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Karlsson Finding His Place In The Lightning's Plans

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By CARTER GADDIS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 16, 2007

Updated: 09/16/2007 01:12 am

BRANDON - Because Andreas Karlsson knew where he stood last season with the Lightning, he wasn't as bitter as he might have been about sitting for long stretches.

'I got my chances to play,' said Karlsson, who scored three goals and had six assists in 53 games last year. 'I just didn't play well enough.'

Coach John Tortorella would not have argued with that assessment at the time.

Karlsson, who led the Swedish Elite League in scoring during the 2005-06 season, had such a disappointing first three months to his Lightning career that he was a healthy scratch for seven consecutive games in late December and was placed on waivers Dec. 30.

'You ask me halfway through the 2006-07 season, he was written out of the script, as far as I was concerned,' Tortorella said. 'But he kept on sticking around and trying to find a way to get in the lineup.'

If there was one thing Karlsson managed to do last season, it was stick around. He cleared waivers, overcame an early season groin strain and worked his way back from a late-season finger injury.

Then, in six playoff games against the New Jersey Devils, Karlsson's perseverance paid off.

'I kind of got to know how we play at the end of the year,' Karlsson said. 'It took me a while. I got more and more comfortable with the way we play. I think that was a part of me getting more ice time.'

He didn't score against the Devils in that first-round series loss, or even record an assist. But he played with a purpose that seemed to be lacking before, a product of finally finding his niche within the framework of Tortorella's grand scheme.

'I think he was given ample opportunity when he was healthy to try to stick and get some ice time,' Tortorella said. 'It's just, the production wasn't there, the understanding of the team concept, of our concept wasn't there. And it just took more time.

'I think it took him three-quarters of the season to really understand how we play. I thought he started playing better in the last quarter, and I thought he had a very good playoff playing left wing next to center Brad Richards. You never know when it clicks in, as far as the style we play.'

Karlsson, 32, said Saturday that he wants to make up for what he considered a disappointing regular season.

'I thought I could play a lot better than I did,' he said. 'I'm here to compete.'

He got his first chance to show that during Saturday's initial intrasquad scrimmage at the Ice Sports Forum. Playing left wing on a line with center Chris Gratton and right wing Jason Ward - penciled in for now as the regular third line - Karlsson was one of a handful of players who skated with a 'controlled abandon.'

And Tortorella noticed.

'He was one of the few guys that was blocking shots today,' Tortorella said. 'One of the few guys that had some sort of physicality to himself within the scrimmage game, and he will get rewarded for that. And some other guys won't.'

Karlsson took a shot off his left wrist and required post-practice treatment, but he said it won't keep him off the ice today.

He didn't re-sign with Tampa Bay this past offseason (one year, $500,000) only to let minor bumps and bruises slow him down at this juncture.

'They gave me a good chance to come back,' he said, 'and I want to show them that they made the right decision. ... If I play well, I'm going to get the ice time. If I don't play well, I'm not going to. Tortorella is fair that way.'

Reporter Carter Gaddis can be reached at (813) 259-8291 or igaddis@tampatrib.com.

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