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Melrose Is Gone In A Flash

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By ERIK ERLENDSSON

eerlendsson@tampatrib.com

Published: November 15, 2008

TAMPA - Less than one quarter into the NHL season, the ever-evolving Tampa Bay Lightning took another unexpected turn on Friday.

Just 16 games into a three-year contract, head coach Barry Melrose was fired by general manager Brian Lawton. Associate coach Rick Tocchet was named the replacement on an interim basis.

The decision to fire Melrose, the charismatic former ESPN analyst who led the Los Angeles Kings to the 1993 Stanley Cup final, comes on the heels of a three-game losing streak leading to a 5-7-4 start.

After a summer that saw the organization turned upside down, including new ownership, new management and millions spent on a plethora of new players, the slow start did not sit well with Lawton. Neither did the Lightning's league-low scoring average of 2.06 goals a game.

Record Not Prime Factor
According to Lawton, while the results were not acceptable in his mind, the team's record was not paramount in his rationale for pulling the plug on the Melrose era so soon after it started.

"The path that we were on and where we are trying to get to, I didn't feel comfortable with," Lawton said. "There was a combination of things."

Lawton did not elaborate on what other elements might have factored into the decision, which was cleared through owners Oren Koules and Len Barrie, but cited differing views of how the team was progressing under Melrose's direction.

"For me, it's not about the wins and losses every night. ... It's certainly part of the equation, but it's not all of it," Lawton said. "It has to do with, philosophically, where we're going, where we're at today, where we're going tomorrow and where we're going to be in three months or a year."

Whether Tocchet is the coach to turn things around remains to be seen. The 44-year-old veteran of 24 seasons in the NHL is not without controversy after he pleaded guilty to charges following an investigation into a sports betting ring while he was an assistant coach in Phoenix. He served a league suspension and a two-year probation began in August.

"We're looking for him to energize this group and to re-focus them in the right direction," Lawton said of Tocchet. "I think there are some very big differences in Tocchet's approach, absolutely. I think Rick is probably a bit more structured, a little bit more detail-oriented."

Melrose was away from coaching for 13 years. When hired in late June, he quickly put his television persona behind him and spoke of the type of team he wanted to put on the ice each night: a physical, hard-working group that would create offense with an aggressive style.

That team never materialized, however. The Lightning were often outworked by the opposition and allowed a league-high 37.5 shots a game, more than a shot higher than the next closest team. During a recent five-game road trip, Lawton questioned how hard the team was working after a 4-3 loss in New Jersey.

"I believe very strongly that our club is better than our record," Lawton said. "The players need to take notice of this."

Coach Wasn't Surprised

Melrose said even with the short amount of time he had to make his mark, he wasn't caught off guard when Lawton called about 3:30 p.m. Friday to break the news.

"I watch things, I see things and I'm a good judge of things. I've been around hockey since I was 15 years old, so not too much surprises me," Melrose said. "But the bottom line is, I'm a black-and-white guy, I'm a no-excuse guy and my job was to get this team to win. My job is to get guys who don't play hard to play hard, and I wasn't able to do that. So, I take full responsibility for that. My job was to get guys to play and ownership felt I wasn't doing that."

At the forefront of Melrose's issues was the ice time given to both rookie Steven Stamkos, the overall No. 1 draft pick , and captain Vinny Lecavalier. Stamkos played less than seven minutes in the team's home opener against Carolina on Oct. 11 and is averaging 11 minutes, 27 seconds a game. Lecavalier, who played just under 23 minutes a night last season under former head coach John Tortorella, played a season-low 16:32 Thursday in a loss to Detroit and averages 19:31.

Melrose chose not to address whether he was given a fair shake with the Lightning, saying that was for others to decide. He does not regret trading in the comfort of his 12-year job in front of the camera for the high-pressured world behind the bench.

"I loved it. I've had a great couple of months here working with assistant coach Cap Raeder again and coaching again," Melrose said. "The training staff are unbelievable guys and I told them I can see why they won the Stanley Cup because that's a great group of guys they have in the locker room. I've had a blast, so I have no regrets and really, really loved what I was doing."

That made his firing Friday harder to fathom after such a short stint.

"I take losing very hard ... so I'm very upset, I'm angry and disappointed," he said. "But I'm also mad at myself because I was not able to get through to many of these guys."

Reporter Erik Erlendsson can be reached at (813) 259-7835.

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