Solution for Tampa's Goaltending Woes?

BOULDER, Colorado -- The Tampa Bay Lightning currently sit in last place in the Eastern Conference, and though they have suffered some devastating injuries (most importantly to power play quarterback Dan Boyle, who recently returned after a three month absence), their atrocious goaltending can be blamed for much of their struggles.

The presumptive starter at the beginning of the season, Marc Denis was assigned to the AHL back on December 29th and has not had a whiff of the NHL since. Johan Homqvist has managed 20 wins, but he is terrible in every other statistical category, and his inconsistency has allowed rookie Karri Ramo to challenge him for starts.

This season may be a lost cause for the Lightning, but far-off Russian club Ak Bars Kazan may have provided them with an opportunity to sign their goaltender of the future.

In 2002, Tampa drafted Russian goalie Vasily Koshechkin in the eighth round, 233rd overall. Koshechkin was trained by the legendary Lada Toliyatti hockey school, and he has developed into one of Russia's few blue-chip goalie prospects. He starred for the big club for two years, posting an overall record of 34-22-12 with goals against averages of 1.56 and 2.08 in 2005-06 and 06-07, respectively.

Though Lada was an excellent defensive club during those seasons, Koshechkin performed spectacularly behind the solid defensive corps and took his team farther than expected in the Superleague playoffs. Koshechkin is also a big goalie, standing at 6'6", with remarkable quickness for his size. You can read the whole scouting report on him here, from russianprospects.com.

Before this season, Koshechkin nearly signed with the Lightning, but instead he signed a two-year deal with perennial powerhouse Ak Bars. He has struggled so far this season, posting a 5-9 record, and conflicts with domineering coach Zenitula Bilyaletdinov caused him to leave the team several weeks ago. On Monday, Ak Bars announced that Koshechkin had been given his release.

Though Koshechkin certainly will not be available for Tampa this season, his lack of a contract in Russia may make him available to challenge for a spot on their roster next season, as the Lightning can avoid paying a transfer fee to a Russian club.

It certainly is not a solution for this season, but Koshechkin's upside is tremendous, and the 24 year old deserves a chance to shine on an NHL rink.

Above: Koshechkin in goal for Lada in a game against Spartak Moscow in 2005 - notice that Russia continues to employ goal judges, who have been an unfortunate casualty of the "new" NHL (Andrew Gustafson).