Handcuffed in Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay GM Jay Feaster said earlier this month that big changes could hit the Lightning if the team didn't improve by Christmas. Well, four days after Baby Jesus Day, the Bolts found themselves in last place in the entire Eastern Conference. Feaster was asked about personnel changes after the team's 4-2 loss to the Flyers; the answer, according to the St. Pete Times, was that they ain't comin':

General manager Jay Feaster said no moves are on the horizon, and that while Oren Koules' OK Hockey group tries to work out a deal to acquire the team from Palace Sports and Entertainment, the Lightning is in a holding pattern. That includes no talk of trading any piece of the talented trio of Vinny Lecavalier, Marty St. Louis and [Brad] Richards.

"I think the answers for now have to come from within," Feaster said, "certainly until we get a resolution with the sale situation. The one thing we're not going to do is move the big three. It's just not going to happen."

Actually, breaking up the "Big 3" is a "non-starter," as he told the Canadian Press. What I'd like to know from Feaster is if that conversation can't happen because of a pending ownership change, or if his commitment to keeping the trio together will remain unwavering under a new boss -- even as Tampa Bay looks up at the Washington Capitals in the standings.

All due respect to Richards's minus-40 for the last two seasons and St. Louis's middling trade value and inconsistent goal-scoring, but rebooting the Bolts means trading Lecavalier, even if Feaster steadfastly vows he'll never do it. And I don't think he will make a Vinny deal -- even if he's the only one of the "Big 3" without a no-movement clause -- unless a Lindros-like package is coming back the other way. I hate to give fuel to this unavoidable gnat of a rumor, but if it's a Lindros-like deal that gets Vinny out of Tampa, there's really only one team that matches up well with what the Lightning crave: the Montreal Canadiens.