Can Tampa do it without......?

Question

Andrew.........If Kolzig doesn't retire I actually think the Lightning should try and sign him for one year. Maybe he can teach Smith a little and help them.

Answer 1

i can see Kolzig on the Lightning next year. possibly Emery. Smith's a solid goalie, but i dont know if hes an every day get your team to the playoffs goalie. and they tries Ramo this year and he had a few good games, but i think hes still a ways away.

Answer 2

I think this entire question is moot, Mike Smith is not going to be the goalie, in the offseason the 3 main moves other than the draft are to secure a coach, get Lecavalier an extention, and then get a #1 Goalie.  Also, Khabi was that good but not great when we won in 04, he just had a great year and very very good playoffs...he is still so-so with the Blackhawks.

There are still Rumors that TBL could secure Huet (athough slim), Kolzig, I don't think they will touch Emery, and some others.  With Huet, or whatever goalie we pick up, I believe that we will have a good run in the next couple years...and Kari Ramo and Mike Smith will only improve to give solid backups that can take over if needed through the years

Answer 3

Tampa Bay needs a goalie.

Their is a lot of good goalies that are UFA's, they need one.

Answer 4

If you look at the three post lockout Stanley Cup champions. They all have had stellar goaltending throughout the playoffs. Carolina had Conn Smythe winner Cam Ward. Anaheim had J.S. Giguere, and Detroit was backed with stellar play by Chris Osgood. I'm not saying Tampa won't have a good regular season, and make much improvement, but in order to win the Cup again, they need a stud goaltender

Answer 5

mike smith is good. he is better then that marc andre fluery.

BOOM

Answer 6

Well I hope they dont go out and overspend on a SHAKY goalie like they did with Denis and Holmqvist. Thats for sure. I think if they can get a decent backup for a good price for a one or 2 year deal, they might want to do it. That way they can leave Ramo down in the minors a few years to polish his game.

Answer 7

they can go get kolzig

how about a goalie coach i wouldnt want him to stay in the same division and have to feel regret 8 or 6 times or however many times teams in the same division will play each other next year

NO NO NO IM  ONLY KIDDING!!!!

I think if they just give him some time he can turn out great, he had like 5 or 6 shutouts his first season i think if e can hold it together they will be fine.  At least untill they meet the caps they gonna get owned haha

Answer 8

They just drafted Dustin Tokarski. He's three years from being the number 1 prospect goalie in the NHL. He and Stamkos will lead them out of the doldrums.

Answer 9

Nope, just look what happened last year.  Although Mike has some great potential, he probably should be a backup netminder behind a veteran.  But who knows, he may have a break out season

Answer 10

you can take Manny Fernandez off our hands.....no seriously please

Answer 11

Mike Smith will not be able to be able save the Lightning behind the blue line. They need a veteran. They need Kolzig. If he is willing to take a paycut of course.

Answer 12

Hard to say how good or bad Mike Smith is. The defence in front of him can be brutal, making him look worse than he might actually be. Relying solely on a sputtering offence can get you a real good draft pick in a hurry. Have to think Tampa's brain trust at least considered passing on Stamkos in favour of one of the top defencemen who went 2 - 5.

Answer 13

Mike Smith and Karri Ramo will turn into strong goaltenders one day. Both are still relatively young. I'd look for Tampa to acquire a veteran goalie through FA to bring a knowledgeable presence to the young core of Smith/Ramo. These two can get the job done here, but bringing in a seasoned vet could really help their progressions.

KATE - I think I'd take Cujo out of that bunch.

Answer 14

Good question.

Truthfully I don't think goal tending is the main issue with the Lightning.  I think that it is on the blue line.  Dan Boyle cannot do it alone.  Goalies that have good teams playing in front of them typically play well.  Mike Smith actually played pretty well after he was traded to Tampa last year, despite not having a real solid defense in front of him.  I think that Tampa needs to bring in a solid blue liner or two.  If they do that, I think that will go a long ways on two fronts:

1) It obviously takes pressure off of the goalie.

2) It takes pressure off of the forwards to have to be in a sense of urgency mode all of the time.

Hope this helps!

James