Campbell move continues front office transition

The man who in December 2001 stopped a potential trade of Vinny Lecavalier to the Maple Leafs is out of a job, kind of.

Ron Campbell has been named a "special adviser" to Tampa Bay's new ownership group, and is no longer team president, a position he held since the summer of 1999. Campbell, 52, was instrumental in turning the St. Pete Times Forum into one of the nation's busiest entertainment venues, and was ultimately responsible for the day-to-day running of the club, which won the 2004 Stanley Cup title.

But the hands-on approach by new owners Oren Koules and Len Barrie made Campbell's position redundant. Koules even moved into Campbell's Times Forum office. It was unclear if Campbell was pushed out or stepped down, but he is expected to remain an executive vice president for previous Lightning owner Palace Sports & Entertainment.

An official announcement is expected Friday.

Campbell will be best remembered for stopping a proposed trade of Lecavalier during the 2001-02 season, when Lecavalier's feud with then-coach John Tortorella was like an open wound. Lecavalier had asked for a trade and then-general manager Rick Dudley decided at the time Lecavalier and Tortorella could not co-exist, figuring to reap a windfall from the transaction.

Speculation has been the Leafs were ready to hand over Nik Antropov, Tomas Kaberle, Jonas Hoglund and either prospect Brad Boyes or a first-round pick. But, as the story goes, Campbell, not willing to trade the face of the franchise and perhaps alienate fans who had grown to identify Lecavalier with the team, stepped in and, well, you know the rest of the story.       

Comments

[Mike13]

Davidson also put the GM in a position that made it difficult for him to do anything in Free Agency and with keeping the talent we had.

Davidson may have been a key component in building the franchise, but he was also a key component to us finishing in last place this past season.

Someone said that nobody gives up a #1 goalie in mid-season, well Anaheim did just that, and it was Davidson that prohibited Feaster from picking him up before he hit waivers. Give us Bryzgalov, and that deal to send Richards to Dallas doesn't have to happen.

Maybe a different, possibly better deal could have been made and we picked up some additional scoring depth and top notch prospects.

Perhaps we even make the playoffs again. We'll never know.

It doesn't matter though. Perhaps it is better this way. It doesn't matter. But it is good to see the old regime getting iced and new blood brought on board to give the franchise a boost and put it back on track.

[RJ]

Davidson made the franchise mike13!!!!!

How many cups without him?

Don't fret; campbell had nothing to do with all of the good with the building and team, his underlyings did, and they are all still there.

[Mike13]

Thank you Don, that's precisely what I meant. Obviously, there have been many great concerts, etc at the Forum over the years. I meant that he stunk at the TBL side of his job --aside from the Vinny block.

And Rob, there's no denying that Davidson and the lockout contributed to the downfall of this franchise. But to not blame the management of the franchise for not putting themselves in a better position (through drafting and the trading of promising prospects) to deal with the financial issues, is just plain bad management. THAT is why everyone rags on them.

[Lindsay]

We'll miss you Ron!! Hockey season won't be the same without you and Mary Jane!

[Rob]

Tired of everyone blaming Campbell, Feaster & Torts. Ownership and the strike caused our situation. Had the strike not happened things would have been much different. After the strike, ownership tighted the purse strings and needs got neglected intentionally. They all gambled and lost. I like what new ownership is doing, but it's not all their fault. You'll never get another team to part with a premier goalie. Options were limited and they rolled the dice. Didn't work out. But I don't believe Campbell and Feaster intentionally did anything wrong, they just had real limited options placed by ownership.

[Tim]

He lined up some kick-@$$ concerts along the way ... Bruce Springstein after 9/11
"The Rising" was the best concert I have ever been to in my life .. Thanks Ron ...

[Don in St. Pete]

tbl35, I think Mike13 was referring to the fact that feaster and the scouting staff failed to draft adequately for years, leaving our farm system practically bankrupt. Campbell should have fired Feaster years ago, and brought in a new GM and scouting staff. In the end Tortorella lost his job because of the piss poor job that Feaster et all did at the draft for years. Campbell did and excellent job promoting the SPTF as a concert and entertainment venue, thereby fullfilling the portion of the job where his expertise was.

[tbl35]

He "stunk"? At what, exactly? Do you even have a clue what the man did?

[Mike13]

It's great that he stopped the Vinny trade. But that was like 6 years ago. He stunk before and he has stunk since. Good firing. I like that Koules moved into his office. Talk about sending a message...