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Heward Just Happy To Be Contributing

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By ERIK ERLENDSSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 15, 2008

BRANDON - Two weeks ago, Jamie Heward was in limbo, working out with the Norfolk Admirals while deciding his next move.

Heward, who was invited to Lightning training camp on a tryout basis, had just been among the first Tampa Bay cuts but agreed to report to Norfolk, again on a tryout basis, without a promise for a contract.

Playing in Europe was an option, as was signing a minor-league deal with Norfolk to act as a player/coach for Tampa Bay's top affiliate while learning what he could about being a coach, an endeavor he would like to explore after his playing days.

Any alternate plans, however, were put on hold the morning of Oct. 1 when the 37-year-old defenseman was summoned into the office of Norfolk manager Mike Butters, who was holding an NHL contract for Heward to sign. Three hours later he was on a plane heading for Atlanta to catch a connecting flight to Prague, Czech Republic, to join the Lightning.

"It's been pretty incredible, I can't lie to you," Heward said. "I've been around the league a long time, and this has been a pretty good story. Having signed a contract only to try out and then kind of rolling the dice on whether you are going to make the team, then to go right from the tryout right to the fire."

Things happened so unexpectedly that in order for him to suit up in Lightning gear, the team's mascot, ThunderBug, brought a helmet, pants and hockey sticks with him from Tampa for Heward to use in Prague.

Heward needed them right away. He was inserted into the opening-night lineup against the New York Rangers and logged 20-plus minutes in each of the first two games. He also contributed on the power play in the Lightning's first three games, and he even tied a career-high with a pair of assists in Saturday's overtime loss to Carolina.

"Jamie brings no surprises," Lightning coach Barry Melrose said. "He's not pretty to watch, but he shoots the puck when he's supposed to, he doesn't make any glaring mistakes, he battles hard and he's a veteran."

Heward also brings a veteran presence with 384 NHL games under his belt, 100 more than anybody else on the Lightning defense. And no matter what role the team has for him - whether it's continuing to play 20 minutes a night or serving as a mentor - Heward is happy to contribute in any way.

"I've got a little bit of experience in a mentoring role when I was in Washington," he said, "so if that's what it comes down to and that's what these guys feel I need to do, then that's my role and I will totally accept that."

MALIK ON HIS WAY: The Lightning will make official today the signing of veteran defenseman Marek Malik, who spent the past three seasons with the New York Rangers, to a one-year contract.

Malik, 33, has played in 649 career games in 12 seasons, compiling a plus-136 rating. The contract reportedly is worth a prorated $1.2 million.

With the signing of Malik and the return of Ranger, Tampa Bay will have to make a roster move to stay at the maximum number of 23 players on the roster.

PROSPECT HAD HEART ISSUE: Alexei Cherepanov had heart problems and probably should not have been allowed to play in a game in which he collapsed and died, a regional investigator suggested.

Yulia Zhukova said Cherepanov, who died Monday playing for Avangard Omsk in a Continental Hockey League game outside Moscow, apparently had chronic ischemia - a medical condition when not enough blood gets to the heart or other organs.

Cherepanov's agent, however, said NHL tests showed the 19-year-old first-round draft pick for the New York Rangers to be healthy.

Pavel Krasheninnikov, who sits on the Russian Hockey Federation's supervisory council, asserted that emergency workers took too long to respond and didn't have a defibrillator. It was unclear how much time it took paramedics to respond.

Information from Tribune wires was used in this report.

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