Who Says Tampa Is Ignoring Their Blueline?

by J.P. on Sep 12, 2008 1:02 PM EDT

From the Regina Leader-Post comes word that a former Caps' rearguard is heading to Bolts' camp next week:

"Jamie Heward is giving it one more shot.

"The 37-year-old Regina product is slated to depart this weekend for training camp with the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning, who've offered him a free-agent tryout."

I'm actually rooting for Heward, one of the good guys to come through D.C. in recent years, and not ~~just~~ because I think it'll help the Caps, so I'll resist the obvious "Making the Lightning as a defenseman... so easy a caveman could do it" joke. Oops.

H/t to Sk8 on the link.

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Heward falls just shy of joining the "whatever happened to these crappy former Caps blueliners" compendium, I take it?
I too, am rooting for Jamie.

by Shaggy on Sep 12, 2008 1:26 PM EDT reply actions

And here you have in a nutshell the difference between the Caps and the Lightning. Our rejects on defense are now possible starters for them. I hope Heward makes it for no other reason than he'll get another NHL payday, but Olie must be thinking it's deja vu all over again.

by b.orr4 on Sep 12, 2008 1:33 PM EDT reply actions

@ Shaggy: Yep. Any guy who gets his face sliced open by a skate blade and comes back from that it okay in my book.

by JP on Sep 12, 2008 1:34 PM EDT reply actions

@JP:
Looks like a new list of "Former Caps players who were horribly maimed by skate blades and joined crappy Florida based franchises" will be necessary. File under Zednik, R. and Heward, J.

by Shaggy on Sep 12, 2008 1:57 PM EDT reply actions

I too have good thoughts about JH.

But... he's slower than John Erskine. If he makes TBL, that says a lot about TBL.

by Tyler on Sep 12, 2008 2:01 PM EDT reply actions

Kolzig deja vu hahahah nice one!

by Anonymous on Sep 12, 2008 2:01 PM EDT reply actions

Poor Olie. It's indeed deja vu all over again. The awful mushrooming GAA of the Rebuilding Era. If I'm Kolzig I'm thinking of beating the rush and retiring before the season starts. I have nothing against Jamie, liked him actually, but jeeez.

by Isabella on Sep 12, 2008 8:18 PM EDT reply actions

Actually Heward was suck a character guy Kolzig may well have suggested they give him a tryout. I too hope he makes the team, I understand he is about 15 games shy of getting NHL retirement and I think he deserves it.

by Bob on Sep 12, 2008 8:57 PM EDT reply actions

Heward was actually a decent journeyman whose value was more as a mentor than anything else. Lord knows with the youth on Tampa Bay's blueline, they'll need some of that, even if he stays in the pressbox.

But yeah...more, if slight, evidence that while the Bolts' offense is win-now, the defense is in full rebuild. 'Course, the Caps invited some guy named Cutta to their training camp, so...glass houses and all.

by exwhaler on Sep 13, 2008 12:39 AM EDT reply actions