Lightning co-owner Oren Koules knows a thing or two about movies, but even he wouldn’t green-light the comedy that’s being shot in Tampa Bay as we speak.
Willy-nilly offseason spending. Hiring a coach who hadn’t coached since the mid-90s, then firing him after less than two months. An owner possibly diagramming plays in the locker room. Unfairly making a teenaged rookie the new face of the franchise. It could be called “Dumb and Dumbererer”, but even those guys were smarter than this.
Last Friday, Barry Melrose was made the scapegoat for the team’s 5-7-4 start. And while he surely deserves some of the blame, this is mostly about Koules and partner Len Barrie, a former player who made his fortune in real estate. It was them who bought Melrose from ESPN in the first place – BEFORE hiring a general manager (Brian Lawton, who had no previous front office experience, did not come aboard until June 25th). It was them who wanted to move stud defensemen Dan Boyle because of his contract. It was them who OK’d big money deals for Ryan Malone and Radim Vrbata, plus the addition of Gary Roberts.
Those three have combined for six goals, four assists, a minus-7, and over $7.5 million dollars against the salary cap. It was Koules and Barrie who approved all of those free agent acquisitions while ignoring the team’s most glaring weakness, even before moving Boyle to San Jose – the blueline. Paul Ranger and Andrej Meszaros are quality, but there is little further down the depth chart. As any Ranger fan will tell you, Marek Malik is not the answer.
Many consider Matt Carle a future star, but he was inexplicably traded earlier this month (and has proceeded to play very strong hockey in Philadelphia). The Lightning have now essentially traded Boyle and a serviceable Brad Lukowich for the enigmatic Steve Eminger, the hot-headed Steve Downie, prospect Ty Wishart and two draft picks.
The offseason overhaul was meant to give Melrose a competitive roster. The in-season one has tried to address the summer mistakes. Neither is working – and that can’t be all on Melrose. Lawton told NHL Radio’s NHL Live Monday that playing style was the main issue with Melrose. The club wanted the Lightning to play more of an up-tempo game. Did Melrose’s philosophy not come up during his interview(s)? Shouldn’t Koules and/or Barrie have double-checked that Melrose’s on-ice product would match their hopes for their club?
It has been reported that Vinny Lecavalier went to management and asked for Melrose’s dismissal. It is believed some players never considered Melrose more than a TV guy taking a silly stab at coaching again. If that’s all true, in particular the clout Lecavalier has in the front office, why wasn’t he consulted on the head coaching search in the first place? The players certainly had their misgivings about Melrose long before his training camp practice.
In the end, Melrose is lucky to be out of this mess. It’s likely only to get worse as Lawton and his owners continue to haphazardly tweak a now mediocre roster. Good luck, Rick Tocchet. If only someone could yell cut...
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The Shootout…The Rangers and Senators will play in Ottawa Saturday afternoon. Certain members of the Blueshirts will be out for blood from Jarkko Ruutu. He’s been on the franchise’s hit list since the last Olympics for a hit-from-behind on Jaromir Jagr. Most recently, Ruutu took runs at Brandon Dubinsky and Marc Staal Monday night at MSG. He also shot the puck at Henrik Lundqvist after missing during the shootout. The unfortunate thing is, Ruutu will not oblige Colton Orr, Aaron Voros or Paul Mara with a fight. He’s never felt the need to drop the gloves to validate his style of play. If you’re going to run around the rink recklessly, have the pucks to take a punch.
The Senators, meanwhile, need a change. We’ve been talking for too long about a lack of secondary scoring. Free agency and player development have yet to produce support for Spezza-Heatley-Alfredsson. It’s time to pull the trigger on a Jason Spezza trade. He’s the easiest of the Big 3 to move. Chicago, for instance, wants another center and has some attractive pieces up front. Sure, Spezza could explode playing with Patrick Kane or Patrick Sharp or whomever, but it is simply not working now in Ottawa. Management already made its coaching change, now it’s time for a roster overhaul.
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