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Kuba Didn't Fight Trade

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By ERIK ERLENDSSON

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 11, 2008

BRANDON - Two weeks ago, Filip Kuba finalized his plans to attend Lightning training camp.

Now, the 31-year-old defenseman is in the market for a new vehicle since he figures snow tires won't work well on his Maserati while he spends the winter in Ottawa, his new hockey home.

Kuba spent Wednesday morning working out with many of his now former teammates at the Ice Sports Forum, stopping by for a few days before he heads north of the border to report to his new team.

The soft-spoken Kuba was dealt to the Senators on Aug. 29 along with defenseman Alex Picard and a first-round pick for 22-year-old defenseman Andrej Meszaros.

As the Lightning revamped their roster during the summer, Kuba was left as the team's most experienced defenseman and figured to log top pairing minutes. But once he was called by his agent informing him the team was attempting to move him to Ottawa, Kuba knew his time in Tampa was up, which is why he never tried to invoke his no-trade clause.

"The way it was presented to me at the time, I knew even if I said no to the trade I wasn't going to stay here on the team," he said. "So it didn't make any sense to say no I'm going to stay and then know I'm going somewhere else anyway."

Kuba, who has one year left on a deal that will pay him $3 million, didn't discuss any particulars of how things were presented to him when he was asked to waive his no-trade clause. But after former Lightning defenseman Dan Boyle accused new Tampa Bay ownership of bullying him into accepting a deal to San Jose with a threat of being put on waivers, meaning Los Angeles would have first crack at claiming a player, it's not out of bounds to think something similar happened with Kuba.

Kuba said Boyle's comments never really entered his mind.

"Not at the time, I was kind of in shock so I wasn't really thinking about that," Kuba said. "I was talking to my agent most of the time, I didn't really talk to the owners much - after it happened I did - but they said right away that if did not go there, I would end up going somewhere else. But there was no pressure there."

Perhaps what may have disappointed Kuba more than anything else is missing out on the chance to play in front of family and friends in his native Czech Republic, where the Lightning will open the season Oct. 4-5 against the New York Rangers.

"That's one of the first things that came to my mind, that the game in Prague is gone," he said. "I had family and friends that wanted to come to the game and see me play, but now all that is gone."

TV SCHEDULE RELEASED: The Lightning and Sun Sports released the broadcast schedule for the season, with 65 games guaranteed to be aired, including the season opener in Prague on Oct. 4 vs. the Rangers. The Oct. 5 game is set to air on Versus.

Team spokesman Bill Wickett said the team was exploring getting at least some of the remaining 13 games not on Sun Sports or Versus to another outlet, possibly WXPX, Channel 66, which aired select games last season.

KOULES WEDDING: Lightning owner Oren Koules is set to be married this weekend at a ceremony in Cabo San Lucas, Calif., to fiancee Shereen Arazm, a Los Angeles area restaurant and nightclub owner, according to Sports Business Journal. Koules is expected to be in Tampa next week for the opening of training camp.

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