SB Nation Tampa Bay: All Posts by John Fontana

2013 NHL Eastern Conference Semifinals: The ghosts of playoffs past

2013-05-23T18:13:00Z

You've likely heard already, but if you haven't: former Tampa Bay Lightning center Brad Richards (now playing for the New York Rangers) will be a healthy scratch for tonight's Eastern Conference Semifinal matchup between the Rangers and the Boston Bruins; an elimination game where the Rangers must win.

Rangers head coach John Tortorella not starting an integral member of his team with the club on the brink of playoff elimination might seem like a huge mistake, it might read as pomposity or arrogance or outright suicidal stupidity on John's part (and everyone knows gruff Tortorella is stubborn, win or lose). The thing is, he's done it before, and it nearly paid off too.

Just a few miles from where the Rangers and Bruins will play tonight was where it took place; what was known as Continental Airlines Arena in the swamps of Jersey. Ten years ago, the Tampa Bay Lightning was playing game 5 of their own Eastern Conference Semifinal series against the New Jersey Devils and trailed 3 games to 1.

It wasn't Brad Richards scratched from that affair, or Martin St. Louis, or Vincent Lecavalier, nor Fredrik Modin, Dave Andreychuk, Tim Taylor, Dan Boyle or Pavel Kubina. It wasn't one of the Bolts skaters who were sitting. No, it was goalie Nikolai Khabibulin who was assigned the backup role behind the guy who had backed him up most of the season, John Grahame.

It didn't prevent elimination of the Lightning by the Devils, the eventual Stanley Cup Champions of 2003, but the Bolts (and Grahame especially) fought tooth and nail to stave off inevitability.

That game went to overtime, that game went beyond overtime... It wasn't until 11:12 of the third overtime that Grahame faltered and the Lightning ultimately conceded the series. Grahame made 46 saves on 48 shots during that marathon, arguably playing the game of his career in the process.

It was a Tortorella gamble for sure; as Khabby was the all-world netminder the Lightning had obtained in late 2001. Khabibulin was the workhorse for the club, playing in 135 of 164 games over the course of his first two full seasons in Tampa.

And to have him sit out game 5? Unspeakable, unheard of. Of course he didn't like it... But it happened. And of course fans questioned John Tortorella's decision, but the team was 5-5 in the playoffs (having swept the Washington Capitals in the first round) and Khabibulin needed to raise his game (he had a .913 save percentage and 2.42 GAA in the NHL playoffs).

Perhaps Tortorella's message was longer-term and not simply trying to prolong the series against the Devils; players would have to perform above and beyond in crucial situations or all was for naught. Mediocrity is unacceptable and playing it safe is death. The Lightning would heed that message next season, pushing all the way to Stanley Cup glory.

Torts might not be afforded the chance to make this a long-term message (if it is one) for the Rangers roster. With an underwhelming offense during the regular and post-season, Torts is already on the hot seat among Ranger fans and possibly team execs too.

This isn't an unheard of move by Tortorella though. What it does for the Rangers tonight will be determined after the puck drops at Madison Square Garden.

How to resurrect a hockey franchise in 402 days

2013-05-22T18:58:01Z

A couple of years ago, our former colleague on SB Nation highlighted the rapid decline of the Tampa Bay Lightning at the box office. James Mirtle, formerly of From The Rink and now at the Globe and Mail, showed the freefall (month to month) of the Bolts under the leadership of former owners OK (Not Really) Hockey.

The 2007-08 season was a low point for the Lightning on the ice, but attendance was still quite strong in spite of that - the Lightning drew an average attendance of 18,692 for the season. That's 94.6 percent of the arena's then-capacity of 19,758.

I make the comparison to 2007-08 because of the mire of this past season's team performance as well as the fact the Lightning were near-capacity at the Tampa Bay Times Forum for the duration of the 2013 season. Arena capacity is now 19,205 (having been reduced during the building renovation in 2011) and the season average attendance was 19,055, or 99.2 percent of building capacity. That was good enough to rank the Bolts 8^th in the league in average home attendance.

Since owner Jeff Vinik purchased the Lightning, attendance has rebounded as such:

Season	Attendance Average	% of Capacity	League rank
2010-2011*	17,268*	87.4*	18th
2011-2012	18,468	96.2	13th
2013	19,055	99.2	8^th

Average totals	18,264	94.2	13th
*denotes arena capacity was 19758 at the time

Of course, these numbers are the dubious "inflated" numbers of tickets sold - not turnstile, butts-in-seats attendance data. Another point to mention is that the franchise stopped reporting on the Forum going beyond sellout capacity. While the official capacity for the Forum is 19,205, the building's max capacity hovers likely somewhere above 21,000.

What you can take from the chart leading into this story is a direct contrast to what James Mirtle was reporting in December 2009. The data, starting where Mirtle left off, shows the obvious growth trend and stabilization that's taken place after Vinik took control of the team on March 3^rd, 2010.

Is this a testament about solid ownership? Perhaps; perhaps it's an endorsement of how Leiweke, Steve Griggs and the rest of the executive staff under Vinik run the business and inspire fan investment through attending games. Perhaps it's a vote of confidence in the stewardship of the hockey team under GM Steve Yzerman?

I'd like to think it's more likely a positive reflection on Tampa Bay as a hockey market. The OK Hockey era of mismanagement and other bad memories tied to it was an anomaly, an aberration, for the overall welfare of the sport of hockey and the NHL in Tampa Bay.

Syracuse Crunch goalie Riku Helenius set to return from Finland

2013-05-22T02:47:12Z

It's been almost two months. The AHL regular season waned and ended for the Syracuse Crunch and seven playoff games are now in the can.

Over that time span, Cedrick Desjardins has become not just the starter for the Syracuse Crunch but the workhorse and last resort. While he has Pat Nagle backing him up in net, Nagle has not seen much playing time at all - 97 minutes during the regular season, posting a 3.70 GAA and a .875 save percentage.

Indeed, it's been almost two months... But news started spreading Monday and then continued Tuesday that goalie Riku Helenius should be making his North American return in the immediate future.

Helenius, 25, has been playing his first season in North America since 2009-10. His stats have mirrored the sub-par efforts by goalies in the Tampa Bay Lightning organization in general this season (a 2.52 GAA and .900 save percentage), but Riku has been distracted (to say the least) by personal matters back in his native Finland. Before his departure from Syracuse on April 6^th, Helenius had previously left the Crunch in mid December, likely to spend the holidays with his ailing mother.

What kind of difference will Helenius' presence make for the Crunch in the playoffs? That's unknown. Perhaps it will just be a morale boost for the Crunch to have their teammate back with them? That's a powerful motivator.

It really depends on Helenius' shape on his return and how he performs in practice. I expect Cedrick Desjardins to remain between the pipes for the Crunch regardless of Helenius' status... But Riku could end up serving as Desjardins backup again if he's in shape and shows that he is ready to return to playing.

The Crunch finds out Wednesday night who they will face in the AHL's Eastern Conference Finals; the Providence Bruins face the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the decisive game 7.

A sign of support

2013-05-22T00:40:55Z

I'm trying to rally the troops a bit here as a show of support. Well, not HERE specifically, but in reality to a player personally.

You may or may not have heard the news, but goalie Riku Helenius is supposed to be returning to the United States shortly. That may not seem like news, but why he departed the Syracuse Crunch in early April is why this is relevant. Helenius, who also left the team earlier in the season for personal reasons, was taking care of his ill mother. It was learned today that Helenius' mother had passed away.

What I'd like to do is encourage people - Syracuse Crunch fans, Tampa Bay Lightning fans, etc -- to send letters of support or sympathy to Helenius (care of the Crunch) so they are waiting for him upon his return to War Memorial.

Why? Because we're part of his family, his hockey family. And it's important that we're there for him, like it's important that his teammates are there for him on his return.

If you'd like to send Helenius a note of sympathy or support, you can send it to:

Riku Helenius
c/o Jim Sarosy
Syracuse Crunch Hockey Club
800 South State Street
Syracuse, NY 13202

If you'd like to participate, you're not expected to send much... Just a token of support, thoughts, prayers.

I'm trying to rally the troops a bit here as a show of support. Well, not HERE specifically, but in reality to a player personally.

Why? Because we're part of his family, his hockey family. And it's important that we're there for him, like it's important that his teammates are there for him on his return.

If you'd like to send Helenius a note of sympathy or support, you can send it to:

Riku Helenius
c/o Jim Sarosy
Syracuse Crunch Hockey Club
800 South State Street
Syracuse, NY 13202

If you'd like to participate, you're not expected to send much... Just a token of support, thoughts, prayers.

Tampa Bay civic bids for sporting events; does that include hockey?

2013-05-21T18:33:26Z

It's a common story, maybe an annual story at that - the Tampa Bay Times talking about the Super Bowl and the local group placing a bid to host the big game each year. In this instance, Tuesday morning, the Times highlighted the fact Tampa Bay wasn't even invited to submit a bid for Super Bowl L and LI.

The Super Bowl brings with it a large amount of attention nationally and internationally; a day wasted by broadcasters who seek to rival the game and a day where citizenry uninterested in the game can't escape it. Tampa Bay making a pitch to host the grand finale of the NFL season is a pitch for tourist dollars more than for the glory of the teams playing in the game.

The focus is on football, though. How about the other sports in town?

You don't hear about deliberate, focused pitches by power brokers here in the area/region (big shots in government and private industry) trying to secure baseball's mid-summer night classic, the All-Star Game. Of course, there are local politics and Major League Baseball politics that are preventing that. Bud Selig and MLB despise Tropicana Field (and the lack of fan support) and want a publicly financed replacement stadium constructed before such a grand event will be awarded to the Tampa/St. Petersburg market.

You know that (a new stadium) is a non-starter; the Rays have a lease at Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster has no intention of allowing the Rays to break it in any way, shape or form. So the MLB All-Star Game and the events tied to it are not a possibility any time soon.

Then there's the NCAA men's and women's basketball Final Four. Tampa Bay has hosted early rounds of action before with mixed results, it's also hosted the women's Final Four event at Times Palace in 2008. In 1998, fresh on the heels of renovating Tropicana Field for the Rays first season (...and on the tail end of the meteorological event known as El Niño), Tampa Bay hosted what was largely regarded as a disastrous men's Final Four at the Trop, where floors flooded in the building and visiting fans were made aware just how spread out the Tampa Bay region is.

Tampa Bay will likely continue to make bids for college basketball events like these in the future. College pride is part of what's behind it, tourism dollars as well, and the politics of the locals...

And then there's hockey...

You don't hear about these grand proposals so often, nor do they make the newspaper outside the sports section. Sometimes you read little asides in team beat reporting that the Lightning franchise has placed a bid to host All-Star Game, or the NHL Draft; two marquee events that draw in an International audience and tourists to boot.

You don't hear about a specific committee devoted to landing those events. You don't hear about local hoteliers embracing the idea of hosting such grand events (and the visitors they bring). It's hockey. It's an afterthought in the good-ole-boy network.

I'm not saying it doesn't happen; it's easier for me to suggest that than to shed light on the movers and shakers (after the Tampa Bay Lightning franchise itself) behind pitches for the NHL's league-wide events. It just feels like there isn't a coordinated push locally to land either event. There had been a larger push to land the NCAA men's Frozen Four event held at Times Palace in 2012. I haven't seen talk of a pitch for a future Frozen Four yet, but with the last event having just happened, that's not unexpected.

Back to the NHL all-star game and / or draft: Last week, Michael Yormark (President of the Florida Panthers) went to the Broward County Commission to plead for a handout for a new scoreboard at BB&T Center arena in Sunrise. The Panthers had been promised an All-Star Game or a Draft if they upgraded their obsolete scoreboard at center ice. After the county commission shamed Yormark, they voted in favor of the handout.

The promise of future events weren't on docket, but the influence of the promise likely was a guiding factor in the move. Almost $5 million will go to a new scoreboard, and the building will get to host a marquee event by 2016 because of it.

Meanwhile, Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik has thrown how many millions of dollars into the renovation of the Tampa Bay Times Forum? The major upgrade saw the building have a $35 million overhaul, the new scoreboard lofted that total to $40 million, and yet there have been more investments immediately preceding the 2010-11 season to the building. Without exact dollar figures, it's not wrong to assume Vinik has spent more than $45 million or more on the building.

Money invested by Vinik himself without a carrot being dangled in front of him by the league, to a building owned by Hillsborough County.

I realize there is a big difference between bidding for the Super Bowl (where only a select few cities are candidates to host) and an annual, league-hosted event open to just about every building in the league. Whatever the case, I sure hope local civic leaders and businesses are ready to step up and get Vinik's back should the Lightning make another pitch for hosting an All-Star or Draft event.

It might not be the Super Bowl but it's still an economic draw that's worth a unified push from the area.

Syracuse Crunch defenseman Brian Lee is out for the remainder of the AHL playoffs

2013-05-20T20:21:44Z

The Syracuse Crunch waits to find out who their opposition will be in the AHL's Eastern Conference Finals (game 6 of the semifinal series between Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Providence is tonight, Providence leads 3-2). One thing they found out while idle is that defenseman Brian Lee is done for the season.

Lindsay Kramer reported that Lee is done for the playoffs, with an injury suffered on Friday night. It hasn't been disclosed just what the injury is or how it was sustained, but Lee is done.

The contest for who steps into the spot held by Lee begins immediately, and likely will be determined by how well the players perform in practice. Brendan Mikkelson, another defenseman that had been carried on the Lightning roster at the onset of the season, has been the guy stepping in lately when other defensemen can't go (Dimitry Korobov, for example, was out on Friday; Mikkelson replaced him in the lineup).

The big complication with that is the fact Mikkelson is not a right-handed shot; Brian Lee is.

If Syracuse coach Rob Zettler wants another right handed shot in the lineup to replace Lee, he may give Luke Witkowski a look-see, though there are other defensemen likely in front of Luke on the depth chart. Witkowski, who signed his entry level contract and joined the Crunch late in the season, has only played 3 games with Syracuse without registering a point. Likely it'll be Korobov and Mikkelson, though. [Note by John Fontana, 05/20/13 7:09 PM EDT ]So much as for that idea; the Crunch have released several from their Amateur Tryout Contracts, including Witkowski.

Lee has played a total of 18 games with Syracuse since his demotion (including the playoffs). He was -3 in 11 regular season games with the club, recording one assist over that time. He had played in all 7 Crunch playoff games without recording a point. Lee has a year left on his contract with the Lightning.

Quick strikes and links for Saturday, May 18th

2013-05-18T15:12:06Z

Maybe you've noticed over the past few days that Raw Charge and other sites on the SB Nation network have been having technical difficulties? They've been loading, but have been sporadic. Network issues had hit not only SB Nation but it's sister network sites - TheVerge.com and Polygon.com.

As of around 4:30 EDT this morning, those issues should be resolved, with thanks and praise to the Vox Media tech team who have been trying to remedy things for the majority of the week.

Tampa Bay Lightning News

Earlier this week, Martin St. Louis was nominated for the Lady Byng [Bolts by the Bay]
Bolt Prospects gives out a weekly "Prospect of the Week" award for the top player in the Lightning system (...below the NHL team level). This week, the accolade goes to three players and not just one [Bolt Prospects]

Syracuse Crunch News

The Crunch have swept their way into the Eastern Conference Finals [Syracuse.com]
Wanna see highlights? Clicky! Clicky! [YouTube Syracuse Crunch channel]
Syracuse has gone 7-0 in the playoffs thus far, which is an AHL record. The Lightning's AHL affiliate has swept the past four playoff series, dating back to last year's Norfolk Admirals [Syracuse.com]
Eric Neilsen should not look into a career as a lounge singer any time soon [Syracuse.com]
Alex does not approve of Chairman How's venting on fan turnout [Chairman How's Glorious Army]

NHL and General Hockey News

We mentioned the OHL grand finale playoff game was Monday night, and forgot to tell you the end result on Tuesday: The London Knights beat the Barrie Colts with a tenth of a second left in regulation. [Toronto Sun]
BB&T Center - aka the Litter Box in South Florida - is getting a new scoreboard...on the public dime. [Miami Herald]
The scandal with Mayor Rob Ford in Toronto has raised the spectacle that a prominent hockey analyst is a crackhead... In which case Battle of California points out five specific hockey analysts who could (or probably are) smoking crack [Battle of California]
Developer Bruce Ratner suggests the NHL would approve of the relocated Islanders to play six home games a season at Nassau Coliseum after they move to Brooklyn [Islanders Point Blank]
These 2013 NHL mock drafts are starting to get odd; either it's turning into anyone's-guess after the #1 pick, or people don't know much about organizational needs / wants. [DC Mock Draft Database]
The United States squares off with undefeated Switzerland today in the IIHF World Championships, here's a preview [The United States of Hockey]
The finalists for the Jack Adams Award (given to the top coach in the NHL) were announced yesterday. Mike Keenan, Ted Nolan and Terry Crisp were not among them. [SB Nation]
NBC is carrying today's Chicago Blackhawks / Detroit Red Wings playoff game... They are also carrying the Preakness Stakes later this afternoon. What happens if the game goes to overtime? Will it be pre-empted by horsies? [Steve Lepore Via Twitter]

AHL Eastern Semifinals Game 4: Syracuse Crunch (3) versus Springfield Falcons (2) game thread

2013-05-17T22:32:17Z


		Versus

	AHL Eastern Conference Semifinals Game Four Listen Live on The Fan 1260

Where: OnonDaga County War Memorial Arena, Syracuse, New York
When: 7:00 PM EDT
Media: 1260 AM (radio)

The Syracuse Crunch have the potential to close out the AHL Semifinal round tonight with a victory over the Springfield Falcons. Taking their dominant 3-0 series lead into tonight, the focus should be on the Top Gun line of Ondrej Palat, Tyrler Johnson and Richard Panik and their ability to score not only goals but many MANY goals.

Yet, that might not be the case.

The focus should be on Springfield's goalie situation too; can Curtis McElhinney find his center and his focus and stop a few Crunch shots on the way and bring the Falcons back into this series? Yeah, that drama is there too... That narrative is something to explore and examine as the game progresses, but it's not the focus... At least to some.

No, the focus is on attendance, where it shouldn't be.

Wednesday's shutout win for the Crunch drew a small crowd -- somewhere north of 3,200 for the 6,000+ seat War Memorial. No one would be making this a story if not for Howard Dolgon, Crunch owner, voicing his displeasure with the small crowd. He went off on a rant on Wednesday, post game, and continued to stand by it on Thursday.

That violated the most basic rules of running a public business - don't alienate your customers via criticism. Shaming fans will sooner compell people not to show up than to be shamed into buying more tickets that directly profit you.

I think Tampa Bay fans can relate to this? The Rays? The Bucs? Shame, shame... Yes, the Crunch product is akin to the Lightning of 2004 - a potential champion. The difference being this is the minor leagues in a college town that is smaller than the greater Tampa Bay metro area. That's not trying to criticise Syracuse as so much defend it.

Residents have lives outside of hockey and sports, and with fewer peoeple to draw from -- even playoff games won't always lure capacity crowds.

It's not liek the Crunch are at the bottom of the AHL in playoff attendance. Everyone is drawing small crowds. It's not something to get worked up over. It's also not something to shame your patrons over either.

But I digress. Gametime is 7 PM and I've ran long. Game on.