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Melrose Place? Drama Surrounds Bolts' Coaching Spot

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By CARTER GADDIS and ERIK ERLENDSSON

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 31, 2008

Updated: 05/31/2008 12:11 am

John Tortorella's tenure as the Lightning's coach will end when Oren Koules is approved as the team's new owner next month, according to a source close to the Lightning.

For more than a month, speculation has centered on ESPN commentator and former Los Angeles Kings coach Barry Melrose as a replacement if Tortorella does not coach Tampa Bay in the final season of his contract.

The Toronto Star reported Friday that Melrose will be paid $2 million annually.

Melrose, who has worked at ESPN since 1996 and last coached in the NHL in 1995, gave a soft denial Friday during an appearance on ESPN's "SportsCenter."

"This is no different than any of the last 10 years," said Melrose, who was seen in Koules' company Monday in Detroit during the Stanley Cup finals. "I've been contacted by a handful of clubs every year since joining ESPN. My desire to coach again has never been a secret, but I love what I do at ESPN. ... I want to coach again in the NHL. But nothing's going on. Uh, I work for ESPN and I'm very happy working for ESPN."

Tortorella, who replaced Steve Ludzik as Lightning coach in 2001 and guided the team to a Stanley Cup championship in 2004, declined to comment through a team spokesman Friday.

At the end of this past season, Tortorella discussed the possibility of stepping down with General Manager Jay Feaster after the Lightning failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 2002. Feaster rejected the notion, and Tortorella, the all-time leader in NHL victories among American-born coaches, went on to coach Team USA in the World Hockey Championships.

Tortorella later expressed his desire to return to the Lightning.

In six seasons with Tampa Bay, Tortorella's record is 227-195-35 with 35 ties. The team made the playoffs in his second season, won the Cup in his third and suffered first-round exits in 2005-06 and 2006-07.

He has one year remaining on his contract at $1.3 million.

Koules is a movie and TV producer who lives in Southern California. His purchasing group, OK Hockey, is expected to gain final approval from the NHL's board of governors during a June 18 meeting in New York. Until then, any major personnel changes within the Lightning hierarchy are on hold.

"In directing the hockey operations department, we have been asked by both Palace Sports & Entertainment and OK Hockey that unless a hockey operations issue is time-sensitive or deadline-sensitive, all items be deferred until after the closing of the sale of the franchise," Feaster said in a statement released by the team. "Inasmuch as John Tortorella is under contract to be the head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning for the 2008-09 season, this is not necessarily a time-sensitive issue."

Discussion of Melrose taking over from Tortorella first was raised publicly more than a month ago during an intermission report of a CBC broadcast of Canadiens-Flyers game. Al Strachan of Sun Media in Canada reported then that Melrose would replace Tortorella once Koules takes ownership.

A report in Wednesday's Ottawa Sun speculated that Melrose would sign a three-year, $6 million contract with the Lightning when Koules takes over.

Melrose, 51, is best known for his "mullet" hairstyle and as ESPN's primary hockey analyst. He played 300 games in the NHL as a defenseman, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and Detroit.

He began his coaching career after retiring as a player in 1987. He guided the Medicine Hat Tigers to a Western Hockey League championship in his first season as a coach.

The Kelvington, Saskatchewan, native then coached the Seattle Thunderbirds and the Adirondack Red Wings, winning the American Hockey League championship with Adirondack in 1992. The Kings, led by Wayne Gretzky, lost to the Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley Cup finals in 1993, Melrose's first season with L.A.

After missing the playoffs the next two years, Melrose was fired and joined ESPN.

Should Tortorella reach the open market, he likely will command attention from several teams with coaching vacancies. His name already has been linked with vacancies in Toronto and Ottawa, and San Jose might be an attractive option for a coach hoping to compete right away for a Stanley Cup. Florida and Atlanta also are without head coaches.

Reporter Carter Gaddis can be reached at (813) 259-8291 or igaddis@tampatrib.com. Reporter Erik Erlendsson can be reached at (813) 259-7835 or eerlendsson@tampatrib.com.

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