The one to watch

Doug MacLean will get the bulk of the attention as the sale of the Lightning goes forward because he will have his hands in the one-ice product. But the member of the ownership group to really watch is Jeff Sherrin. The Coral Springs resident and South Florida native is the real estate guy, and the Lightning as a commodity has been tied up in real estate since it was bought by Palace Sports & Entertainment in the summer of 1999.

You all remember that first press conference, right? Owner Bill Davidson was honest that he wanted the building more than the team. But he also wanted the land around the St. Pete Times Forum that was to be developed and the real way the company was going to make money. But things changed during Davidson's stewardship as two of his partners in the transaction, both of whom were real estate point men, died within a short time of each other. That, Lightning executives said when I reported on this several years ago , dampened Davidson's passion for developing the land.

Enter Sherrin, a big-time developer who is poised (if the NHL Board of Governors approves the sale of the team to Absolute Hockey Enterprises) to have 5.5 acres of prime land to develop around the Times Forum. Sherrin said he has no plans yet as to how the land will be developed. But you can bet there will be plans, and probably sooner rather than later.

Who knows what the fortunes of this new ownership group will be. Perhaps it is destined the lose money at the same rate as Palace Sports claims it did. But for sure, the odds will be a lot better if Sherrin, who, by the way, made a play for the Ducks during the lockout, can get those parcels developed.    

Comments

[Joe]

Judging by his success in the real estate business, one must assume that Jeff Sherrin is a pretty smart cookie who has been a successful developer of land throughout his career; so, when he indicates that he has "no plans" for the 5 1/2 acres of property adjacent to the Forum, one has to question either his rationality or his honesty. Can anyone imagine being a part of a group that forks over $200 million (give or take a few bucks) for the Bolts et al while not having any plans for the land in question. One could argue that the wisest thing to do in the real estate or any other business is to say as little as possible and to keep one's own counsel, but the "no plans" comment insults the intelligence of interested Lightning patrons and fans on day one of Jeff's involvement.

On the other hand, Doug MacLean enjoys the respect and admiration of the hockey community. He is shrewd, but not devious. Neither his honesty, his enthusiasm for the sport, nor his dedication to putting an excellent competitive team on the ice can be put in question. He will be very well-liked in Tampa Bay.

He represents a polar opposite from the Davidson/Wilson tandem. In spite of the team's extraordinary fortune in 2004, they never seemed to hold any legitimate interest in the Tampa Community or the viability of the NHL's product.

In MacLean, one finds the likes of Phil Esposito's heart for hockey, many of the good judgmental characteristics of Scotty Bowman, and a fierce desire to win. For Bill Davidson, it was about the money; for Doug MacLean, its about getting his name on the Stanley Cup.

[Manny]

Only time will tell, but my initial thought is that this new ownership group will be good for the Lightning and its fans. From a hockey standpoint the key individual in this new ownership group is Doug MacLean. I see Doug being very heavily involved in hockey operations. What impact that will have on Torts and Feaster, I don’t know, but it’s something to keep a close eye on. Both Torts and Jay have had their own way in running this team without any interference from any of the owners. My hope is that Doug MacLean’s involvement will be tempered with understanding and caution and let Torts and Jay do their job.

[Mike W]

I read an article in TBT today, that states that MacLean has already said he will keep Torts and Jay on to keep doing the good job they've been doing.

[Tim A]

Hopefully we finally have an owner with a passion for Ice Hockey instead of milking fans for all they can get. I saw this sale coming months ago, if Davidson was going to get out of from underneath the Lightning it was time to do so while the team's popularity and net worth were at an all time high.
With the new guys coming in I would only ask them two things...when do plan to get another Stanley Cup, and are you willing to spend beyond the self imposed $44 million dollar cap set by the old regime.
We'll soon see how dedicated these chaps are when they talk player personnel and money if they are allowed to purchase the Lightning.
Hopefully the new boss isn't the same as the old boss and we don't get fooled again.

[Another Joe]

I was upset with palace sports for only giving Jay 44 million for payroll.

Just think if they gave the bolts 46 million how much more we could have improved the team.

So I say lets give these guys a chance and having local owners will benefit the team.

[Nan]

There is no question in my mind that MacLean wants to own that Stanley Cup. From what I have been reading he is passionate about hockey yet well liked at the same time.

There is also no question that Sherrin will develop that 5.5 acres. A real estate developer with 5.5 acres of prime real estate? I am surprised that he didn't have a big grin on his face the entire time during the news conference! I agree with you Damian that plans for that land will be worked on very soon if not already.

As for Koules, let us hope with his Hollywood background that he can bring some of that flair into marketing the team.

Boy is this season going to be fun to watch or what!

[Me]

You think if we put that ugly doll from the saw movies in net any oppenents would want to get close enough?

[F.T.B.S.]

We already have an ugly doll, and he wears #30. Remember, Mac is the guy who stole Modin from us and stuck us with this albatross.

I want to see how he makes right, this horrible thing.

Go Bolts!

[Warren]

Wouldn't it be great if McLean had the magic touch that would turn Denis into the goalie we need him to be?

[olin]

It'd be really magical if he and JF could somehow send #30 back to Columbus and bring Freddy Mo back, and get signed on the dotted line Ilja Bryzgalov to go with Johan as now rumored at hockeybuzz. With leftover cap money if they would go the full measure, pick up Danny Markov. That would work for me.

[Lightning rod]

Sherrin is a number of things in one package. He a bean counter (accountant by education), very successful real estate developer, and venture capitalist (movie production [i.e. the Koules connection] & real estate). On a professional level, I interact/deal with people like Sherrin regularly, and his reputation is solid, from what I have been told in the past.

If you watched the news conference, Sherrin was asked about the years of loses that Davidson's group has continually reported. You could see that he was really caught off guard, and let it slip "what loses". He then directly looked at Tom Wilson to help bail him out. Wilson then picked up the ball and commented on the loses. Wilson took the heat off of Sherrin. Later Sherrin further tried to cover and deflect this "what loses" comment; and in the end never answered the question. He was much more focused on the task at hand after that slip or shall we say misstatement. From then on, not one question put to him was answered directly or stayed on point. On the 5.5 acres, he said that he just saw it the day before the news conference. I wonder if he or his staff has Google Earth; or maybe he could have had someone on his real estate staff take the hour or less to research the Property Appraiser's web-site or other real estate data sources, that a organization like his would have in abundance. After all this is only a $200M dollar deal; and one would hope that they have done some research.

Sherrin, by the nature of what he does for a living, keeps things close to the vest. When dealing with the press, it's via a spokesman, after a great deal of thought and planning of what is to be said and how much to disclose.

Damian is absolutely right, Sherrin is the one to watch. MacLean is the hockey guy; but how much money can he have? Koules is a money guy, who played minor league hockey; but he has much larger things in Hollywood on his plate.

You can bet that Sherrin has looked at the Lightning books; been given access to the New york consultants & their data; and he has had extensive research done on the 5.5 acres. He coming here to take care of, and watch over, one of the biggest investments in his life. Based on his reputation, I would expect no less. It is going to be interesting.

[mbab]

come on readers....the only real bottomline is if the new owners are very very well financed.......usually a total business decisions in sports.....especially nhl hockey......might not be a good thing for the local teams......if hockey is on the bottom end of the sport financial world.... you think.....why would anyone take such a risk????but flip side....these guys didn't get rich by being dummies........soooooooo time will tell....i hope to read soon that these guys have very deep pockets.....penny pinchers probably will not last long in the nhl, especially a southern market....and God forbid if the team is average to below average......then the two and out to canada scenario probably will look mighty tempting to them.....in the world of nhl hockey money is extremely important......i was shocked at how much they paid to be honest.....many many blanks to be filled in i think.....we'll see......go bolts

[Mike13]

Hey Olin, I saw that (Bryzgalov rumor) on Ecklund's rumor board as well. He is claiming that the source is from one of the teams involved or one of the players. So they're definitely talking. Not sure if anything will come of it though.

[Lightning rod]

I want to express some real optimism and excitement about the new owners. I like the change.

The Lightning have been purchased, by at least 2 people with very deep pockets, along with a guy that knows hockey from every facet. All of that is good in my book. The new guys say that they are going to borrow $40M, as part of the purchase. Lenders don't give out that kind of money to people that can't pay it back; nor for a deal that doesn't show the cash flow to re-pay the loan and interest.

Next, all 3 of them have said that they want to make it work, and purchased a team that does not need a lot of fixing, to improve it to take the Lightning to the next level. Many teams that sell are in bad financial straits; and the remaining roster of players lacks depth and a lot of talent. These teams need significant re-building. None of that is the case here; and the new guys know that.

I wish to thank Mr. Davidson for that, A CUP, and 4 years of playoffs. Without him, I believe that it would have been a different story. I remember the pre-1999 years.

The only recent example of a solid team that sold is the Ducks; and Sherrin was in one of the groups that tried to buy them.

All of the past criticism, of Davidson's own cap. restriction, and the organization is not doing this or that make the team better, that I have read on this site, mostly centered on adding a quality player here or there, and spending some more money to do it. Davidson wasn't going to do that. I believe, and hope, that this new group is going to do just that.

[Lightning rod]

Hey Mbab. $40 to $50M of the purchase is in the land. If they build hotels, retail, and some residential; and then sell that, they could make $100M to $200M on that alone. Sherrin knows that.

[Mike13]

I was just perusing Hockeybuzz.com and they've bumped the Bryzgalov rumor up a notch. According to the key, more than one source with ties to the player or team involved are saying that a deal is in the works between Anaheim and Tampa.

Wonder what the possible terms are. One can only hope that if a deal goes down, Denis will be a part of it.

[mbab]

LRod....the past group had plenty of time and plenty of brains to flip the property for huge gains......does sherin know something no one else in the financial world does???hope it all works out because success brings $$$to the bolts......but that said....I don't think this deal is a slam dunk by any stretch of the imagination....the flipside of what you are saying is that davidson and his group were chumps to let it go.....no way