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Bolts May Have To Move Boyle

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By ERIK ERLENDSSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 4, 2008

TAMPA - Lightning fans, don't get too attached to the current roster.

As if it wasn't obvious before Saturday's loss to Florida, Tampa Bay is not going to make the playoffs this season. That's no real revelation, I know. It's more like reality now.

So the only intriguing thing for fans to follow is who will be on this roster Feb. 27, the day after the trade deadline, when Tampa Bay hosts Minnesota.

There are plenty of rumors involving pending unrestricted free agents Chris Gratton, Vinny Prospal and Dan Boyle, perhaps the three players most likely to be dealt to a contending team. Others, such as Johan Holmqvist, Jan Hlavac, Filip Kuba or Brad Lukowich, might also draw some interest.

It is almost a certainty that some of the above names will be moved.

In watching the three games last week, it is hard for me to imagine this team without Boyle. I watch the way he brings the puck up the ice, I see the way he has changed Tampa Bay's power play by getting the puck in the zone and the dynamic he brings to the ice and I wonder, what does this team look like long term without Boyle? There was a good taste of it for the first half of the season and it wasn't pretty.

Unfortunately, I don't know if the Lightning can afford to keep him. And I just get the feeling he is almost certainly going to be moved.

Lightning GM Jay Feaster has stated his intention to open contract talks with Boyle's agent. But the odds of a deal being worked out in the next three weeks are remote, at best, even if a purchase agreement to sell the team to Oren Koules is announced this week as expected.

Defensemen the caliber of Boyle, who can skate and move the puck, are commodities in the NHL these days and teams don't like to part with them. But that also means the player holds the hammer in negotiations and there's a good chance Boyle's side could start talks seeking a salary starting in the neighborhood of $7 million a season. That's why moving Boyle appears all but likely in my opinion.

Keeping him will cost a lot of money. Trading him will bring back a handsome return from a team looking for a big push toward the playoffs.

Word is Boyle has told his agent, George Bazos, not to contact him during negotiations unless a significant offer is on the table. I'm not sure that call is going to come and Boyle will likely end up wearing a different uniform by the end of the month.

DRAFT STATUS: The way Tampa Bay is heading, the draft lottery is the next big thing on its radar screen, which comes shortly after the end of the regular season. The Lightning have not owned a top-five pick since the 2002 season, the year Feaster turned it into the additions of Ruslan Fedotenko and Lukowich. As the standings sit today, Tampa Bay would pick no lower than third and stands a good chance of grabbing the top overall pick (18.8 percent).

Two names to keep in mind for the Lightning if they hold the first pick are Steven Stamkos and Drew Doughty, both of whom were vital parts of Team Canada's gold-medal team at the World Juniors.

Doughty, who is a defenseman with Guelph in the Ontario Hockey League, has drawn comparisons to Buffalo's Brian Campbell and Boyle. He is described as a puck-moving defensemen with speed in the riverboat-gambler mentality. Stamkos, who plays for Sarnia of the OHL, is the top-rated forward and the top-ranked player overall at Central Scouting's midseason rankings.

LIGHTNING REPORT: A special All-Star edition of the Lightning report on Sun Sports airs starting tonight at 6 with a re-airing at 11:30 p.m. It will also be aired Tuesday at 11 a.m. and 8 p.m., 30 minutes before Tampa Bay's game at St. Louis.

There will be a behind-the-scenes look at Marty St. Louis and Vinny Lecavalier, a conversation with former Tampa Bay coach Jacques Demers, a conversation with YoungStar Mike Lundin and a look back at the 1999 All-Star Game, which was held in Tampa.

Reporter Erik Erlendsson can be reached at (813) 259-7835 or eerlendsson@tampatrib.com.

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