July and August have come and gone and after an unquestionably busy off-season, new Lightning GM Steve Yzerman has indicated he is probably done adding any more players to the mix.  Aside from spots on the checking and energy lines as well as who will serve as the 6th, 7th and possibly 8th defensemen, the roster seems fairly easy to project barring any unforeseen (and unlikely) injuries and/or signings and/or trades.  With training camp less than two weeks away, it seems appropriate to begin gauging what the Lightning have by way of offense, defense and between the pipes, which is where I believe the Lightning are most vulnerable.  This is where the spotlight goes first.

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For better or worse, the Bolts will feature a tandem of Dan Ellis and Mike Smith, not a truly inspiring duo but, then again, neither was Antero Niittymaki and Mike Smith heading into last season.  The current duo, much like last season's was, is notable for its yet unrealized potential and upside.  Yzerman inked Ellis to a 2-year, $3 million deal shortly after Niittymaki, one of last season's surprise performers, signed with the Sharks for 2 years and $4 million on July 1.  Smith was retained by the new Lightning brass despite his mostly disappointing and, at times, disastrous body of work last season, probably in large part due to the difficulty in finding a taker in a glutted market for, effectively, a $2.2 million backup who's brief career has been ravaged by concussion and, more recently, Brooks Laich.  That and the Lightning were probably disinclined to buyout Smith while carrying almost $1.5 million in dead cap space this season thanks to the Vinny Prospal and Todd Fedoruk buyouts.  With all of that in mind, well, yeah, it does seem relatively sensible of Yzerman to gamble on Smith returning to form during a contract year.  Assuming, of course, that he has hedged his bet.  Which he has by acquiring Dan "The Specialist" Ellis...

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Though I have primarily been preoccupied with the ongoing transformation of the Tampa Bay Lightning this summer, there are several cap-strapped teams whose off-season maneuverings have kept me intrigued.  The Boston Bruins are one such team.  I again find myself pondering how (and suddenly accomplished) Lightning GM Steve Yzerman might be tempted by another team's vulnerability.

First, Boston GM Peter Chiarelli's dilemma. The Bruins presently have 20 players under contract with approximately a paltry $12,000 in cap space remaining due, in part, to a nearly $1.75 million performance bonus penalty carried over from last season.  The defensive batteries seem set with 7 defensemen signed to one-way contracts and Tim Thomas probably a lock to remain in Beantown as an expensive insurance policy in case young Tuukka Rask falters.  The problem lies up front where Chiarelli (who, side note, alternately reminds me of a bald Phillip Seymour Hoffman and a joyless version of Tom Cruise's character from Tropic Thunder) needs to add at least one more body but with 7 forwards already under contract with cap hits of at least $3.5 million, unsigned RFA Blake Wheeler still in contract limbo and 2nd overall pick Tyler Seguin expected to sign a deal similar to Taylor Hall's.  In short, this an unenviable task that will require to make a short-term and potentially unpleasant sacrifice. 

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Although Darren Millard's tweet caused quite a stir earlier today, other sources (i.e. Helene Elliot, Darren Dreger, Pierre LeBrun) have since asserted that the Kovalchuk saga is still not over, although he is widely believed to be en route to meet with the Kings either tonight or tomorrow.  Although I'd very much like Kovalchuk to finally make a decision, mostly to have all the speculation end, I do, however, remain very interested in what team he signs with.  This is because I believe his decision could possibly present new Lightning GM Steve Yzerman with an affordable opportunity to improve now without, as he has stressed he would not do, mortgaging the future.  That is, I believe that a trade with Philadelphia for Simon Gagne would be largely contingent on Kovalchuk actually signing with the Los Angeles Kings.

When I first became aware of rumors the Flyers were looking to move Gagne, my immediate reaction was something like, "Wow!  If this true, I know he'd look GREAT on Vinny's wing!"  At the time, the Flyers had less than $1 million in cap space and RFAs Daniel Carcillo and Darroll Powe still unsigned.  Clearly somebody was going somewhere, but it was not until credible sources confirmed the Flyers had actually signed Nikolai Zherdev, thereby pushing the Flyers over the cap by nearly $2 million that I actually began to ponder where Simon Gagne might go.  After much deliberation (amongst me, myself and I), I came to the conclusion that the Lightning acquiring Simon Gagne would actually make a lot of sense, again, IF Ilya Kovalchuk actually signs with LA.  I would not be the first to speculate that Kings GM Dean Lombardi would try to acquire Gagne if a deal with Kovalchuk ultimately cannot be reached.

First off, Simon Gagne is a fantastic hockey player.  He possesses excellent speed and offensive instincts and is also considered to be a strong backchecker.   He is dangerous on the power play and a threat on the penalty kill.  He does, however, come with a red flag: he's missed significant stretches of two of the past three seasons ('07-08' and '09-'10) due to injury, including concussions. His cap hit is $5.25 million for next season, identical to that of Martin St. Louis.

Is this the kind of player Steve Yzerman might want to gamble on early in his tenure here in Tampa?  I think so.  Gagne's cap hit might seem prohibitive at first glance, but would his addition actually contradict Yzerman's own comments regarding the team's budget? 

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