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With the NHL entry draft and the beginning of unrestricted free agency a not-so-distant memory, Guy Boucher sat down with CL Sports recently to give his thoughts on all things Lightning.

One of the bigger question marks that came out of the Boucher hiring was whether he would would bring his assistants from Hamilton with him. While he would not hint as to where that search was, he did give a time line on when he hoped the search would be complete. "I would like to have them filled as soon as I can," Boucher said. "I have not had much vacation over the past three years and my family is waiting for me, so if I can have all the main things done before August 15, it would be good for me to get everything settled with the assistants, the coaches, the staff, what we  want to do with the room, the few changes we want to make in the room, thats what I would want to do."

The past few weeks have been a lot more active then many predicted. Boucher talked a bit about where the roster is and mapped out the areas the team plans address before training camp in September.  "We would be ready (to go to camp) but as Steve has said, we are working now with forwards. We have our goaltender, we've got our defenseman, and we are working at filling some spots at forward. We are looking at filling maybe two or three different spots with the forwards."

It's realistic to think that Lightning General Manager Steve Yzerman will be able to bargain shop with what is left on the open market. It is widely believed that the team would be looking for a scoring winger and a 3rd/4th line grinder. Two names that are very intriguing for the rolls: Paul Kariya and Arron Asham.

With the Lightning set to kick off its annual development camp later this week, Boucher discussed what it means for the players who are attending that may be in the running for a roster spot in training camp. "Every year guys have a shot, sometimes it's the people that we think, sometimes there are surprises, sometimes there are people that are more ready then others, and it really depends on how they conduct themselves this week, but its mostly what they do come camp time. This week is not a training camp. A lot of people want it to be, but its not. Its a development camp, so we put the emphasis on development, on them feeling good being there, learning skills and what they need to do on and off ice. Basically learning what they need to do to become a pro."

With the revamping of the defense now complete, Boucher talked about planing for life with and without Paul Ranger. "We are always keeping a spot open for Paul Ranger," he said. "We feel that he is a guy that is definitely a solid defenseman who can help our squad. It always depends on where he is in his life right now. We will find out in the coming months how he feels and if he is ready to come back. We are not here to push people. I think the worst thing you can do in circumstances like that is make speculations on how he feels and what he wants. So we are patient in this case."

While much of the talk has been about the NHL team, it can not be understated how important a year it is for the AHL Norfolk Admirals.  Boucher discussed whether he would expect Norfolk to play the same system he plans on running in Tampa. "As a coach in the NHL, you want your guys to have an idea of what you are doing up with the NHL team, but as we saw last year, I had a completely different system (in Hamilton) then they did in Montreal. Our guys did great and maybe that is one of the reasons I am here. We had 17 guys that played with us and then went on to the Canadiens and the adapted really quick. For me, its not as important that they play the same systems we do, but they need to have the same principles, the same basic criteria of the type of players that we need. The three things that are important to me are the work ethic, the attitude, and the discipline. If they have these three things, in whatever system they play they will be able to adjust quick and we will get a good player out of them."

While the first month on the job has been a hectic one for Boucher, everything is starting to come together nicely, and he can now begin putting his training camp plan together. And take the long overdue vacation he owes his family.

Email Mike: CL.Lightning@gmail.com | Twitter: @mcorcoran81