Gamble Fails

(Tampa) - When Gm Sprackman made a trade earlier this season to get young goalie Kari Lehtonen, he did so thinking Jari Hurme could carry the team with the strong defence. It is a mistake to think that now. The team is losing and losing very bad every night they play. The latest was a 6-1 loss to the Leafs and right now sit 2nd last in the conference.To make matters worse is the fact they can not win a game at home, going 2-7-1 so far this season. The fans are still coming out but with every loss, a few fans decide to stay away and do other things in the Tampa area.
Thibault hasn't done that well in NY but he has some wins and the team is playing better then the Bolts at this time of the year. With 24 games gone, the Lightning have to really start playing better and get some wins in the book. A quick look at the team and you can see minus players everywhere so the goaltending might be weak but the players have to play better in front of them.
The Gm has tried for weeks now to get more players into the line up. Lemieux has asked to be traded to a contender and Gm Sprackman has tried to accomodate his request. Fact of the matter is, the offers haven't been very good and rather weaken the team with sub par offers, Gm Sprackman is ready to have him play his final year (possibly) with the Lightning. Same can be said for Svehla, who has been vocal about moving to a team that has a chance in the playoffs. Gm Sprackman said he doesn't want to trade the great Dman but if an offer came around, he would pull the trigger. Little used Nylander and Weight have placed on the block also, and Gm Sprackman will make some more moves this season, especially if they continue to struggle, but he isn't going to pushed into a trade.