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Tampa Bay Lightning
Location: Tampa, Fla. | Arena: St. Pete Times Forum (19,758) | Coach: Barry Melrose | Stanley Cups: 1
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Lightning report: Inside shots
The Lightning have undergone an extreme makeover, hockey edition. After being aggressive in free agency at the start of July, Tampa Bay owners Oren Koules and Len Barrie turned up the heat as the summer has progressed. And the turnover on Tampa Bay's roster isn't done yet. The biggest splash so far came when defenseman Dan Boyle was traded to San Jose along with fellow blueliner Brad Lukowich on July 4 in exchange for defenseman Matt Carle, former No. 16 pick overall in 2006 defenseman Ty Wishart along with a first-round pick in 2009 and a fourth-round pick in 2010. The trade, which came five months after Boyle signed a six-year contract extension worth $40 million, didn't come without controversy as Boyle said after the deal that he was pushed into waiving his no-trade clause by the new ownership group with threats of being placed on waivers. The sweeping changes the team has undergone since the start of July also caught general manager Jay Feaster, who negotiated a buy-out on the final three years of his contract and offered his resignation on July 11. Feaster spent 10 years with the Lightning, first as assistant general manager starting in 1998 under Jacques Demers then Rick Dudley before taking over the general manager role in February of 2002. Feaster was at the helm when the team won the Stanley Cup in 2004. Even with all the changes the team has made, more are in store. As of July 17, the Lightning have 16 forwards on one-way contracts on the roster -- not including overall No. 1 pick Steven Stamkos, who is expected to center the second line -- as well as eight defensemen. And of the eight defenseman, only Filip Kuba has more than three years of experience at the NHL level. With an excess of forwards and a glut of inexperienced blueliners, Tampa Bay continues to work the phone lines to find a balance between the two positions. Copyright (C) 2008 The Sports Xchange. All Rights Reserved.
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