On draft eve, a long, strange day for Tampa Bay Lightning

It is an odd moment, indeed, when the general manager of a professional hockey team needs to send out an e-mail to player agents and fellow GMs, emphasizing that he finally will be able to do his job. But these are odd times for the Tampa Bay Lightning, and Brian Lawton confirmed he sent such an e-mail, though he declined to speak about it further.

The e-mail first came to light through the web site of Canada's TSN, which said Lawton declares, "I am the only person authorized to speak on behalf of the team with regard to player transactions."

This, it seems, is a direct result of Tuesday's meeting between commissioner Gary Bettman and co-owners Oren Koules and Len Barrie. Remember, Bettman tried to mediate between the two by clarifying everybody's roles. Koules is CEO and governor. Barrie and Koules get to sign off on all major transactions, but Lawton, as head of hockey operations, is point man for those transactions.

Lawton, you also remember, once called last season the "chaos" of "too many voices" as he, Koules and Barrie were all in on making decisions. This e-mail, written, apparently, at Bettman's behest, is part of the attempt to have the team front office function professionally.

Then there was the Hockey news report that Barrie tried to solicit investments, it appears, while keeping Koules out of the loop by asking all inquiries be sent to Barrie or executive vice president Brian Rogers, who is Barrie's man at the St. Pete Times Forum. The magazine quotes the memo as saying, "You further agree that under no circumstances will you or your representatives discuss or otherwise communicate any aspect of the transaction to any member of the Company without the expressed written consent of the company."

If the memo is authentic, it is another indication of the rift between Barrie and Koules. Neither would comment.

Other stuff on the day before the draft: We are pretty confident the Lightning's preference is to take 6-foot-6 defenseman Victor Hedman with the No. 2 pick in the draft. But what if the Islanders take him first? My guess is Tampa Bay takes John Tavares and then explores the possibility of trading him over the summer. Why not just trade the pick at the draft table? I say why do it in haste when you have the entire summer to figure it out? ... It is looking less and less likely the team will trade the No. 2 pick, even if Hedman is taken by New York. ... Lawton said he offered goaltender Karri Ramo a one-way deal before the KHL came calling. But Lawton admitted the money was not as good as Ramo will get from Avangard Omsk, and Ramo will be the No. 1. Still, Lawton said he is "extremely disappointed" Ramo will not be with the team. Lawton also said what we had thought: neither Riku Helenius nor Mike McKenna are ready for a backup role in the NHL. Acquiring a goalie, perhaps through free agency, is the best route. ... Rumors still persist about a Vinny Lecavalier trade, but that is appearing less and less likely this weekend as well. Not that it can't happen, but the chatter is greatly diminished. ... Hedman will be joined at the draft by father Olle, mother Elisabeth, brothers Oscar, 23; and Johan, 27; and girlfriend Sanna, 19. ... What will it take for Tampa Bay to perhaps trade the No. 2 pick? "If we have a chance to get a real quality, established player that is still in his lower 20s, then we'd look at that. But we're not looking to add an excellent or elite player that's 30 years old. That has no interest for me whatsoever." In other words, offer up, say Luke Schenn instead of Tomas Kaberle.

Lawton was very good on why top draft choices are so much more finding their way into opening-day rosters.

"There's a little bit of a paradigm shift in the league with these first-round picks. I think it is uncharted waters in regards to how valuable these guys are. It's based on two separate points. First, the salary cap. These players are cheaper and that adds extra value to them. The second part is related to the rules. These young kids with their energy and speed that you get with these top picks, that makes them more valuable than, say, 10 years ago when you could sneak around the ice a little more. You could use your stick and hook and hold. With our zero tolerance policy on these stick fouls, it makes these guys more accessible to start earlier. That's a dynamic shift we witnessed." 

Lawton also had a good quote on his evaluations of Hedman, Tavares and Matt Duchene, the top three players in the draft:

"We're picking lint off thousand-dollar suits with these guys. No warts. They're excellent young people, and their games speak for themselves over the course of the year. But how they acquit themselves off the ice was very impressive as well." 

Comments

[PD]

cnw a balloon payment was defaulted on in Dec. They haven't paid anything beyond the deposit. OK is broke.

I think you can pretty much guess who was at that meeting with Bettman. The NHL is likely now guaranteeing the balance to Palace.

Now the clowns have asked the NHL to broker who sits at the draft table tonight.
Biggest joke franachise of my lifetime, its like one long continuous train wreck.

[cnw]

I have a question that needs to be resolved in my mind. Was PSE and the bank represented at the meeting with the commissioner? If not, why? Wouldn't PSE and the bank want to be part of any process that affected their asset. As trustees of an estate and a public institution, aren't there fudiciary responsibilities involved here? If so, what did these parties have to say about the "going ons" at the Ok group?

It has been commented that L. Barrie has not put any of his cash in to this venture. He must have put up something in order to be a principal, perhaps he personally guaranteed the loan with PSE and the bank that financed this deal. If there is a dissolution of this partnership, what happens if Barrie leaves? Wouldn't Oren have to buy him out, get another investor to buy him out, or if no cash involved to guarantee the loans to PSE and the bank? It sounds as thought the only ones in the future to make out in this deal will be the lawyers.

With all the infighting and uncertainties how can any fan be sure this franchise will be here tomorrow, or management will be able to do justice to this team. I need answers, please. I have faith, but right now I need answers!

[Randy C]

NickD2D,

Even after cleaning my glasses, I see the same thing!

[NickD2D]

But all of the disasters are postdated. The team was supposed to go back under PS&E control in December, then January, then before the draft. Now it's being held off until next week, when OK declares bankruptcy. If that doesn't happen then when will it be pushed back to?

According to some people, the Lightning are going to move to a "real" hockey market. This has happened every year since at least 2000. I'm glad I haven't been holding my breath.

Vinny may well be moved, I doubt it, but I've been wrong before, but if he isn't moved this weekend, then we will have to endure 5 days of it will happen before July 1. And if it doesn't happen then, the rumors and speculation still won't stop.

I'm seeing a trend here, anybody else?

[Patrick]

OH, the big cap hit is not gonna be this year, but NEXT year. I guess I don't mind the inevitable doom and gloom and franchise implosion as long as it perpetually remains 1 year ahead of the present.

[Winnbig]

boltflasher,

What I am saying not notifying the agent means nothing at all regarding the progress of a deal.

If a deal is done, Lawton will say I told vinny before issuing the press release; thereby keeping my word.

Or perhaps he will say by proceeding in the manner in which we commenced the sequences of this most unusual juncture in history I was capable in avoiding any derogatory derisions for telling Vincent when I proceeded to

[Patrick]

And on that topic, from Dreger's tweets:

Brian Lawton says he expects to hold his pick, 2nd overall, but will listen. Says no discussions on Lecavalier.

[Boltflasher]

Winnbig, I guess I have to explain every comment to some to the smallest detail. Yes, Vinny and his agent not been notified or had discussion that he was moving....no, it does not mean that he won't be traded, but I do think it means a deal has not been finalized...

[2WayCenter]

Steve-O - Not a debate in the least. A fair weather fan predicting doom and gloom brought it up. Nick and Patrick took care of it nicely;)

[PD]

Patrick the big cap hit is in 2010, that's what GM's are clearing the decks for.

[Steve-O]

Are we really upset about and debating Lawton's vocabulary. Some people are wordsmiths and some are not. Back to hockey. Should be an interesting day right?

[Spooky]

Here's something I would do if I were Lawton. Chris Chelios is not getting a new contract from Detroit. Going on 80, there is little left in his tank. Why not the bolts tender him a contract, say $1.2 million as a player coach? That way he could chip in as a seventh defenseman when needed and mentor Hedeman and coach the defense during practice. His contract is written so even if he doesn't make the team or gets injured or cut, he remains an associate coach?

Chelios does not have a lot of wheels left after his long campaign, but he's a proven leader, commands respect, and knows more about bluelining than anyone short of maybe Ray Borque. You get tough two-way defensive knowledge, leadership, discipline and coaching, as well as a spot player, and a practice partner to teach "the right way" to hedeman and Meszaros, who both need good coaching to develop their full potential.

[NickD2D]

Patrick,

Obviously what Lawton should have said instead of "But how they acquit themselves..." was But, these guys, they act really good when you know theys not actually like playin hockey.

Obviously his proper use of the word acquit is pretentious and designed only to make himself look intelligent.

[Patrick]

Winnbig,

You going after Lawton on his vocabulary is not aiming very high on your part.

And as far as believing their BS - Their "BS" is infinitely better than the constant stream of BS coming from the majority of the Canadian media and talk shows about this team. Our three's "BS" is at least tempered by their long term interest in the success of the team vs. the canadian media's apparent interest in the demise of the team.

[NickD2D]

I guess we will have to wait and see. Even though I think they have learned their lesson they never fail to come up with a surprise or two.

[Patrick]

"Both the NHL and the NHLPA confirm the players have voted to apply the five percent inflator, meaning the salary cap for next season will stay the same or rise slightly, just above $57-million."

What happened to the cap plummet we've been hearing about for all season? The one that was going to make it such a favor of teams to take Vinny and Malone off our hands.

[ZERO]

Nick - I would hope that's the case, but you never know. And according to him and everyone else involved, Vinny hasn't been contacted in awhile. I guess that's a good thing?

[NickD2D]

I personally believe that Vinny WILL be contacted if they are going to trade him. Not because I have any great level of trust in the ownership or Lawton to keep their word because it's the decent thing to do (I don't have any trust in the basic decency of these "gentlemen"), but because even they aren't stupid enough to bring that kind of crap down on themselves. They are fully aware that every fan, gm, player & agent in the hockey world have eyes fixed on them through this whole process.

While they have shown unbelievable levels of stupidity over the past year, I do think they have learned their lesson about lying to a player.

[Randy C]

winnbig,

I don't see how you read such dire straights into this article. We knew there was some disagreement between the partners long ago. I think Lawton has a firm grip on what happened last year and what needs to happen this year. Like 2way said, Lets see what Lawton does with his draft.

[Winnbig]

Lawton needs to dump his word of the day calender. It really shows how ignorant he is when he tries to use that word in any context. "Acquit" is a stretch in his use. There is nothing that shows a shallow ego more than word placement stretches - see George Bush.

Why is everyone hung up on the "Vinny will be notified prior to any deal's orchestration"? Do any of you really put any stock in the BS the slightly gagged trio say?

I am not saying a deal will or won't happen, but stop saying it won't happen because V4 hasn't been called yet.

What DC shared today paints a truly scary picture. Things were/are much worse than any of the owner bashers even speculated upon.

We are in for a long ride through July 1st, and a longer one through the summer.

[hyjyljyj]

"I guess only time will tell the future of the Lightning from this point, eh?"

Right on Mike, way to cut through the BS. Since the future doesn't actually exist, only time has ever reliably told the future of anything--and not until it became the present.

That's why you see this headline never, instead of daily:

Psychic Wins Lottery :^P

[2WayCenter]

This post contains some insight that I was not sure Lawton had. Perhaps many of last year's mistake were the fault of meddling ownership. Looking forward to seeing what Lawton will do now that maybe, he can do his job without Hollywood looking over his shoulder mumbling about which players have strong sticks.

[Boltflasher]

If the "deal" is done, then neither Vinny nor his agent have been notified as both said today that they have not been contacted....so its doubtful this is true...

[mike p]

I guess only time will tell the future of the Lightning from this point, eh?

[Tom M]

I agree with Don. And the only reason the chatter is down is because the deal is done. I hope I'm wrong.

And as far as this being a "long, strange day," as I noted in a post on another thread, when Dumb and Dumber visited with Dr. Charlatan Bettman in the Emergency Room at NHL Headquarters, they were officially committed for long term care in the psychiatric unit with "super gag orders," etc. so expect plenty more of those strange days in the near future.

[Don in St. Pete]

Mike, I wish I could say I had the same confidence as you. Personally, I feel that V4 will be traded no matter what the Isles do at #1. I feel this has been arranged long in advance with Gainey and that the only difference is who will be coming back based on the Isles choice with the #1 overall. Why I was and am still against tradin V4, how long will this fiasco go on. It's important to note that with his committment to the community, we should honor that as well as possible going back. I woyuldn'tr have such a problem with all this if ownership had only been forthright. They should also offer St. Louis and Malone a ticket off the sinking ship if no others. My feeling is that Marty and Ryan stay at least until the trade deadline, whne we could see more movement. It's not a great plan to trade all your vets and let the kids figure it out.

[mike p]

Hey guys, it's been a while. Was wondering what you guys think will happen to Vinny. These are my thoughts: http://mikep26.wordpress.com/2009/06/25/my-thoughts-on-vinny/