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No Blockbuster As Bolts Begin Rebuild

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 5, 2009

TAMPA - On trade deadline day, the Lightning kept their core intact, thereby failing to make the big splash that rumormongers predicted. But the moves the team made certainly created plenty of attention.

In the biggest move of the day, Tampa Bay nabbed a pair of prospects from Boston, acquiring 22-year-old defenseman Matt Lashoff and 23-year-old right wing Martins Karsums for veteran forward Mark Recchi and a second-round pick in 2010. Rookie general manager Brian Lawton also shipped defenseman Steve Eminger - acquired from Philadelphia earlier this season - to Florida for blue-liner Noah Welch and a third-round draft pick. But in the strangest move, Tampa Bay saved some salary by shipping injured players Olie Kolzig and Jamie Heward along with former first-round pick in 2004 defenseman Andy Rogers and a fourth-round pick to Toronto for minor-league defenseman Richard Petiot.

When all the dust settled on Lawton's first trade deadline day experience as a GM, Tampa Bay brought in two top prospects to an organization sorely lacking in that area while shedding some significant salary and cap space that could allow the team to use the summer to fill in holes on the blue line.

Erik Erlendsson

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