A Gratton-Artyukhin-Tarnasky line would give Lightning muscle

Center Chris Gratton got good news recently when doctors told him he could resume skating on his surgically repaired left hip.

News about Evgeny Artyukhin was not as cheery. Agent Mark Gandler said talks continue, but the process of getting the big Russian signed is slow.

The parallel stories are worth noting because of their potentially common end point, a plan floating around the Lightning offices that would put Gratton on a line with Artyukhin and Nick Tarnasky.

It would be a crash line that leads with the body, disrupts the opposition's flow and makes opponents wary about venturing into corners.

Tampa Bay lacked such a force last season, part of the team's overall absence of physical play.

"If that's something they're thinking about and looking to have, that definitely excites me," Gratton said. "A line like that would be exciting."

Gratton is 6 feet 4, 228 pounds and had 77 penalty minutes in 60 games last season. Tarnasky is 6-2, 224 and had 78 penalty minutes in 80 games. Artyukhin is listed at 6-4, 254, though Gandler said he has grown, and had 282 penalty minutes in 67 games the past two seasons in Russia.

Gratton and Artyukhin even fought in February 2006 when Gratton was with the Panthers and Artyukhin was in his first season with the Lightning.

"I've said it before, Arty was becoming a hard player to play against," Gratton said. "He's a big physical guy."

But before such a line takes shape, Gratton and Artyukhin must be signed, something for which it is believed prospective owner Oren Koules is pushing.

Gratton, 32, can be a free agent on July 1. Artyukhin, 25, whom the Lightning drafted 94th overall in 2001, also is a free agent.

It is believed Artyukhin is seeking at least $1-million a season in a two-year deal, a demand the Lightning refused to meet the past two seasons.

"We're still talking," Gandler said. "I'd like to see a resolution sooner rather than later.

"I'm getting a lot of pressure from the Russian side. Everybody is trying to put together a lineup and this is the time they do it."

Gratton, who had 10 goals and 21 points in an injury-stifled season and did not play after Feb. 27 because of a torn labrum, wants to return.

As for his hip, he said, "It feels unbelievable. It's night and day from where it was. There's so much relief just getting up in the morning and walking."

Comments on this article

by olin	May 23, 2008 1:18 PM
...sounds goofy to me- why would you put 3 tough guys on the same line? Split 'em up

by Tino	May 20, 2008 4:59 PM
Arty's goal scoring or skating ability are not keeping him off the team. Having the world's worst agent, Mark Gandler, is the reason Arty is not skating in the NHL. I can't imagine why anyone would actually pay him to provide represention.

by Bill	May 20, 2008 4:17 PM
Buck and Ed - It appears that their ticket prices are as consistent as their play ?

by HockeyDave	May 20, 2008 4:16 PM
You all seem to forget that the main reason Arty is not currently playing is because of greed and bad advice.

by Tom	May 20, 2008 3:20 PM
This is funny...we don't even have an owner yet and we're talking about a timeworn disaster from the Naimoli Era...things have sunk to an all-time low!

by buck	May 19, 2008 1:48 PM
Ed, guess you didn't know the articles where they said that the team is trying to even the prices out. Right now one person could be paying one thing while the person next to him could be paying more or less. There have been alot of complaints.

by Michael	May 19, 2008 1:44 PM
Dawn, what you said isnt true. Remember one of the reasons Torts sat Shane O'Brian last season was that he wasnt physical. Same when he benched Kuba. Maybe it isnt the coaching staff, but the wrong players.

by Geografer	May 19, 2008 10:46 AM
So Torts will take back a guy who hits another player in the head with a helmet but won't play Roy when he is just yapping at a guy and wants a rematch? How long before Arty is in the doghouse too?? How about a Tarnasky-Gratton-Roy line?

by Michael	May 19, 2008 10:44 AM
I ran out room. I also wanted to say to Brittany, while it isnt Arty's fault, what is going to have changed? The refs will call it the same way. While its not his fault, we know he is going to get 40+ penalty minutes, in playing only MAYBE 10 MIN.PG

by Ed	May 19, 2008 10:40 AM
Can someone explain how a team that finished dead last in the NHL could almost double the price of my season tickets?

by Dawn	May 18, 2008 11:25 AM
Oh, no...the Lightning with a physical line? Can't do that...they might win a game! If OK makes this happen, I will be WAY impressed. BTW, does this mean Feaster is out? Arty's not here because of him.

by Brittany	May 17, 2008 11:34 PM
I don't think it is Arty's fault that the refs gave him a penalty every time he looked at a guy. Same thing happened to Smaby at the end of the season this year. I say bring him back, we need physical!

by California Kevin	May 17, 2008 11:24 PM
Could one of these guys, or anyone else for that matter, crash the net on the same line as Vinny and Marty? Look at how Holmstrom makes perimeter skill guys (Datsyuk etc) better by crashing the net. Harrass the goalies!!!

by Michael	May 17, 2008 11:24 PM
IDK... remember when Arty would land a HUGE hit & the refs called a penalty, thinking it MUST have been dirty? Plus, he hit the Senator on the head with his helmet. Fightning is o.k., but hurting your team with penatlies or getting a suspention isnt.

by js	May 17, 2008 11:24 PM
There is no was Artykin deserves $1 million per year. I love the part about him having 'grown'...I will read that as out of shape.

by Bill	May 17, 2008 11:24 PM
Do it !!!!!!!!!!!! It's at least a start toward something positive.

by marcel 99	May 17, 2008 11:24 PM
It would thrill me to no end if the Lightning can finally give a little and get Arty signed!!!!

by chris	May 17, 2008 11:24 PM
Sign caveman to entry level & let him start over again been out of touch too long for much else. Glad to hear Grats wants back in, any news on V4???

by Don	May 17, 2008 11:24 PM
If that deal can be done, that would make one scary, exciting line to watch.

by Ruthe	May 17, 2008 11:24 PM
Looks good on paper but what good would it do when two of them would probably be in the penalty box at the same time. Probably see some good fights though.

by Josh	May 17, 2008 11:24 PM
I think a bruiser line is a poor way to look at this line. This would be a SOLID third line, that can score goals. Get Arty back.

by buck	May 17, 2008 3:54 PM
I say we pick up Mike Commodore to...we really need some defense out there next season. And I'm not surprised talks with Arty are going slow. I thought it was said that really no deals would be done until the sale was done.

by Casper	May 17, 2008 3:52 PM
This is another painful and exemplary display of Bolt Brass' inability to think outside the box from which their pedestrian minds reside. No!, to the Russian doofus and yes to a mindset closer to a Darryl Sutter.

by Melissa	May 17, 2008 3:47 PM
Bring Arty back!! He was a wonderful addition to the team and putting him on a line w/ Grats and Tarno would be amazing. Do it! Do it!

by Jimmy	May 17, 2008 12:47 AM
Imagine if Tarnasky would put 2 hands on his stick every once in a while? This line would score some goals.