Don Cherry
01-13-2003, 03:11 PM
Jan 13, 2003
http://www.nhl.com/onthefly/news/78049.html
-----------------------------------------
BOSTON (Ticker) - No longer wanted by the Boston Bruins, goaltender John Grahame will now serve as a backup to All-Star Nikolai Khabibulin.
The Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday acquired Grahame from the Bruins for a fourth-round pick in the 2004 draft.
The 27-year-old Grahame went 11-9-2 with a 2.71 goals-against average in 23 games, but that wasn't good enough for Bruins general manager Mike O'Connell.
"We felt that it was time to make a change for the team," O'Connell said. "We gave John an opportunity but we thought that we needed to try to get better at the position."
After failing to re-sign Byron Dafoe, the Bruins have used both Grahame and Steve Shields in goal this season. Shields is 9-7-2 with a 2.70 goals-against average in 18 games.
This trade will fuel rumors that the Bruins are on the brink of making a deal for a goaltender. Roberto Luongo of the Florida Panthers and Rick DiPietro of the New York Islanders are among the goalies that reportedly may be headed to Boston.
The Lightning will use Grahame to ease the workload on Khabibulin, who has played in 40 of Tampa Bay's 43 games.
http://www.nhl.com/onthefly/news/78049.html
-----------------------------------------
BOSTON (Ticker) - No longer wanted by the Boston Bruins, goaltender John Grahame will now serve as a backup to All-Star Nikolai Khabibulin.
The Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday acquired Grahame from the Bruins for a fourth-round pick in the 2004 draft.
The 27-year-old Grahame went 11-9-2 with a 2.71 goals-against average in 23 games, but that wasn't good enough for Bruins general manager Mike O'Connell.
"We felt that it was time to make a change for the team," O'Connell said. "We gave John an opportunity but we thought that we needed to try to get better at the position."
After failing to re-sign Byron Dafoe, the Bruins have used both Grahame and Steve Shields in goal this season. Shields is 9-7-2 with a 2.70 goals-against average in 18 games.
This trade will fuel rumors that the Bruins are on the brink of making a deal for a goaltender. Roberto Luongo of the Florida Panthers and Rick DiPietro of the New York Islanders are among the goalies that reportedly may be headed to Boston.
The Lightning will use Grahame to ease the workload on Khabibulin, who has played in 40 of Tampa Bay's 43 games.