Tampa Bay Lightning: Battle for the Franchise

The fight for control of the Tampa Bay Lightning may be reaching its tipping point. According to the St. Petersburg Times, as part of the agreement put in place on June 23, both Len Barrie and Oren Koules, dysfunctional owners of the franchise will have a window to buy the other out.

Barrie gets the first crack, getting a sixty day window that runs out at the end of September. If Barrie cannot come with the funds necessary to buy out Koules, Koules will get the next shot.

If neither can come to an agreement, the NHL may look to find a third party buyer, the team may revert back to the former owners, Palace Sports, or the two owners may need to find a way to co-exist.

Barrie met a deadline to pay $3 million to Koules as part of a repayment of a personal loan when Barrie missed a cash call during the 2009 season.

Barrie also had to produce a $10 million irrevocable line of credit to the NHL to display his ability to cover the team's potential losses.

The relationship between Koules and Barrie seemed to degrade during the season when according to WDAE 620-AM's Steve Duemig, Barrie was acting as the an authority with the Lightning and speaking with media while not having put one cent into the franchise. This caused a rift between the two that seems to have remained.

Interestingly, this isn't the first ownership problem for Koules. When Koules first approached Palace Sports and Entertainment regarding the purchase of the hockey club, he was a member of an ownership group that included former NHL coach and general manager Doug McLean and Coral Springs, Fla., developer Jeff Sherrin.

The purchase fell apart when Koules withheld his end of the payment for the franchise. Koules then secretly formed a partnership with Barrie and the two secured funding separate from the rest of the group to purchase the team, leaving McLean and Sherrin with nothing.

The biggest question is whether either man has the liquidity to by the other out and maintain the franchise.