Lightning This and That

Just some stuff before the season starts:

• The Lightning signed free agent LW Mitch Fritz to a 1 year contract. He's a giant who stands at 6'8", and was undrafted will be report directly to the Admirals. The former Kelowna Rocket made his NHL debut with the Islanders last season.
• Mike Lundin and Matt Lashoff cleared waivers and were both assigned to the Admirals. Lashoff got a verbal lashing from Tocchet today, with Tocchet saying "I don't think he came into camp vying for a job,". Ouch. But Cristodero points out that if they get called up, because they only make $105, 000 each, they don't have to clear re-entry waivers.
• The Lightning keep increasing the Swedish love by teaming up with IKEA. And clearly, the next logical step, since we also have Ohlund and Hedman, would be to have a Swedish Night! No word yet if pickled herring or swedish pancakes with lingonberry syrup will be served though.

And from the man who loves press conferences:
Burke says that the Canucks shopped Burrows, Bieksa and their 1st round draft pick for Hedman at the draft. Gillis denies this. Since I love both teams, I could really go either way on my opinion if it did happen, but I am happy that it didn't.

Cory Murphy injured, Lashoff gets a promotion...

In last night's game against the Leaf's, Cory Murphy broke a bone in his foot from a shot from Lecavalier. At this time in the season, I think that it is improbable that he will return for any of the games at the end.

He had been QBing the Lightning power play since being claimed off of waivers from Florida. He has had a couple of goals in the last few games, so it sucks to see him be injured.

There is one guy who is probably kinda excited for this. I'm sure he's not excited about how his teammate is injured, but for Matt Lashoff this is an instant promotion.

Lashoff, as we profiled earlier in this blog, got to play his first game for the team last night. Already during his 1st game, he played for 22:58 of ice time and had a spot on the power play. And with the sudden change of events, he now gets to have an extended audition for the Lightning. There will be no pressure on him during these next few weeks, but he will definately have to show Tocchet that he can be a key defenceman for next season. He will step in and replace the role that Murphy had.

This is great for the young kid who hasn't proven himself yet. He has top 4 potential, and now get's the chance to learn and show some skill. So as much as it sucks to have a player injured, this may end up as a benefit for the Lightning next season. Since we are not in a playoff race, we can shut down Murphy for the season and let Lashoff gain NHL experience. This is the time to let the young guys get the chance and the experience that they normally would not have if we were in the playoff race.

Meet The New Guy: Matt Lashoff

Inspired by the KB's amusing series of better known as a newbie, I thought we should take a look at the new guy that we've traded for.

He has been out since the trade deadline with a calf laceration, but is expected to make his Lightning debut soon.

Today's New Guy: Matt Lashoff #49

The Beginning: He was was drafted #22 overall (1st round) by the Boston Bruins in the 2005 entry draft. Lashoff played 3 seasons in the OHL with the Kitchener Rangers and then in the 2006-2006 season played for the Providence Bruins. He has played 46 games with Boston since being drafted, has recorded 1 goal and been a -7. His first NHL goal was scored on Dec 31 2007 against the Atlanta Thrashers. He was named to the AHL all-rookie team in 06/07. He was traded to the Lightning at the trade deadline with Martins Karsums in the exchange for Mark Recchi and a 2nd round draft pick.

How much does he cost? $685, 000, he's an RFA this year.

What will he bring? Born September 29, 1986 in East Greenbush, NY. He's 6'2" and 204 lbs. He a 22 year old defenceman with a left handed shot. Like any young defencemen he still makes mistakes. He's supposed to a good all around player that skate well and has an offensive upside.

He sounds like he has top 4 potential, and with the opportunity to play in Tampa at the NHL level, it should improve his game. He is still young, and has room to improve, but did we notice how young our blue line is getting?

Interesting Facts?

-He has a younger brother named Brian Lashoff who is also a defenceman.

-He got a scholarship to go to Boston University, but decided instead to play in the OHL

He's not very interesting according to the internet, this was as much as I could find, these young guys with uninteresting lives are killing me.

Possible Nicknames?

1. Lash-on....Lash-off!!