Koules says meeting a success; one step to go

The NHL declined to comment, but if the smiles on the faces of Oren Koules and Len Barrie were an indication Thursday, they could have control of the team by the June 20-21 draft.

Koules, the Hollywood producer, and Barrie, the former NHLer turned real estate developer, met for 60 minutes with the NHL's executive committee at its Sixth Avenue offices in New York. Koules called the meeting "a very good step" and Barrie said, "We're excited."

The last step in OK Hockey's proposed $200-million purchase of the Lightning is a June 18 vote by the league's board of governors, which must approve the transfer of ownership from Palace Sports & Entertainment. The board takes its cue from the committee.

That's why the meeting was so important and probably why Koules and Barrie seemed a bit nervous going into the meeting. I was in New York, anyway, visiting family, so I arranged to meet them on the street in front of the NHL offices.

Koules was wearing a blue suit, a white shirt and a metallic-blue print tie. Not remarkable in and of itself, but Koules made it seem as if he prefers more comfortable clothes. "It's the last time you'll see that,'' he said as he smoothed the garments.

Too bad, though, I was not allowed to actually go into the offices. I got as far as the 15th-floor lobby when Bernadette Mansur, the league's senior VP for communications, politely told me the NHL never comments on pending transactions and maybe I should visit the NHL store on street level.

Spent the next hour standing on the sidewalk in front of the building, waiting for the meeting to end. There was nowhere to sit in the building lobby, and it was such a fine day (75 degrees, no humidity, light wind), I figured I'd rather wait outside, where I was approached by numerous people trying to sell me prepaid phone cards and was able to watch a fleet of fire trucks answer what apparently was a false alarm on the next street over.

But enough of the scene setting. Koules, Barrie and Palace Sports CEO Tom Wilson came out and talked briefly before getting in their hired cars. All were positive about the process going forward. They said questions were pointed about the financing. OK Hockey apparently has come up with about $100-million. The other $100-million is being financed by Palace Sports and Galatioto Sports Partners, a New York sports investment bank.

There were broader questions about why Koules and Barrie want to and, more broadly, about why they want to buy an NHL team.

"It was a good meeting," Koules said. "There weren't any questions out of left field. We're excited, hopefully, to take the next step."

"It was very positive,'' Wilson said.  "We're going forward."

   

Comments

[Casper]

Yeah, Okay, Wow.
Your new toy is our passion.
Don't muck this up there, Cubby.

Melrose would be the Muckiest Duck on Captiva, know whut ah mean? Don't. Even. Try. It.

[Lisa]

Well, the team needs to have this settled and then move on. So I hope this gets taken care of and we can finally have direction for the team.

And I do hope all the rumors of trading Vinny are just your typical rumors we hear every year at this time.

[boltfan]

I hope their financing struggles are not an indication of being unable to acquire free agents (and resign current players) needed to make this team better.

[Mike]

This is a joke to all of hockey! This guy wants to come in here; knowing nothing about running an NHL hockey team, and start throwing his "thoughts" and "ideas" around? This isn't a Hollywood movie. It's a disaster waiting to happen! The guy is going to pick up and drop players like some fantasy hockey team of his. Hopefully the NHL realizes this is not a good idea!!

[Don in St. Pete]

I'll be giving OK a little more credit thatn that. As a businessman you don't shoot yourself in the foot. He's an ex-hockey Player which we haven't had around here since Espo ran the thing on a shoestring budget. I'm hoping that Koules will consult heavily with Len Barrie and others before making any rash moves. With all the turmoil over the change in ownership over 9 months the last thing the players need is more uncertainty. I'm hoping that if they really intend to be hands on local owners that they get in here soon and start doing some things. While they can't sign any Free agents until after July 1st, I'm hoping they're at least talking to some guys including some of our own free agents.

[keith]

Such a tough job you have Damien!

[Herb]

Yeah like putting faith in an owner that is 1200 miles away is any comfort (Dollar Bill Davidson). I will wait and see what happens but PS&E were bailing out on this team and I for one am happy to get a new owner. First order of business should be to rid themselves of the whole scouting department and hire some real honest to goodness talent evaluators. The scouting department is the real reason the Bolts are in a mess. Another problem was the fact that the Bolts had too many AHL and ECHL players.

[bear]

Fear not Herb. Much like Bush is the self appointed decider, Cubby is the drafter. Were in great hands.

[Don in St. Pete]

Herb, While I agree the scouting has lead to many questionable draft picks, they've done a better job over the past 2 seasons. Remember Feaster was not a hockey guy but a Manager, so he was probably reluctant to overule the scouts in the old days.On the other hand I disagree with your comment about the AHL and ECHL guys. As witnessed by our dismal performance at both level last year we didn't have enough players signed and in fact both clubs routinely hired suspect players on 5 day tryouts to fill the roster. That is why it's critical to sign guys like Craig McDonald, Mathieu Darche and Doug Janik to 2 way contracts in case someone on the Lightning is injured we have someone ready to step in.

[Tom M]

Oh golly gee! Mr. Chain-Saw-Massacre and Mr. Krispy Kreme get to go to the NHL Draft and be the laughingstock of hockey experts who actually know how to lead and manage the business of hockey. What an embarrassment!

Remember how Chain-Saw already tried to cut the team apart when he wanted to slash payroll earlier? That was just the beginning of the slaughter!

Chain-Saw has no clue about hockey operations and Krispy Kreme should stick to doughnuts.

[hyjyljyj]

"It's a disaster waiting to happen!... Hopefully the NHL realizes this is not a good idea!!"

Quick, some diazepam for Mike. OK, so...you want the NHL to...ax this bad idea?? Just keep the status quo? From your post it's difficult to discern what you want. Koules should fail, the team should remain in limbo, in search of an owner, the continuing uncertainty dragging into next season like a giant suitcase full of car batteries, leaving a trail of acidic decay?

Question: Who wants to buy this team that you know of, has the financial ability, and is MORE suitable an owner than Koules?

I don't know, either. All I know is, Dollar Bill wants out. He only financed half this deal so he could get out of the hockey business. Call me crazy, but I'd rather have an ownership team who WANTS to be in the hockey business. Things could get worse before they get better, but then again...what else is new? This is the Lightning.

[Steve in Lutz]

It will be nice to have owners that care.

I'll agree with Herb on his review of our scouting/minor league teams. Don, how do you know they've done a better job drafting the last 2 years? Our drafting has been horrible the last several years, but I don't think they can even blow the Stamkos pick. Our scouting is a big reason our minor league teams are always pathetic, although it would help to sign more minor league vets to mix in.

[GP]

Steve,

I agree with you about Don. The past 2 years is way too soon to call a draft a success.

Also, you said to sign more minor league vets to mix in ..... they did, they were all on the Lightning .... MacDonald, Darche, Stewart, Karlsson, Tarnasky (he should be in the ECHL) & etc.

[GP]

One other comment.

Did everyone see that Blake Wheeler, the 6'4 185lb 21 yr old RW opted for free agency instead of signing for the Coytoes? He just happened to be the 5th overall pick in the 2004 draft. The Lightning chose Andy Rogers that year in the 1s round. How did that work out?

The Lightning should jump all over that. Reminds me of what RJ Umberger did to the Canucks when he came out of college.

They should also hit a division rival in the checkbook by offering Mike Green, who is a restricted free agent, a huge contract offer. Washington will definitely match but could hurt them in the future trying to sign other players. If they don't match, who cares if we give up some draft choices because we don't capitalize on them anyway. We could also trade Boyle at that point since we would have a younger and better version of him.

[Steve]

GP, I couldn't agree more that we had too many minor league players playing on our NHL team. Tarnaksy was a draft pick, but the other guys are minor league vets, which I mentioned we need more of, so we can actually keep some of them in the minor league. Much of that is dependent on Feaster signing/acquiring real NHL players, and I think the Richards trade started to push us in that direction. If OK is willing to spend, we could getter better real fast by adding a couple of wingers and a real top 4 dman, but we'll see.

[boltflasher]

One thing the cap is going to do is create parity...look at the NFL...and also because of the cap, players will be moving around alot depending on individual teams young cheaper talent. Teams with good younger players will be be able to be more specific shoppers whereas teams like the Bolts, will have to bring in FAs to decrease the talent gap until they develop more of their own younger players and minor league system...and it won't happen overnight and an extreme gamble to trade Vinny won't fix it overnight either....

[bear]

Flasher the CAP isn't exactly creating parity the way it was envisioned.
With the CAP going to what 58? what do you think the Bolts will be at?

In the NFL it works because of the massive Tv money. The NHL is gate driven and Tampa cheaps out.

GP you nailed it as usual, the guys that should be making Norfolk a reasonable team are all up with us .

[dangerboy]

Anyone heard anything more about the Melrose to coach the Lightning rumor? Eklund at Hockey Buzz has it as one of his E5 rumors, which means the deal is done. I can't find any official announcements.

[Don in St. Pete]

The last few years they've drafted Smaby, Lundin, Mihalik, Quick, Lawrence and Tyrell. There is some talent there and I expect Smaby and Mihalik to be pressing for a job in training camp. The others will need to develop another year or more. It's important to have some veteran minor leaguers down on the farm for the development of the younger guys and to step in in case of injury. They definitely need to draft some offensive help for the pipeline and I think it's imperative that they sign two top line wingers and a veteran defenseman.

[Tommy]

If Koulas is considering repalcing Torts with Melrose, then he must have more money than brains. Torts has been great, just look at what he has done with what he has had to work with. Melrose has absolutely zero creditability within the coaches ranks. He's not even a good analyst. Koulas can hire him as a greeter for the pressbox - maybe he'll learn something about hockey. This idea must be some sort of a joke originating out of Canada. What a way to blow the franchise. Is this the way Hollywood thinks?

[boltflasher]

Bear, regarding parity, 3 points separated 6 of the 8 east playoff teams and only 2 more points to the non playoff 10th spot...

[Lightning rod]

Who else but Melrose started the Melrose rumor. His ESPN contract must be up for renewal. We don't need his ego here. That and he needs to stay in the NE or in LA, where they are use to guys like him and there appears to be enough room for his ego, just barely.

I really hate to say it but Tort's needs to go. This last year, he lost the respect of most of the players; and he showed very poor judgment in how he treated some players at the end of the season. I do know he is admired throughout the league; and he contributed to changes in how the game is currently played, after the CUP season. There would be no Lightning names on the CUP without his contributions, as I still vividly remember the previous Lightning teams, prior to him taking over. If he goes to a team like San Jose, my bet is they make the finals and/or win a CUP in 1 to 2 years.

The front office, not Tort's, takes all of the blame for the goaltender situation; and you can't go far in the play-offs without a good one. Last nights game was proof of that, as without Fluery, Pittsburgh would not be playing a game 6.

It's now up to OK to straighten out the mess that Palace left them, the players, and fans with. Although I have to admire them for making a $100m off a team they bought for $100M. The biggest thing they did was stabilize the organization, which resulted in the Lightning winning a CUP under their ownership. For that I for one will always be grateful, as I never dreamed it would happen given the team, front office, and the owners prior to them. Like Torts, it's time for Palace to go, since they no longer were committed to doing what it takes to put a competitive team on the ice.

I for one am now looking forward to it.

[Lightning rod]

Who else but Melrose started the Melrose rumor. His ESPN contract must be up for renewal. We don't need his ego here. That and he needs to stay in the NE or in LA, where they are use to guys like him and there appears to be enough room for his ego, just barely.

I really hate to say it but Tort's needs to go. This last year, he lost the respect of most of the players; and he showed very poor judgment in how he treated some players at the end of the season. I do know he is admired throughout the league; and he contributed to changes in how the game is currently played, after the CUP season. There would be no Lightning names on the CUP without his contributions, as I still vividly remember the previous Lightning teams, prior to him taking over. If he goes to a team like San Jose, my bet is they make the finals and/or win a CUP in 1 to 2 years.

The front office, not Tort's, takes all of the blame for the goaltender situation; and you can't go far in the play-offs without a good one. Last nights game was proof of that, as without Fluery, Pittsburgh would not be playing a game 6.

It's now up to OK to straighten out the mess that Palace left them, the players, and fans with. Although I have to admire them for making a $100m off a team they bought for $100M. The biggest thing they did was stabilize the organization, which resulted in the Lightning winning a CUP under their ownership. For that I for one will always be grateful, as I never dreamed it would happen given the team, front office, and the owners prior to them. Like Torts, it's time for Palace to go, since they no longer were committed to doing what it takes to put a competitive team on the ice.

I for one am now looking forward to it.