See the Lightning for $8???

This morning I was watching last night's Tampa Bay Lightning/Florida Panthers game (yes, you read that correctly). It was actually a great game, with the Lightning scoring twice in the 3rd period for a 3-2 comeback win. I was thinking as the game progressed that the Lightning are actually a pretty talented team this year. In addition to core offensive players Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier, the Lightning have added a lot of talented young players via the draft in the past couple of years, including #1 overall pick Steven Stamkos and last year's 2nd overall pick, big defenseman Victor Hedman.

About halfway through the game (which was a Lightning broadcast re-run by the NHL network), they advertised a Lightning ticket package. Tickets to 10 games for...$79.99! Are you kidding me? I know these are probably nosebleed seats but are things so bad down in Florida that you can see the Lightning play for less than $10 a game? They just won the Stanley Cup in 2004! Maybe the league needs to relocate the Lightning or the Panthers to Quebec, apparently the mayor there is interested in bringing back the Nordiques. At least they might draw a good crowd up there...