Tampa names Award winners

(Tampa) - Lightning have completed a turmoil season with a 1st round exit to the New York Islanders. After the last game was over, Gm Sprackman stated he would sit down with the coaches and decide what moves have to be made for next season and come up with team awards. Gm Sprackman was delighted that the team made the playoffs and with a bit of rebuilding going on this season, it was a bonus.

As for team rewards, the coaching staff had no problems picking the MVP. Milan Hejduk was the easily the best player the team had this year. He lead the team in scoring and was the most consistent player on the team. He led the team in goals, assists and points with 36 goals, 57 assists and 93 points. If he didn't show up this season, Tampa would surely have been way down in the standings.

Best defenceman for the team was none other then team Captain Pavel Kubina. He led all Dman on the team in goals, assists and points with 14 goals, 47 assists and 61 points. He once again showed why he is the Captain and will be for some time.

Tampa didn't dress any rookies so there was no real candidate but Lehtonen was a 12 game winnner in limited action and is one of the youngsters brought in to help the team in the future.

Goalie of the year would go to Hurme due to the amount of time he played. After Thibault was deal, he stepped in and finished with 23 wins and .881 save percentage.

+/- winner for the team was Marc Savard who ended the season with a +9 overall. Again, another strong year for the center and with Lemieux gone, will take over as the #1 center next season.

Goon of the year was awarded to Matt Cullen with his 193 Pim's. It was a big battle with him and Vaananen but with Ossi traded, Cullen took over the role. Only problem with that is the fact he was the #2 center behind Savard, so not someone the team wanted to throw the punches around.

Junior player of the year went to Marian Havel who had 31 goals, 38 assists and 69 points on a team that didn't really play until the final 2 weeks of the season. He will be looked upon more next season and this was a great start to hopefully more great seasons from Marian.

Well, after a tough season and many players moved, Gm Sprackman looks to the off season. A few players will need to be resigned, including all 4 top Dmen, Satan, Hejduk and Lehtonen to name a few. It will be a busy off season and maybe more changes will come with spots open on the team.