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Feaster Says Things Are Status Quo

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 15, 2008

PHILADELPHIA - As far as Lightning general manager Jay Feaster is concerned, things will remain business as usual in the hockey operations department.

Feaster said Wednesday's announcement of a purchase agreement to sell the team to Oren Koules will have little bearing on what takes place leading up to the Feb. 26 trade deadline.

"Palace Sports was going to reach out to Oren on anything we did. That was always going to happen," Feaster said Thursday. "Now, that process is memorialized and has put a mechanism in place to have those consultations with Oren on anything we might do."

While current owner Palace Sports and Entertainment will have the final say on any kind of decision as it relates to the team until it officially changes hands, Koules' say will hold plenty of weight when it comes to making the final call.

"I still have a fiduciary responsibility to this hockey club, and that's something that hasn't changed," Feaster said. "If we have something on the table or something in the works, and if our recommendations are not the same as Oren's, Palace Sports CEO Tom Wilson will have to make the call.

"But we will be mindful of that and be open to what Oren wants. At the same time, he has made it clear that I am the manager of this club and I'm the GM for a reason, and he does not want to come in and be the manager."

BOYLE UPDATE: One of the pressing issues on Feaster's agenda is trying to reach a new contract with D Dan Boyle, who is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent July 1. If the sides can't reach an agreement before the Feb. 26 trade deadline, Feaster likely would have to field offers for the 31-year-old.

"We have made contact," Feaster said of opening talks with Boyle's agent, George Bazos, "but I'm not going to do this in the press."

Considering the contracts signed last year by Detroit's Brian Rafalski and Philadelphia's Kimmo Timonen, and the extension signed last week by Calgary's Dion Phaneuf, Boyle will be seeking an annual salary in the range of $6.5 million to $7 million. But Boyle said his focus is not on what might be happening with negotiations, even after Wednesday's news, or worrying if he might end the season with another team.

"Our job is to win games and get into the playoffs, and hopefully that makes things a little easier for Koules and everybody else," Boyle said. "I like being here, and I still think we have a team that can make the playoffs. And as long as I'm wearing this jersey, that's who I am playing for and I'm going to give it everything I have, so I'm not thinking down the road at this point at all."

Boyle has a no-trade clause in his contract, which essentially gives him control on where he might end up if the sides are unable to reach an agreement on an extension before the deadline. French television RDS reported on its Web site this week that Boyle had given Feaster a list of 10 teams in which he would be willing to accept a trade, but no list has been submitted to the Lightning.

NUTS AND BOLTS: D Brad Lukowich missed his second consecutive game with an abdominal/groin injury. ... C Andreas Karlsson did not accompany the team and missed his second game in a row as he tends to a personal matter in Tampa. ... Today kicks off Hockey Weekend in America with "Wear Your Favorite Hockey Jersey to School" day. ... Tampa Bay's five power-play opportunities in the first two periods Thursday matched the number of chances the team had in the past five games combined.

Erik Erlendsson

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