The Lightning made a nice addition when it got Brad Lukowich for three years at $4.7-million. It also gave GM Jay Feaster and coach John Tortorella a chance to wipe their brows because the blue line all of a sudden seems a lot sturdier. It was getting a bit shaky there what with Cory Sarich off to Calgary and negotiations with Nolan Pratt and Doug Janik seemingly at a standstill.

Now the top five look like this:

Dan Boyle, Paul Ranger (he is a restricted free agent, so figure he will sign at some point rather than hold out), Filip Kuba, Shane O'Brien and Lukowich.

Let's assume for the moment neither Pratt nor Janik return. The competition for the last two spots likely will include Matt Smaby, Jay Leach, Vladmir Maholik and Dave Schneider. GM Jay Feaster, though, says he's not done adding depth.

He doesn't have a lot of room with which to play. The payroll right now stands at $41.535-million. Assuming a self-imposed hard cap of $44-million, that's tight, especially when you factor in Ranger and Ryan Craig, whose combined qualifying offers are $1.039-million.

So, what do you think? Is this a defense with which the Lightning can live?