Hatfield and McCoys Running Lightning into the Ground

One owner wants to slice payroll by $10 million, trade the franchise player (one of the best players in hockey), and backs a general manager that traded away the team's best defenseman (on a team that was weak on the blue line) for prospects—most of whom are no longer with the franchise—as well as the 2004 Conn Smythe trophy winner for a goalie who lost more than he won, showed inconsistency, and now has a specter surrounding his career due to lingering effects of a nasty concussion last season.

The other owner wants to keep said franchise player, spend another $10 million up to the salary cap ceiling, and isn't married to said general manager.

Owner No. 1 is Oren Koules, a Hollywood movie producer and the guy some believe has been calling the shots the last two years of the Tampa Bay Lightning's freefall from relevancy in the NHL.

The other owner is former NHL hockey player Len Barrie.

Published reports in the local Tampa Bay fishwraps confirm what has been rumored for some time.  The Lightning franchise is in disarray due to in-fighting between the two majority owners of the team. It has gotten so bad that today NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman will mediate a meeting between the two disgruntled partners and help decide who exactly has controlling interest in the franchise.

It's amazing to see the quick fall for the Bolts. Just five short years ago they were on top of the hockey world. Dave Andreychuck held the Stanley Cup high above his head and the Bolts made hockey relevant in Florida.

After qualifying for the Stanley Cup playoffs just once in their first 10 seasons, Tampa Bay made the playoffs four consecutive years under the tutelage of John Tortorella, capturing two division championships, an Eastern Conference title, and the Stanley Cup.

Under the Davidson Group's Palace Sports and Entertainment, Tampa Bay smartly acquired good talent at bargain prices under General Manager Jay Feaster, allowing the Lightning to remain in contention.

While owner Bill Davidson rarely was seen at the St. Pete Times Forum (formerly the Ice Palace), his group provided Feaster just enough resources to put a competitive hockey team on the ice and make trades (such as the crucial acquisition of Darrel Sydor at the '04 trading deadline) to better the hockey club.

On Feb. 13, 2008, all of that changed. It was rumored for the entire '07-'08 season that Oren Koules would try to purchase the Lightning. At the beginning of the year, he was part of a large group of local investors that had an agreement in principle to purchase the hockey team.

Koules, with Len Barrie as his partner, decided he didn't need his local partners and sought his own deal with Palace Sports, spawning an avalanche of lawsuits and accusations of underhanded dealings. It would take another five months for the mess to be worked out.

In the meantime, the distraction took its toll on the franchise, as they struggled on the ice, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2002. Once the deal was finalized, many Bay Area hockey fans celebrated the move—as Koules and Barrie were "hockey guys." "Finally," some thought, "This franchise will be run like a hockey team instead of a real estate deal that, oh by the way, had a hockey team play in the nearby arena."

It didn't take long for Koules and Barrie to make an impact. They traded one of the team's most beloved players Conn Smythe Trophy winner Brad Richards and a goaltending prospect to the Dallas Stars for goalie Mike Smith, forward Jeff Halpern, and a few other guys no longer with the team.

They followed that up by signing defenseman Dan Boyle to a huge contract, assuring he would be with the franchise for the forseeable future.

After the season ended, the franchise decided to jettison the two men who changed the culture in Tampa Bay and produced a champion: General Manager Jay Feaster and Head Coach John Tortorella.

Then they proceeded to trade Boyle to San Jose for a bunch of prospects that are no longer with the franchise. Koules and Barrie said it was to allow Tampa Bay to be players in the free agency market—and players they were.

New General Manager Brian Lawton traded for the rights of free agent-to-be Ryan Malone, as well as a few others, signing Malone before the deadline and securing his rights. The franchise was a revolving door with players coming and going in whirlwind fashion.

After six seasons under the ultraconservative tutelage of Jay Feaster, this new aggressive approach was a shock to the fanbase, the team, and the NHL.

As the Lightning selected wunderkid Steven Stamkos with their first overall selection in the 2008 NHL draft, things seemed to be on their way back up. The team also signed their franchise player, Vincent Lecavalier, to a mega deal that included a no-move clause that kicked in July 1, 2009, guaranteeing Lecavalier would likely end his career as a member of the Lightning. 

Behind the scenes, though, cracks began to fissure through the ownership group.

The selection of ESPN analyst Barry Melrose was the first crack. It is believed that the move was strictly Oren Koules and that both Barrie and Lawton were against it. Koules forged forward, and Lawton played the good soldier by hiring the cocky Melrose as the team's sixth head coach in franchise history.

Melrose hadn't coached since the early '90s and didn't understand how much hockey had changed. Players said his training camp was a joke. In reality, the Lightning had no training camp, and it showed.

Early into first season, a group of unnamed players went to General Manager Brian Lawton and Koules to complain about Melrose's methods. Then, 16 games into the season, Melrose was fired, finishing with a 5-7-4 record. Associate coach Rick Tocchet was elevated to interim head coach and finished out the year. 

Meanwhile, the downturn in the economy hit Barrie hard, as most of his money was tied to the failing real estate market.  The group struggled to make payments on its debt service to Palace Sports and Entertainment. Rumors of bankruptcy and foreclosure of the franchise dogged the team throughout the season.

It was also believed that the Lightning were shopping Lecavalier, hoping to deal him before the no-move clause kicked in and avoid the $10 million-a-year salary.

A feud erupted between the two owners, who did not agree on Lecavalier nor the direction the franchise was headed under the supervision of Lawton. Disarray has ensued as Lawton is now being told one thing by one owner and another thing by the other, leading to chaos with only a week before the NHL draft.

As longtime Lightning fans, we're used to bad ownership. The franchise nearly folded under Kokasai Green, an ownership group from Japan.

The Davidson group looked to buy the franchise in 1999, but an insurance tycoon and inspirational speaker named Art Williams swooped in and stole the franchise. Williams knew nothing about hockey and had no idea the margin of debt the Lightning had accumulated under Kokasai Green. Williams, to his credit, paid the debts of the team and had the financial side of the franchise back on course. On the ice, however, he looked like a buffoon.

Williams put the ultimate pressure on a young rookie prospect named Vincent Lecavalier, proclaiming Lecavalier as "the Michael Jordan of Hockey." Williams would last a year before clearing understanding he was in over his head and sold to Davidson.

It would usher in "the glory years" for Tampa Bay with four straight playoff appearances and a championship. Another run at the Cup may have been possible for Tampa Bay had it not been for the lockout in 2004. The Lightning lost a year on the contracts of their players, causing them to lose goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin to free agency.

The salad days would end with the chaotic arrival of the Koules group and here we are today. The next 10 days may set the future for the Tampa Bay Lightning and if the wrong choices are made, it could set the franchise back, alienate the fanbase, and force a downfall that may take five years to recover from.