Lightning Strikes

Tampa Bay Lightning's J.T. Brown needs surgery to repair fractured collarbone (updated)

J.T. Brown was expected to have a spot on the Tampa Bay Lightning's roster this season. But after the forward, playing for AHL Syracuse during the NHL lockout, sustained a fractured collarbone on Friday, he will not be ready if the NHL gets going, as many believe it will, in mid January.

Lightning G Anders Lindback no longer with Ilves Tampere but okay after "weird" injury

Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Anders Lindback had the stitches in his cut right knee removed on Friday and said he plans to be back on the ice "in a couple of days."

Lindback, though, will be working out on his own as his contract with Finland's Ilves Tampere has expired. Before making a decision on resuming play he will wait to see how things go with negotiations between the NHL and its players on a new colective bargaining agreement.

NHL says it delivered a "new, comprehensive proposal" to players in CBA negotiations

The NHL appeared to make a significant move in an attempt to break the deadlocked negotiations with its players on a new collective bargaining agreement and delivered a new proposal Thursday afternoon.

Lightning captain Vinny Lecavalier trying to process possibility of another lost season

There was a time, Tampa Bay Lightning captain Vinny Lecavalier said, that he believed the labor strife between the players and league would be settled quickly. So, when the NHL on Thursday (the 96th day of the lockout) canceled games through Jan. 14, Lecavalier said it was a jolt, especially with the notion the season is believed one step away from being lost.

"From where we were in September, when I was all optimistic thinking this was going to be resolved quickly, to where we are now, we're all, I don't want to say shocked, but disappointed," Lecavalier said Friday at the Ice Sports Forum in Brandon. "It's mind-boggling, I guess."

NHL cancels games through Jan. 14

The NHL on Thursday canceled games through Jan. 14. In all, 625 games (50.8 percent) of the season has been lost because of the lockout which is in its 96th day. Games through Dec. 30 were previously canceled, as was the Jan. 1 Winter Classic and Jan. 27 All-Star Game.

12:30: Chat live with Tom Jones

Want to talk about the NHL lockout? The disappointing turn the Bucs' season has taken? The Rays' offseason moves? College football or basketball? Sports on TV/radio? Whatever's on your mind, join Times sports personality Tom Jones for a live chat today, starting at 12:30 p.m. Can't make it? Leave a question in advance in the "Comments'' area below, then check back afterward to replay the chat. We look forward to hearing from you.

"I think we've done our part," Lightning's Marty St. Louis says of players in CBA negotiations

When it comes right down to it, Tampa Bay Lightning star Marty St. Louis said, it is the players who have done the most giving in negotiations with the league on a new collective bargaining agreement.

"I think we've done our part, you know?" St. Louis said Wednesday at the Ice Sports Forum in Brandon. "It's frustrating."

Speaking as a parent, Lightning's St. Louis says "you don't feel safe" after Newtown shooting

Tampa Bay Lightning star Marty St. Louis said sons Ryan, 9, Lucas, 7, and Mason, 4, have not asked about the school shooting in Newtown, Conn., and he isn’t about to bring it up.

 "I didn’t want to scare them,” St. Louis said Wednesday at the Ice Sports Forum in Brandon. “I guess I’m trying to protect their mind and their stress level.”

Tampa Bay Lightning G Anders Lindback injured during a workout, expected out 10 days

Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Anders Lindback -- playing for the Finnish team Ilves Tampere during the lockout -- was injured Tuesday during a morning workout when he took a puck off a knee, opening a cut that Lindback's agent Mike Deutsch said required "a few stitches."

Lindback is expected out about 10 days, Deutsch said, and added "there is no structural damage."

How about some hockey? AHL goalies Tokarski, Helenius making progress, coach says

With the NHL lockout in its 89th day, Tampa Bay Lightning goaltenders coach Frantz Jean has been working weekly with Dustin Tokarski and Riku Helenius of the AHL's Syracuse Crunch. Both are in important seasons. Tokarski's contract expires at the end of the season, and Helenius, a 2006 first-round draft choice by Tampa Bay, is re-acclimating to the North American game after two-plus seasons in Europe.

So far, Jean said he likes what he sees, despite both players with stats that could use some polishing.

No rest (or vacation) for Tampa Bay Lightning's Marty St. Louis

Marty St. Louis said he was asked by the Players' Association to take part in Wednesday's negotiating session with the league on a new collective bargaining agreement. But the Tampa Bay Lightning star said he is better off right now on the sidelines waiting to hear what comes of the talks.

Tampa Bay Lightning's Steven Stamkos to headline charity game in Toronto

Tampa Bay Lightning star Steve Stamkos will headline the RBC Play Hockey Holiday Challenge on Dec. 19 in Toronto.

Here is the announcement from the Players' Association:

Poll: Would you accept a 48-game NHL season?

Lightning RW Teddy Purcell says CBA situation "hopeless" and is considering Europe

Teddy Purcell on Monday was blunt in his assessment of negotiations between the league and Players' Association on a new collective bargaining agreement, calling the situation "hopeless." If things don't change by Christmas, he said he expects to be playing in Europe not long after Christmas.

Latest CBA casualty: NHL cancels games through Dec. 30

In what comes as no surprise after the NHL on Thursday broke off negotiations with the Players' Association on a new collective bargaining agreement, the league canceled games through Dec. 30. Games previously were canceled through Dec. 14. The Jan. 1 Winter Classic and Jan. 27 All-Star Game also have been canceled.