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Wednesday, July 1, 2009 12:35 PM

Signing Ohlund an astute move

Eric Duhatschek

Last year, the Tampa Bay Lightning were the stars of the opening day of the free-agent season – and ended up signing so many new players that they had ultimately had 18 forwards on one-way contracts by the time training camp opened.

This year, the Lightning were also first off the mark, signing ex-Canucks’ defenceman Mattias Ohlund to a new contract. The move was done strictly to help fellow Swede Victor Hedman, their 18-year-old first-round draft choice, adapt more easily to the NHL.

It is a fairly astute move, given that Ohlund played a little over 21 minutes per night last season and won’t turn 33 until September, so he figures to have three-to-five decent seasons left on a front-loaded contract with a $3.75-million (U.S.) annual salary-cap charge.

The two moves, taken together, meets the Lightning’s primary need of upgrading what was probably the worst six-man defensive unit in the NHL last season (with apologies to the New York Islanders). Since it looks as if Vincent Lecavalier is going to stay now, assuming Tampa’s Mike Smith comes back OK from injury, the Lightning might actually be competitive next season.

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Globe On Hockey Contributors

David Shoalts

David Shoalts, a native of Wainfleet, Ont., joined The Globe in 1984 as a layout and copy editor in the sports section. He attended the University of Waterloo and Conestoga College. After graduating from Conestoga with a journalism diploma in 1978, Shoalts worked at the Calgary Herald and the Calgary Sun, and later the Toronto Sun.

In 1986, Shoalts went back to the writing side of the business. He was the CFL reporter for The Globe for four years and then switched to hockey. He has covered the Toronto Maple Leafs and the NHL ever since and became a hockey columnist in 2003. Among the most memorable events Shoalts has covered are the final hockey game at the old Chicago Stadium (between the Maple Leafs and Blackhawks) and the men's and women's gold-medal hockey games at the 2002 Winter Olympics. He is also the author of a book of humour, Tales From The Toronto Maple Leafs, and co-author with retired Globe columnist William Houston of Greed and Glory, The Fall of Hockey Czar Alan Eagleson.

 
Allan Maki

Allan Maki

Allan Maki joined the Globe in 1997, after spending 19 years as a reporter and columnist at the Calgary Herald. Born in Thunder Bay, Ont., Maki graduated from the Ryerson School of Journalism in 1977.

A past president of the Football Writers of Canada, Maki has covered every Grey Cup since 1980. He's been to seven Olympic Games and covered everything from rodeos to the World Series to the Super Bowl.

A regular commentator on radio and television, Maki hosted a sports program for two years on CBC Newsworld. He has won several awards for his writing and was nominated for a National Newspaper Award in 1995.

 
Eric Duhatschek

Eric Duhatschek

Eric Duhatschek was the winner of the Hockey Hall Of Fame's Elmer Ferguson award for "distinguished contributions to hockey writing" in 2001. A graduate of the University of Western Ontario's grad school of journalism, he began covering hockey in 1978 and after spending 20 years covering the NHL and the Calgary Flames, joined globeandmail.com in September, 2000, where he writes a five-time-a-week NHL column.

A frequent contributor to Hockey Night in Canada's Satellite Hot Stove segment, he has covered four Winter Olympics, 19 Stanley Cup finals, every Canada Cup and World Cup since 1981, plus two world championships. Most recently, he was appointed as the newest member of the Hockey Hall Of Fame's annual Selection Committee.