FanHouse

The Tampa Bay Lightning managed to squeak into the playoffs, but were held back by their lack of quality goaltending.

After dealing for Marc Denis last off-season, the Bolts thought they had solved their goaltending problems. Why they thought a goalie that even COLUMBUS didn't want was going to help them, I have no idea.

Anyway, Denis faltered and was injured, so backup Johan Holmqvist managed to step in and provide the Bolts with a warm body for the majority of the season.

For his service, Holmqvist was rewarded with a one-year contract:

"As we said at the end of the season, Johan Holmqvist is one piece of the puzzle for us in net, and it was one of our top priorities this off-season to get him re-signed at a number that made sense for us," Lightning general manager Jay Feaster said in a statement.

"By signing a one-year deal, Johan has demonstrated that he intends to build on last year's performance and firmly establish himself - once and for all - as a legitimate No. 1 goalie in the NHL."

So, the Lightning think Holmqvist is a #1 goalie in the NHL, do they?

While Marc Denis had the worst SV% (88.3%) among qualified goaltenders, Holmqvist was not much better, with a 89.3SV%. This was 'good' for 6th worst in the NHL.

Yes, Holmqvist was better than Denis, but he wasn't very good at all. If the Lightning are going to put their eggs in Holmqvist's basket, they are not solving the real issue of poor goaltending that hurt them all season.

Not only are the Lightning pinning their hopes on a poor goaltender, but they are still stuck with Marc Denis and his contract that counts $2,867,000 towards the cap for each of the next two seasons.

The Lightning would have been better off saying "Thanks for the help, but we need somebody better."