Days appear numbered for Lightning's Tocchet, Lawton

It has been a stirring collapse, this Lightning fold, which could roll on tonight with a loss to Carolina at the Forum.

It has probably cost head coach Rick Tocchet and general manager Brian Lawton their jobs, as it probably should.

Is there really any choice?

About a month ago, Tampa Bay was sixth in the Eastern Conference, but it was a precarious position at best.

The goaltending did not hold up night in and out.

The scoring often didn't go beyond Steven Stamkos and Marty St. Louis.

The defense, while not as completely inept as last season, was still pretty bad.

Add it up, and here are the Lightning, closer to the bottom than the top of the NHL table.

Throw in new ownership, and how can there be any doubt Tocchet and Lawton will get the boot?

For that matter, who is really safe on this team other than Stamkos, St. Louis, rookie defenseman Victor Hedman and ... well ... anybody else?

Yes, Vinny Lecavalier, the $10 million man, has a no-trade, no-move clause. But can we really say he'll be back for sure?

It's all up in the air.

This team, after a flurry of this and that and playoff talk, is 28th in a 30-team league.

Guys are playing for jobs, in case they didn't notice.

If not that, then pride, though I don't think pride will have a winning record the last 10 games, which is just as well. Maybe the Bolts can grab the third draft pick overall. Think blue line, think back line, think defense.

The dominant story is the acrimony between Tocchet and Lawton, which goes way beyond assistant coach musical chairs.

I think each man blames the other for this free fall.

Lawton is looking for friends.

Tocchet has all but thrown up his hands, never a good thing.

Lawton has made his share of good moves. I'm thinking of Steve Downie, Kurtis Foster and Antero Niittymaki.

But I'm also thinking of Alex Tanguay (nine goals, 34 points) and, especially, Andrej Meszaros (five goals).

We haven't even mentioned Vinny Prospal, dumped by the Lightning, and now up to 53 points with the Rangers.

Or Jussi Jokinen, waived by the Lightning, who has 27 goals and 56 points for Carolina, the Lightning's opponent tonight.

Or Radim Vrbata, who the Lightning traded and has 23 goals to lead the Phoenix Coyotes, who in turn lead the Western Conference.

The general manager needs to see into the future, show some foresight.

Same goes for the coach.

Tocchet hasn't helped his cause. He gets high marks for being a straightforward guy, but where's the system, the discipline, the consistency?

More than once I've wondered whether Tocchet has provided enough structure, consistent structure, for this team and these players. This team seems all over the road.

I can't say Tocchet has gotten the most out of Lecavalier. I can't say he helped himself by going public with the feud with Lawton.

Most of all, at 28th in the league, I can't say this team has turned any real corner.

Seems there's always another corner around the corner.

Feels like a dead end for Tocchet and Lawton.