Lightning waive captain Andreychuk (Really, they did)
TSN.ca Staff with files
1/10/2006 12:09:25 PM
The Tampa Bay Lightning have waived team captain Dave Andreychuk.
If Andreychuk clears waivers, he will be assigned to the AHL's Springfield Falcons. Andreychuk would not be required to report to the team and could opt to retire and claim the money owed to him in his contract. The 23-year NHL veteran signed a two-year deal with the Lightning in August.
In all honesty I lost alot of resect (if there was any there to begin with) for the Lightning organization. First the rumor appears and they deny it in the press. Then they in fact carry through with it less than a week later.......classy.
I don't know what the big deal is. I pretty much guarantee the Lightning organization (i.e. Feaster, etc.) had extensive talks with Andreychuk before making this move public. Everything that is being said is being said with class and dignity. The guy is 42 and is not playing up to the standards set by the new NHL. Of course, if the Lightning had an NHL caliber goaltender things might have been different...
I don't know what the big deal is. I pretty much guarantee the Lightning organization (i.e. Feaster, etc.) had extensive talks with Andreychuk before making this move public. Everything that is being said is being said with class and dignity. The guy is 42 and is not playing up to the standards set by the new NHL. Of course, if the Lightning had an NHL caliber goaltender things might have been different...
I still think the situation could have been handled alot better. I think the organization should have kept him on the roster until the end of the season. Then they could buy-out his remaining year and if he wanted to continue playing hockey he would have the choice of where he wanted to play. Tamba Bay is still classless in my opnion.
I still think the situation could have been handled alot better. I think the organization should have kept him on the roster until the end of the season. Then they could buy-out his remaining year and if he wanted to continue playing hockey he would have the choice of where he wanted to play. Tamba Bay is still classless in my opnion.
I think Tubby is on to something. We don't know if Tampa was trying to persuade Andreychuk to retire gracefully, so that they don't have to do it publicly in such manner. Who knows, maybe Andreychuk wouldn't cooperate, basically telling them "I'm not retiring, if you want to get rid of me, waive me!" So they did.
I don't know what the big deal is. I pretty much guarantee the Lightning organization (i.e. Feaster, etc.) had extensive talks with Andreychuk before making this move public. Everything that is being said is being said with class and dignity. The guy is 42 and is not playing up to the standards set by the new NHL. Of course, if the Lightning had an NHL caliber goaltender things might have been different...
Exactly. They didn't waive him off a fantasy team after thinking about it for an hour... They evaluated Shovel's poor play (all year) and made the best move for the organ-I-zation. Feaster obviously spoke with Dave about his contract before the news was made public. Yes, he's a popular player, but a good GM can make those tough decisions. If you've seen Tampa Bay play this year, you'd have to agree that it was a "Brett Hull situation" there with Andreychuck - as is the case w/ about 5-6 other distinguished veterans who are hanging on by a thread (cough *Chelios* cough).
They offered to honour his contract - for this entire year - even if he were to clear waivers, fer cryin out loud. Would it be more "classy" to have dead weight skate around for 3 minutes a game for the Lightning's remining 40 games, making a mockery of Andreychuck's contribution?
While having Dave on the team at his salary might be just a little over the top seeing the team ice the two highest scoring leftwingers in NHL history follow one another onto the ice would be something to write home about. If Dave actually retires it will cement Luc as the uncontested no. 1 leftie of all time. There was some doubt about this, in my mind at least, if Dave had had a blitzkrieg (ie Lightning-war) year.
He knows where to stand in the offensive zone, That's for sure. He's a charactor guy. Has size. Shovel is a great nickname. He might be able to teach lil' Georgy Paros something. Not saying we should, but as long as we aren't gonna see Val Bure we might as well consider using that dough on Andreychuk. A little over the top, I know, but that is one hell of a warrior. Future Hall of Famer.
