian Lawton and head coach Rick Tocchet from their respective roles with the team.

In the waning days of the '09-'10 season, and the looming uncertainty of intentions by Mr. Vinik, media persons and fans alike started painting Brian Lawton as the problem and giving Tocchet a pass, with thanks to Lawton's dismissal of assistant coach Wes Walz in February of that year. By sympathizing with Tocchet, everyone overlooked his own shortcomings.

Since his dismissal, Tocchet has not coached in the NHL, his current gig is as an analyst for Comcast Sports Net Philadelphia (and gambler, all the same).

Lawton also remains without an NHL job at current. He provides commentary on Sportsnet.ca from time to time. and is active on Twitter.