--Defenseman Paul Ranger underwent successful surgery on his right shoulder in late April. Ranger had surgery to repair a torn labrum suffered in Buffalo on March 19 -- after separating the shoulder which had been bothering him throughout most of the season. The procedure was performed by renowned orthopedic specialist Dr. James Andrews at St. Vincent's Hospital in Birmingham, Ala., the same location and physician used by center Vinny Lecavalier, who had a similar surgery performed in early April. Ranger is expected to require 12-to-15 weeks to recover from the injury and should be at full strength by the time training camp opens in September, although neither Lecavalier or Ranger are expected to be ready to take on contact.

--The team has opened talks with exiled winger Evgeny Artyukhin, who has spent the past two years playing in his native Russia. Artyukhin spurned the Lightning the past two summers as he and his agent, Mark Gandler, were seeking more lucrative contracts in each of the past two years. But after getting little playing time this past season, Artyukhin appears ready to return to North America where his size, speed and ability to disrupt a game with his forechecking are more of an asset than in the Russian Super League.

QUOTE TO NOTE
"We've missed the playoffs before, but there were not expectations on us, we were young. This year, there were expectations and we are better than that. For some reason, we couldn't put it all together at once. We would have a few guys going here and there, but never anybody together." -- Lightning right wing Marty St. Louis, reflecting on a season in which Tampa Bay finished last in the league despite playoff expectations heading into the season.

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