The Tampa Bay Lightning made qualifying offers to nine players today, Executive Vice President and General Manager Brian Lawton announced. Players receiving offers were C Blair Jones, RW Martins Karums, D Lukas Krajicek, D Matt Lashoff, D Mike Lundin, G Karri Ramo, D Matt Smaby, LW Radek Smolenak and RW Lauri Tukonen.
Smaby, a 6-foot-5 native of Minneapolis, Minnesota, played in a career-high 43 games with the Lightning last season, averaging 19:05 in ice time per contest, also a career best. He ranked fourth on the team in hits with 122 and blocked shots with 68. Smaby has played in 57 career NHL games, all with Tampa Bay, recording four assists and 35 shots on goal.
Lashoff, a 6-2 native of East Greenbush, New York, played in 12 games with the Lightning last season after being acquired from the Boston Bruins with Karsums in exchange for Mark Recchi and a second-round choice in 2010. He set career highs in games played with 28, assists with eight and points with eight with Tampa Bay and Boston combined. Lashoff averaged 23:46 in ice time with the Lightning after being acquired, a significant increase after averaging 13:06 with the Bruins. He has played in 58 career NHL games, recording a goal and 15 points.
Krajicek, a 6-2 native of Prostejov, Czech Republic, played in 71 games with the Lightning last season, recording two goals and 19 points. He led all Tampa Bay defensemen in assists and points. Krajicek was second on the team in blocked shots with 90 and second among defensemen with 22 takeaways. He established career highs for assists, points and average ice time with 19:37. Krajicek has played in 278 career NHL games, registering 10 goals and 69 points.
Karsums, a 5-10 native of Riga, Latvia, played in 18 games with Tampa Bay after being acquired from the Bruins in the same trade as Matt Lashoff. He tallied a goal and five points with the Lightning, averaging 11:40 in ice time. Karsums finished the 2008-09 season strong with a goal and three points in the final five games. He has played in 24 career NHL games, all last season, with a goal and six points.
Lundin, a 6-2 native of Burnsville, Minnesota, played in 25 games with the Lightning last season, recording two assists. He also played in 51 games with the Norfolk Admirals of the American Hockey League, registering four goals and 29 points. A participant in the 2008 NHL Young Stars Game, Lundin has skated in 106 NHL games, tallying eight points.
Jones, a 6-2 native of Central Butte, Saskatchewan, played in 80 games with Norfolk last season, registering 20 goals and 54 points. He was second on the team in assists and points. Jones’ 20 goals were a professional career high. He has played in 24 career NHL games, recording a goal and three points.
Tukonen, a 6-2 native of Hyvinkaa, Finland, was acquired by Tampa Bay from Dallas on November 30, 2008 in exchange for Andrew Hutchinson. He played in the Finnish Elite League last season with Llves Tampere and Lukko Rauma, totaling eight goals and 21 points in 35 games. Tukonen has played in five career NHL games, all with the Los Angeles Kings in 2006-07 and 2007-08.
Ramo and Smolenak’s rights were retained despite their having signed European contracts.
oh, and if a Lecavalier trade is in the works, tomorrow is the last day for it to happen.
<---still confident he's staying
