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Like T-Ruff said... Panthers are playing with house money here. I was in the building last night when they clinched the division... that was as riled up as I've seen Panthers fans in some time. For a franchise that is typically apathetic at best, I think the players will ride the energy of the fans and their first playoff appearance since 2000... 'Cats in seven.

Is this a national Versus game or will VS show Pittsburgh/Montreal?

Yes, definitely. I hope these are made soon... I have a feeling they would become a fan favorite.

Does anybody know which feed will be used for the NHL Network (US) tonight?

My second-favorite has to be the Tampa Bay Lightning. I was always a fan of how "90's" they were growing up and now that I've relocated to Florida, it's nice to have a local team to cheer for (and it sure beats the hell out of cheering for the Panthers). I did like the Avs when they first came into the league due to: 1) the respect from our defeat in '96, 2) joe sakic, 3) those jerseys.

Is this offer still good? I'm from Palm Beach and I might like to go down with a couple of buddies.

Tampa just signed defenseman Andrew Hutchinson to a two year (one-way) deal. It's a smaller move, but it will ultimately help out in terms of depth. They also finally have Evgeny Artyukhin back from two years in Russia (his deal is two years, 1.9 mil), which will be a nice addition. They're talking about pairing Recchi on the third line with Jeff Halpern and Gary Roberts, which means things will look similar to this: Prospal-Lecavalier-St. Louis Malone-Stamkos-Vrbata Roberts-Halpern-Recchi Hall-Craig-Artyukhin Jussi Jokinen will be most likely traded, along with Michael Ouellet, potentially (if not, slide Ouellet into the 4th line). Defensively, there are still moves to be made (like the trading of Jokinen or Ouellet to bring in some more D), but with Carle, Kuba, Ranger, Hutchinson, O'Brien, Picard, and Lundin, this will allow Wishart/Smaby/etc to stay in the minors for a season. Tampa Bay should be fine this season. Koules predicted that the Lightning will win the division this season and I believe it too. Their defense will not be horrible (especially when you consider that the now-traded Lukowich wasn't even gonna be a top-7 defenseman this season) and the offense will be better than normal. Also, because the Lightning finished dead last, they'll get the first go at waivers, which could potentially mean bringing in Darryl Sydor or Bryan McCabe.

Scary, right? Hopefully it will prove to be an upgrade in the future.... who knows.

Actually it looks like the prospect is Ty Wishart, one of San Jose's top defensive prospects. He was planning on going to camp this fall to try and make the Sharks, which means he will DEFINITELY have a shot with Tampa Bay. This aspect of the deal makes me really happy now.

Dan Boyle loves Tampa and is loved down here in return. He is currently building a house in the area... his wife is from Tampa... etc etc. The hot rumor was that he would only accept a trade to Ottawa (logic being that Tampa is close to the wife's family and Ottawa is where his family is), but apparently that was not the case (Ottawa didn't have much to offer besides Meszaros anyway). Bottom line though, this was purely a cap move. He will be making nearly 7 mil for the next six years, which was too much for the new ownership's liking. I think Boyle is a great defenseman, but I think the Lightning did the right thing in shipping him off while the goods were hot-- once Dan is 38, that deal might not look nearly as good. Now the Bolts are back under the cap and have room to work with. They get Carle (I would've preferred Ehrhoff) and it looks like the prospect is Devin Setoguchi (SJ's first rounder in '05). The defense will most likely shape up like this: Carle-Kuba (I really wish they would've traded Kuba too... he's not worth his salary) Ranger-O'Brien Lundin-Picard? I can live with the first two pairings (I am a fan of Paul Ranger and I think Shane O'Brien is underrated), but that third pairing scares the death out of me.

This is a great signing for the Bolts.... it gives them stability in net and will inevitably make Mike Smith better. Now, only defense needs to be addressed (and by this, I mean not trading Dan Boyle to clear up cap space).

Tampa will be fun to watch this season. As a Wings fan in Florida, I most closely support the Lightning (Panthers are closer, but I know more people from the Gulf coast and that makes watching them easier). Sure they don't have defense and Mike Smith is probably the biggest question mark on that team, but they won't lack offense and I think that will be huge down here. I refuse to call hockey fans down here 'uneducated', but it's alot harder for non-hockey fans to understand a great defensive team. The offense will provide some highlights, and I would be lying if I said I wasn't thinking about purchasing a half-season ticket plan (for a couple hundred bucks, no less). And also, rumors from the Lightning message board have Tampa Bay putting the finishing touches on a deal with Olaf Kolzig

Can anybody zip those files from myspace (for those of us who aren't members and can't download them) and post them?? Those were some great songs!

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