At some point, Tampa Bay might want to get a little defensive

As there can never be a dull moment with the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Bolts have signed 40-year-old (!) free-agent winger Mark Recchi to a one-year deal that could be worth $1.5 million with bonuses; they have a contract deal in place with Russian "freight train" Evgeny Artyukhin (6-5, 254), a right winger; and they signed 28-year-old former Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Andrew Hutchinson to a one-way contract, which would seem a little odd for a player than hasn't gone more than 41 games in an NHL season. While we are staunch embracers of the Lightning owners' wackiness and gleefully drink the Koules-Aid, we're starting to question the direction of one of the team's many facets: defense. The addition of Andrew Hutchinson to the top seven means the Bolts currently have a rear guard of Matt Carle, Filip Kuba, Mike Lundin,... [read full story]