On Hockey
Ryan Lambert
If the new owners of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Oren Koules and Len Barrie, wanted to make celebrities of themselves and get people talking about their team again, the mission is accomplished. If they wanted to manage their team responsibly, well, they have a long way yet to go.
The Bolts, who finished dead last in the league this year and drafted Steven Stamkos first overall in last month's NHL entry draft, were floundering when Koules, who made his fortune investing in the Saw movies, and Barrie, a former NHL forward and real estate mogul, bought the team.
They vowed to make an impact.
First they hired ESPN analyst Barry Melrose to be the team's new head coach, despite his not coaching in the NHL since the 1994-95 season. Then they bought out goaltender Marc Denis and traded for the rights to negotiate with 27-goal scorer Ryan Malone, who benefited greatly from playing on a line with Evgeni Malkin, and 42-year-old Gary Roberts, both of whom signed with the club for more money than they're likely worth. They also signed Vaclav Prospal.
Earlier this month, they signed several more free agents, bringing the number of players signed or traded for by the Lightning since the draft on June 20 and 21 to a whopping 15. Worse, their signings have made little sense. Of the 24 players they have under contract with the NHL club — and remember you can only dress 20 for a game — 15 are forwards. They also signed franchise center Vincent Lecavalier to an 11-year deal that will pay him $85 million (a cap hit of $7.73 million per season) through the 2019-2020 season, a deal similar in length to the one Alexander Ovechkin signed in Washington.
The difference, though, is that Lecavalier is 28 years old, and Ovechkin is only 22 and signed for just one extra season.
Yes, the Lightning look smart right now. Lecavalier has scored an average of 100 points over each of the last two seasons and, at less than $8 million, that kind of production is a steal in this market. But in 2020? The Bolts will face a cap hit of $7.73 million for a 39-year- old center whose days of being worth anywhere near that much money are certain to be behind him.
People laughed (rightly so) when Islanders GM Garth Snow signed former BU netminder Rick DiPietro to a 15-year deal that would pay him an average of $4.5 million a year. In Snow's defense, though, at least that number is affordable, and goalies age better than power forwards. Where are the chortles over the Lecavalier deal?
They also made a decent trade in sending defenseman Dan Boyle to San Jose for 2005-06 Hobey Baker winner Matt Carle and exciting prospect Ty Wishart. But the way in which the organization went about it, telling Boyle to either waive his no-trade clause to go to California or be put on waivers and have no control over where he ends up, is bad business and backhanded dealing for an excellent player who had a strong commitment to the team and the area.
They also forced the resignation of ex-GM Jay Feaster, who helped build a weak team into a Stanley Cup champion. Feaster said he "watched from the sidelines" since the new ownership took over.
It's great that Koules and Barrie have shown a strong interest in their new team, and that they are committed to making hockey work in a non-traditional market, but they seem unqualified to make personnel decisions for an NHL team.
Those that complain about the Bruins management can at least rest easy knowing that they're not Lightning fans.
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