Lightning News

Lightning Trade Halpern for Purcell, 3rd
03/03/2010 - 1:33pm

The Lightning have traded veteran forward Jeff Halpern to the Los Angeles Kings for young winger Ted Purcell and Florida's third round pick.

An accomplished scorer in the minors, Purcell has been somewhat of an inconsistent prospect in the NHL thus far, with three goals and three assists in 41 games so far this year on a stacked Kings squad. He had 16 points (4 goals) in 40 games with the Kings a season ago.

Janus, Parrish Switch Places, Bochenski on Re-Entry Waivers
03/01/2010 - 11:18am

(Norfolk Admirals release) The Tampa Bay Lightning, NHL parent club of the Admirals, have reassigned goaltender Jaroslav Janus to the Admirals and have recalled forward Mark Parrish from the Admirals, Lightning Executive Vice President and General Manager Brian Lawton announced today.

(Update: TSN's Bob McKenzie reports Admirals winger Brandon Bochenski is now on re-entry waivers.)

In addition, the Admirals have released goaltender Matt Lundin from his Professional Tryout Contract (PTO).

Lightning to Pursue Koshechkin?
01/25/2010 - 8:33am

There was a little pearl in Erik Erlendsson's blog post about Dustin Tokarski being returned to Norfolk and Riku Helenius being assigned to Sodertalje of the Elitserien. The Lightning are apparently intersted in once again making an attempt to sign Russian star goaltender Vasily Koshechkin, who is currently playing for Magnitogorsk in the KHL. Koshechkin, a mammoth 6'6" netminder who was an 8th round pick in 2002, has 14 shutouts over the past two seasons, and arguably has been the best netminder in Russia over the past four seasons. The Lightning made multiple attempts to sign Koshechkin when Jay Feaster was the team's GM, but Koshechkin always chose to remain in Russia. Will Koshechkin, who turns 27 in March, now try his hand at the best hockey league in the world?

The post also mentions the possibility of Karri Ramo returning from Omsk of the KHL as well. Ramo has one more year remaining on his deal with Avangard, but he has an NHL out clause for a signing window this summer. It is believed Koshechkin will be a free agent this summer after he signed with Magnitogorsk earlier this year when his original deal with his longtime club Togliatti was voided after Lada couldn't meet payroll on multiple occassions.

Lightning Return James Wright to WHL; Claim Nate Thompson Off Waivers
01/21/2010 - 3:03pm

Steve Ewen of the Dub Hub is reporting that forward James Wright has been reassigned to his junior team, the Vancouver Giants of the WHL. From the Dub Hub phone interview with Wright, "I'm disappointed to be sent home. Any hockey player is disappointed when he doesn't make the team. But I'm going to try to keep a good head on my shoulders and play hard. They [Lightning] need to make the playoffs and this it the route they're going and it's hard for me but I do understand." Wright doesn't turn 20 until March 24th, so he is currently ineligible to be assigned to the Norfolk Admirals.

Earlier today, the Bolts claimed LW/C Nate Thompson off of waivers from the New York Islanders. Thompson, a 2003 6th round pick of the Boston Bruins signed a three-year entry level contract with the Bruins in 2005, but was claimed off waivers by the Islanders in October 2008. This past summer the Islanders resigned Thompson to a one-year contract.

Bolts Recall Dustin Tokarski to Tampa
01/14/2010 - 2:05pm

TAMPA BAY, Fla. – The Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled goaltender Dustin Tokarski (toh-KAHR-skee) from the Norfolk Admirals, Lightning Executive Vice President and General Manager Brian Lawton announced today. This is the rookie netminder’s first career National Hockey League recall.

Tokarski, 20, is a 5-foot-11, 185-pound goaltender out of Watson, Saskatchewan. He has posted a 12-13-0 record with two shutouts, a 2.68 goals-against average and .911 save percentage in his first 25 professional games with the Admirals this season. He turned aside 28 shots last night to help Norfolk defeat the Hershey Bears 4-3 at Scope.

Tokarski was drafted by the Lightning in the fifth round (122nd overall) in 2008. He won the 2006 Canadian Midget National Championship with the Prince Albert Mintos, was MVP of the 2008 Memorial Cup with the Western Hockey League’s Spokane Chiefs, and won the gold medal at the 2009 World Junior Championships for Team Canada.

Lightning Place Blair Jones on Waivers; Karsums Clears
01/11/2010 - 12:13pm

Bob McKenzie of TSN is reporting via Twitter that the Tampa Bay Lightning have placed prospect forward Blair Jones on waivers. BoltProspects assumes that Jones has been waived for purposes of reassignment to the Norfolk Admirals. Jones had recently been criticized by head coach Rick Tocchet as not being opportunistic with potential scoring chances over the last few games, despite bringing a physical and energetic role to the Tampa frontline.

McKenzie is also reporting that prospect forward Martins Karsums has cleared waivers, but his destination at the moment is uncertain. It has been speculated by some in the local Tampa media that Karsums was on waivers as a precursor to his returning to Europe, but with Jones being place on waivers it would seem that perhaps Karsums will be recalled to the Lightning.

Stay tuned to continued developments as this story unfolds.

Bolt Prospects 2009-2010 Midterm Rankings
01/21/2010 - 10:07am

It's roughly the midpoint of the NHL season, and with the graduations of prospects James Wright and Victor Hedman, and the conclusion of the U20 World Junior Championships, it's time for Bolt Prospects to release its 2009-2010 Midterm Rankings. The Midterm Rankings reflect a significant amount of change for the club, as it has been a year where the team's prospects haven't stuck to the script. Some players have failed to live up to expectations. Other have come out of nowhere to raise their stock. The end result is one of the widest shifts in rankings we've ever had.

Lightning Recall Blair Jones
12/15/2009 - 12:00pm

TAMPA BAY, Fla. – The Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled center Blair Jones from the Norfolk Admirals, Lightning Executive Vice President and General Manager Brian Lawton announced today.

Jones, a 6-foot-3, 215-pound native of Central Butte, Saskatchewan, has appeared in two games for the Lightning this season. In those games, he has recorded one shot on goal and averaged 12:43 in ice time per game. Jones has played in 26 career NHL games with the Lightning, recording a goal and three points. He was originally selected by Tampa Bay in the fourth round (102nd overall) of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.

Blair Jones Recalled to Tampa
12/04/2009 - 11:18am

TAMPA BAY, Fla. – The Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled center Blair Jones from the Norfolk Admirals, Lightning Executive Vice President and General Manager Brian Lawton announced today.

Jones, a 6-foot-3, 215-pound native of Central Butte, Saskatchewan, led the Admirals in assists, was second in points and was tied for third in goals. The fourth-year pro had six goals and 13 assists while appearing in all 25 games so far for the Admirals in 2009-10. His recall will end a stretch of 155 consecutive games played for Norfolk – the second-longest consecutive games played streak in AHL Admirals history.

Jones’ recall comes on the heels of a spectacular month of November. In November, Jones was tied for second in the American Hockey League in points (16), was second in plus/minus (+11), was fourth in assists (11) and was tied for 20th in goals (5).

Last season, Jones set career highs with 20 goals, 34 assists and 54 points in all 80 games. He ranked second in scoring, fourth in goals, second in assists and tied for second in power play goals (8) with Norfolk in 2008-09. He also established a new AHL Admirals franchise record with 271 shots on goal, ranking third in the American Hockey League.

Lundin Back with Lightning
11/25/2009 - 10:08am

(Norfolk Admirals release) The Tampa Bay Lightning, NHL parent club of the Norfolk Admirals, have recalled defenseman Mike Lundin from the Admirals, Lightning Executive Vice President and General Manager Brian Lawton announced today.