Extra Attacker: Lightning in a Bottle

On Thursday, "The Puck Stops Here" writer Joe Romano touched on the shocking firing of Barry Melrose after only 16 games behind the bench for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Following their 2004 Stanley Cup Championship, the Lightning have quickly become one of the most chaotic, embarassing, and rapidly imploding franchises in all of sports. As a hockey fan, one begins to wonder how and why this happened. After a complete summer roster overhaul can any coach be expected to produce wins only 16 games into the season? For a little background, let's take a look at the short version of the last few months for Tampa Bay after new ownership took over in June.

June 2008: Fired head coach John Tortorella. Hired Barry Melrose as head coach. Bought out the contract of goaltender Marc Denis. Traded assorted draft picks for the rights to sign Gary Roberts, Ryan Malone, and Brian Rolston. Traded draft pick for Janne Niskala. Signed Roberts and Malone, not Rolston.

July 2008: Traded defensemen Dan Boyle and Brad Lukowich to San Jose for Matt Carle and Ty Wishart. Signed Radim Vrbata, Adam Hall, Olaf Kolzig, Ryan Craig, David Koci, Wyatt Smith, Scott Jackson, Evgeny Artyukhin, Brandon Bochenski, Mark Recchi, Andrew Hutchinson, Zenon Konopka, Chris Gratton, Mike Smith, and Steven Stamkos. Signed Vincent Lecavalier to a 11-year extension. Named Rick Tocchet and Wes Walz assistant coaches. Named Tom Kurvers assistant GM. Announced the resignation of GM Jay Feaster. Named Mike Vernon assistant to hockey operations.

Aug-Sept 2008: Traded defensemen Filip Kuba, Alexandre Picard and a 1st round pick to Ottawa for Andrej Meszaros. Signed Meszaros to a 6-year contract.

October 2008: Traded draft pick to Pittsburgh for Michal Sersen. Claimed Matt Pettinger off waivers from Vancouver. Promoted Brian Lawton to GM. Signed Marek Malik.

November 2008: Traded Matt Carle to Philadelphia for Steve Eminger and Steve Downie. Claimed David Koci off waivers from St. Louis. Fired head coach Barry Melrose on November 14. Named Rick Tocchet interim head coach.

Reading through those roster moves, a number of trends stick out. First, the Lightning have obviously mortgaged the future by dealing away as many draft picks as possible in exchange for short term success. While this strategy might work for the Yankees or Red Sox, the bottom line in a salary cap league is if you head down this road you need to win immediately. Think New Orleans Saints of the NHL. After the Saints traded their entire draft for Ricky Williams in 1999 and it didn't work out, it took them years to dig themselves out of the gutter.

The next odd piece of this puzzle that might stand out to you if you're a longtime fan is that every single management move involves a big hockey name from the 90s. Now maybe it's nice to try a legend like Wayne Gretzky behind the bench as Phoenix did, but most of these former players have little or no experience coaching or managing a team. It was a disaster waiting to happen.

The third glaring mistake of the offseason was totally disregarding defense in an attempt to free up more money for big offensive names. Former Lightning Dan Boyle is currently 2nd in scoring among defensemen with 18 points through 20 games, while Filip Kuba is ranked 8th. On the flip side, Ryan Malone, who Tampa signed to a 7-year, $31.5 million contract this summer, has just 3 goals and zero assists through Friday.

So who are the ringleaders behind this circus and why have they been so obsessed with winning today instead of building a foundation for the future? OK Hockey, the ownership group that took over in June, is led by Oren Koules and Len Barrie. Koules gained his wealth as a result of the insanely successful set of "Saw" movies and worked as a day trader for the Chicago Mercantile Stock Exchange before that. Barrie hit it big with his Canadian golf club he started in Victoria. In fact, prior to that he was expelled from his golf club after he chopped down trees he claimed were on his property.

Okay, so we've got a pair of young hotheads looking for instant fame with plenty of money to burn. Koules and Barrie decide it'd be fun to buy a hockey team and hopefully they can make a quick buck in the process. Interestingly though, in a recent feature, Forbes.com shed some light on the financing arrangement: In June, OK Hockey, a group of eight owners led by Oren Koules and Len Barrie, bought the Tampa Bay Lightning, the lease rights to the St. Pete Times Forum and 5.5 axces of land in downtown Tampa's Channelside District near the arena for $210 million, of which $204 million was for the team and operating rights to the arena. The new owners believe they can increase cash flow by $18 million a year. They better. Their purchase was financed with a $105 million, three-year bullet loan, meaning in 2011 they will either have to pay the loan off or refinance it.

Now it's beginning to make sense. Koules and Barrie need to increase cash flow by $18 million a year and pay off the loan by 2011. They don't have the time to build through the draft and solid scouting like other organizations have realized is the key to long-term success in the salary cap era. Increasing cash flow can only be accomplished by packing the St. Pete Times Forum (giving away free tickets if you buy a jersey?), maximizing marketing appeal of the team, and most importantly, making the playoffs. The best approach is that of the Dallas Cowboys. High priced offensive stars (Malone, Vrbata, Roberts, etc), controversial media figures (Tocchet), and a head coach (Melrose) that has been in the living room of hockey fans every week for the last decade. Unfortunately, throwing all of these pieces together and hoping for results a month into the season is asking for a mess.

Melrose believed in players earning their playing time. Management wanted Steven Stamkos, their premiere #1 draft pick from last year, playing big time minutes right away. They wanted Gary Roberts and Radim Vrbata, their high-priced 'toys,' to play more. There are rumors that Koules was in the locker room drawing up plays in between periods. The players began to revolt against Melrose. Melrose skipped practice November 11 in an attempt to wake up the team. Losses piled up. Playoff hopes were heading down the drain. Repaying the OK Hockey ownership loan was looking nearly impossible. November 14th Barry Melrose was fired.

Will this turn the season around or was the public relations disaster just another act in this ongoing comedy? You can expect a handful of spirited games under new coach Rick Tocchet, but the same problems still exist. Tocchet has no head coaching experience and Tampa's defense is embarassing to say the least. Assume Koules and Barrie will continue to puppeteer GM Brian Lawton, especially if the team slips further and further out of playoff contention. In a way, ownership is treating this team like a fantasy team. If players don't perform, trade them, cut them, replace them. You can't run a real organization like this...but if you're looking for solid, on-the-money fantasy hockey advice, make sure to check back every Thursday for Joe Romano's segment "The Puck Stops Here."

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