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Bolts' Exhaustive Offseason Leads To New Beginnings

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By ERIK ERLENDSSON

The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 4, 2008

Everything old with the Lightning is, well, now old. It's all about the new as Tampa Bay enters the season trying to forget last year's 30th-place finish. With so many new elements, it should be easy to focus on the future.

The Owners

Oren Koules and Len Barrie took the NHL by storm, taking the reigns from Palace Sports and Entertainment in late June and immediately putting their stamp on their franchise. They are a radical change from the stereotypical owners, showing up to events in jeans and T-shirts instead of a suit and tie. Labeled "cowboys" by former Lightning coach John Tortorella, Koules and Barrie are certainly displaying a maverick attitude when it comes to conducting business in what has been called a good-old-boy network.

The Coach
Barry Melrose enjoyed success at every step of his coaching career, winning titles in the Canadian junior ranks and the American Hockey League, then leading the Los Angeles Kings to the Stanley Cup finals in 1993. But after being fired following the 1994-95 season, Melrose spent the past 13 years as the lead hockey analyst for ESPN without receiving serious consideration to return to coaching. Now, at age 52, Melrose returns to the bench, where he said he feels at home. There certainly will be a lot of interest from those outside the organization as to how Melrose does in his return with Rick Tocchet, Wes Walz and goaltending coach Cap Raeder also on his staff. Melrose's approach to dealing with players will be a stark contrast from former coach John Tortorella, who often wore his feelings and emotions on his sleeve.

The Management

As radical a change as the team made on the ice, the front-office staff made just as many changes. Former player agent Brian Lawton holds the title of vice president of hockey operations, but he performs the role of general manager for the first time in his career. Lawton brought in Tom Kurvers as co-assistant general manager, a role he shares with holdover Claude Loiselle, while Jim Hammet was brought in to serve as director of player personnel. Lawton has been the triggerman for Koules and Barrie on all the changes the team has made, and he is ultimately the one who is responsible for the on-ice product.

The Offense

Once you get past the MVP line of Marty St. Louis, Vinny Lecavalier and Vinny Prospal, the forwards have a whole new look. No. 1 overall draft pick Steven Stamkos centers the second line with free agents Radim Vrbata and Ryan Malone, while 40-something veterans Gary Roberts and Mark Recchi bring valuable experience to the locker room. In total, there are nine forwards on the active roster that were not with the team at the start of last year. The group is as deep as any in the league, minus Detroit, and should keep offensive slumps to a minimum.

The Defense

This is the big question mark. Of the group that takes the ice today, only Mike Lundin and Shane O'Brien spent time with the team last year. New acquisitions Matt Carle and Andrej Meszaros are expected to play big roles, while rookie Vladimir Mihalik and Janne Niskala each plays his first game today. Once Paul Ranger recovers from offseason shoulder surgery - he should be ready by the middle of October - the defense will look much better. Until then, it could wind up being an Achilles' heel playing in front of an unproven No. 1 goaltender in Mike Smith.

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