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Angry Boyle Bolts Town

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By ERIK ERLENDSSON

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 5, 2008

Updated: 07/05/2008 12:11 am

TAMPA - Another cornerstone from Tampa Bay's Stanley Cup days is bolting for the West Coast, and Dan Boyle is none too happy about how it all came down.

After mulling the idea for a day - and saying he felt bullied into a decision by being misled about his standing and by threats from the new Lightning ownership - Boyle opted to waive his no-trade clause Friday and accept a deal to go to San Jose. Tampa Bay also sent veteran defenseman Brad Lukowich to the Sharks in return for 23-year-old defenseman Matt Carle and 2006 first-round pick Ty Wishart, also a defenseman, along with a first-round pick in 2009 and a fourth-rounder in 2010.

Tampa Bay approached Boyle on Wednesday and asked him to consider waiving the clause. Thursday morning, Boyle indicated he had no intention of waiving the no-trade that was included in the $40 million, six-year contract extension he signed in February.

But after the team hinted it might just place him on waivers, which would take his destination out of his control, and questioned Boyle's work ethic, he said he felt it was time to move on.

"I don't know if I have too much class or what, because I don't want to say exactly what was said, but when it gets personal like it did, the line was crossed," Boyle said. "When my work ethic is questioned, my offseason work ethic and the way I get ready for games and what I do is questioned, and it gets personal and I'm threatened, that is absolutely the way not to do business."

Boyle wouldn't say who made the comments, only that it was part of the ownership group, which includes Oren Koules and Len Barrie, a former teammate of Boyle's with Florida.

"I think one thing, you ask around about my character or Oren's, we are straight shooters, and I've never been accused of being nothing but straight," Barrie said. "It's too bad he feels that way, but if Wayne Gretzky can be traded, then Dan Boyle can be traded.

"Dan has been a great player for Tampa Bay, and I played with Dan, so that's why I've tried to stay out of it, because I really like Dan as a person and as a player. But this was a decision we made to get younger and create some space to pay our forwards what we need to pay. And I think it's going to be a great trade for both teams."

Boyle recently married a local woman, and the couple purchased land to build a new house. He said he never would have begun to settle in the area had he known he wouldn't be around.

While rumors of him being dealt were prevalent around the trade deadline, Boyle thought the situation was cleared up after the new ownership signed off on the contract that pays him $6.7 million a season for the next six years.

"I, for a long time now, have been under the impression that I was part of this team going forward, wanting input from me on other players, and never in a million years did I think that I was one of the guys that needed to go," Boyle said. "My butt was on the chopping block, obviously at the trade deadline last year and even after it. And I understand, but if you don't want to commit ... you don't sign a guy to six years and all of sudden go, this guy makes too much money. You signed the freaking thing."

Boyle said he considered seeing if the team was bluffing about putting him on waivers, which would mean the team would receive nothing in return for one of the best offensive defensemen in the league, but he knew it wasn't a poker game.

"The thing that ticks me off more than anything else about this is when it got personal. And when I'm threatened, that they don't care and I'm going to be put on waivers, that I'm going be on a losing team for the next six years, and they don't care. That's when I had to say, 'Wow, I need to start thinking about Dan Boyle and what's best for me and my family,'" he said. "After they crossed the line and it got personal, that's when it's somebody you don't want to play for.

"This is an absolute joke."

Reporter Erik Erlendsson can be reached at (813) 259-7835 or eerlendsson@

tampatrib.com.

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