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Five mistakes that doomed Bolts' season

Tribune photo by JASON BEHNKEN

Barry Melrose, who hadn't been behind the bench in 13 years, was fired after just 16 games as the head coach of the Lightning.

By ERIK ERLENDSSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: April 10, 2009

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Which of the following was the Lightning's biggest mistake this season?

TAMPA - Under the guidance of new owners, new management and new coaches, the Lightning were supposed to be winners this season. At the start of the 2008-09 campaign, there was enthusiasm and optimism that a last-place team could turn into a contender.

OK Hockey was supposed to deliver a winning product.

But as Tampa Bay embarks for Atlanta and a meaningless game to close out the season on Saturday, the Lightning are locked into the 29th spot in the league standings, one better than last season's last-place finish, with a 24-39-18 record.

While it means a second straight season with a top-three draft pick, it is not the finish fans were promised back in July and August by owners Oren Koules and Len Barrie. So what happened?

Here are five events that impacted the Lightning's losing season:

Hiring Barry Melrose

Koules takes full credit, or blame, for this one after he sought the opinions of those who played for Melrose and was impressed by what he heard. But without a plan for training camp, any kind of set system in place or a solid plan of action, Melrose was fired 16 games into the season. After spending 13 years in front of a camera at ESPN, Melrose had lost touch with what it means to be behind the bench in today's NHL and the technical aspects of the game.

Bringing in inexperienced leadership

When former general manager Jay Feaster was taken out the decision-making process, Barrie and Koules turned to former NHL player and agent Brian Lawton to run the hockey operations department. He had never worked a day in a hockey front office in any capacity, essentially forcing him to learn the job on the fly. So, an inexperienced ownership group was coupled with an inexperienced general manager.

Trading Dan Boyle

Today's NHL puts a premium on puck-moving defensemen who can skate, which is exactly the game Boyle plays. But in trading Boyle to San Jose and not bringing in somebody with similar talents, the Lightning missed a large part of their transition game. In addition, the pieces acquired in the deal – Matt Carle, Ty Wishart and a first-round draft pick – are either no longer here or spent most of the season in the minors, which means Tampa Bay has little to show for trading one of the top 10 defensemen in the league.

Dismantling the defense

By the first week of October,Tampa Bay had moved almost its entire defensive core from last season, trading away Boyle, Brad Lukowich, Filip Kuba, Alex Picard and Shane O'Brien and receving only Lukas Krajicek, Andrej Meszaros and Matt Carle in return. Carle was later traded for Steve Eminger, who was later traded for Noah Welch. While the team spent millions of free-agent dollars on forwards over the summer, turnover and injuries resulted in 22 different players manning the blue line.

Entertaining offers for Lecavalier

There have been trade rumors involving Vinny Lecavalier since the day he was drafted first overall in 1998. This year, however, they were more than rumors. Canadiens general manager Bob Gainey stated publicly there were talks about his team acquiring Lecavalier, who has been the face of the
Lightning franchise for a decade. Tampa Bay fans expressed their displeasure about the possibility of losing Lecavalier, who recently signed an 11-year, $85 million contract extension. It turned into a major distraction the second half of the season.

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