GDT: 2/24/13 - 7:30PM EDT - Tampa Bay @ Pittsburgh

[ThunderAlleyNomad]

Malone and a draft pick is a good start unless you really want to keep 4.5m tied up to a 3rd liner right now. And why can't we give up picks? Our prospect pool is deep right now. Connolly is a player that has great value, and based on the rumor from last week, seems like most people wouldn't mind him traded barring a good return for us.

Or do you suggests we wait 3-5 more years, hoping Lindback develops into a solid goalie then compete?

Bottom-line, we cannot get anywhere with this goaltending tandem, unlike last year, it's not mostly our defense's fault, and our offensive core is at it's best right now.

I'm not saying that it shouldn't be looked into. I'm not a big fan of complacency, but I'm thinking there is a fair amount of overreaction around this board lately. And a whole lot of "ooh looks shiny, I want that, give us that Stevie"

However, for the sake of arguement, let's play. Name me a goalie that you want Yzerman to target. And then what you think you would have to give up to get him.

Malone at this point isn't going anywhere unless he wants to. Unless you can convince the Pens or maybe the Avalanche that they want him, he likely won't waive. It will have to be the offseason. And then it's still limited to 6 teams of his choosing. With the cap going down and his injury history, not many teams are going to want that cap hit any more than we do. The very reasons that Lightning fans want to ditch him for are the same reasons he's probably here for awhile.

Connolly, maybe you could get something decent. I doubt if it would get you what you want with just him, but it might be a start to a package. I myself would rather keep him, but I understand I'm in the minority.

And I doubt it will take another 3-5 years for Lindback to develop anyway. The kid has the tools and the box to put them in. He just has to finish the job of doing it. Not really uncommon for a 23 yo goalie.

As far as our prospect pool being deep, well yes and no. We've got good forwards everywhere. Defense, not so much. It's better, but still thin. In addition, do you really want to trade away the #1 for this year?

 

[HoseEmDown]

In 3-5 years I fully expect Vasileskiy to be entrenched as our #1 goalie and we won't be having any controversies.

 

[Tampacuseforever]

I wouldn't be surprised if Malone gets bought out this off season.

 

[newham89]

I wouldn't be surprised if Malone gets bought out this off season.

I would, 20 goal scorers don't get bought out. Especially now that you can retain salary in trades. That would be horrible asset management if he was to go

 

[Vasilevskiy]

Can't wait until Vasilevski gets to the NHL and we have finally a real goalie.

Ride Garon for the moment, he deserves it

 

[LightningStrikes]

Gotta beat some of the good teams, too.

 

[HoseEmDown]

I wouldn't be surprised if Malone gets bought out this off season.

Just like Newham said I don't see that happening. He has some value unlike a Gomez or DiPietro so we could get something for him. His NTC decomes limited in the offseason so that makes it easier too. He would also be very attractive to a team like the Islanders because of the high cap hit but low salary.

 

[More 2004]

Cutting Malone would be Pejorative Slured. He does in fact have value. Just not a whole lot to us at this point.

 

[LightningStrikes]

cutting malone would be Pejorative Slured. He does in fact have value. Just not a whole lot to some fans at this point.

Fixed.

 

[jg39]

We need to give Malone a chance to return from injury. If you've ever played hockey with something in the lower body not working properly, it's miserable, and he may be thinking about it every shift regarding quick stops and turns, battles on the boards, etc. When Malone is healthy, he is a guy you absolutely want to have out there, creating traffic in front, dropping the gloves, putting the puck in the net, taking up for guys. With the team as soft as it is now, why would you get rid of aggressive, gritty players?

As for acquiring a "#1 goalie," I think we need to realize who we have in prospects. Who is a #1 available that wouldn't cause overpayment? Be aware that a full training camp will do our team wonders next season. I understand every team had a short TC, but with Lindback, Riku, Vasilevski, and to a lesser extent Cedrick, we may be able to find a goalie in house. They may not pan out, but you have to develop goalies at least occasionally. Pittsburgh, Detroit, LA, Chicago: free agent goalies, or drafted and developed goalies? You develop your starters, you use free agency for backups.

We don't need to blow up Syracuse, our 3rd line, or future drafts because our "50 starts in the NHL" goalie is playing a bit rough. Patience, Lightning fans. Nashville doesn't **** around with their goalies, so there is obviously something to this guy.

 

[The Macho King]

It's not that I don't think Lindback can be the guy, and I don't honestly think we should bring in a goalie. I do think the starting reins should be handed to Garon for the time being, and Lindback gets sheltered starts to build his confidence. We're too good to not put the best team on the ice as possible, and at the moment that does not include Lindback.

 

[Felonious Python]

Guy said before the season that he'd ride the hot goalie and if he's going to stick with what he said (which I'd recommend) then Garon right now is the starter.

This is something I would not tell the players though as Garon has that mental block when he feels he's the guy.

 

[jg39]

It's not that I don't think Lindback can be the guy, and I don't honestly think we should bring in a goalie. I do think the starting reins should be handed to Garon for the time being, and Lindback gets sheltered starts to build his confidence. We're too good to not put the best team on the ice as possible, and at the moment that does not include Lindback.

100% agree with this.

I have been to both TB @ Car games this year (coincidently enough, both of Garon's wins), and I said after the game Saturday that if Garon played every game like he does vs. Carolina, he should be starting. If you watched the game vs. Pit last night, the team played differently after he took the ice. Every goalie has rough patches, and just b/c Lindback played poorly doesn't mean his career with Tampa is in jeopardy.

 

[InjuredChoker]

I'll admit that Lindback has not been good...hell, he's been flat out awful at times...but I really think his problem is the coaching. I understand the Swiss league he played in wasn't anywhere near as good as the NHL, but he had amazing numbers over there on the WORST team in the league. I fail to see how he can go from that to this with no outside influences. I see the tools there for him, he's just got to get coached up a bit. The goaltending coaches job is to work the kinks out of the goalies games and make sure they are physically and mentally prepared for each game. With veterans like Garon and Roli, we didn't see this kind of thing affecting them too much. But a young guy like Anders? He's being ruined. Same thing will happen to Vasilevskiy when he gets here if we still have Frantz.

He played in Finnish Elite league.

And yes, obviously the competition level is lower though there were several NHLers playing there.. but he looked better there. Here, he has gotten steadily worse.

 

[MattM92]

He played in Finnish Elite league.

And yes, obviously the competition level is lower though there were several NHLers playing there.. but he looked better there. Here, he has gotten steadily worse.

Right, the Finnish league. I forgot which one he played in but I knew there were some NHLers there