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Ohlund signing caps much-needed week of stability for Bolts

The Associated Press

When it comes to personnel decisions, Lightning general manager Brian Lawton says the buck stops with him.

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By MARTIN FENNELLY | The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 2, 2009

TAMPA - It was another day of moving away from the shadows and fog and insanity and jungle madness that has been the Tampa Bay Lightning.

On Wednesday, about 347 seconds after free agency began, Bolts general manager Brian Lawton proved that some men in skates still really want to come here and skate for Uncle Oren and Len, signing rock-solid defenseman Mattias Ohlund.

For all the craziness the past few weeks, as Oren Koules and Len Barrie have wrestled to control this whimpering franchise, let's look at what the Lighting have done these past six days or so.

They took who they wanted and needed at the NHL draft with the second pick overall, defenseman Victor Hedman.

They signed Ohlund to anchor the defense.

Oh, and Vinny Lecavalier is still a Bolt.

Throw in acquiring defensman Matt Walker, a free agent from Chicago, and re-signing defenseman Lukas Krajicek, and you know what it felt like?

I'll say the word.

Stability.

OK, Hedman didn't grab headlines across hockey land.

But headlines are the last thing the Bolts need right about now.

They need straight lines. They need calm. They need rational choices.

There hasn't seemed to be much of that on Channelside Drive of late.

"All the things that have been written or said about Oren and Len, but there's one consistent path, one consistent trait that they both have, and that is they both very much care about this hockey team and both very much want to see a winner on the ice," Lawton said.

Did anyone just hear "Battle Hymn of the Republic" playing?

No, the Lightning didn't make a huge splash, but this was splash enough - answering needs, quietly, efficiently. There was the soft hum of agreement, delightful silence given the recent tumult.

There was Mattias Ohlund saying this:

"I'm extremely excited abut joining Tampa Bay. I was ecstatic when they first called, and it felt from the beginning that this is the place I wanted to be."

He is talking about the Lightning, isn't he?

"I think it's a very positive message," Lawton said. "There's always trepidation or apprehension when you have the kind of media swirl that our club has had. It's easy to pile on when the things aren't going right. I'm not complaining about it. I'm not whining about it. It is what it is. We have to go on with our business. That's what we're doing. That's what you see today."

You see the 32-year-old Ohlund, just the type to steady a defense that never found stability last season after going through a record 23 bodies. You can see Ohlund mentoring fellow Swede Hedman, teaching the kid the ropes at rinks across the continent.

And, as we speak, you see Vinny, safe and sound with his 11-year no-trade deal.

"Nobody has really asked about that," Lawton said, in and around the slightest of smirks. "It's apparently not news if he's here. It's only news if he's not here or potentially not going to be here.

"He's with this club because we want him here. There have been a lot of rumors about ownership, about trades that were vetoed, things like that. There was clarity recently brought to this organization about myself being the only person who could orchestrate those kinds of trades. I can assure everybody here that there was no trade ever vetoed by any owner. That is an absolutely false statement, accusation, what have you."

So, what do we have, so far?

It's too early to tell.

It's also too early to grade out the job Lawton is doing. Yes, he came into the Forum with a heavy hand, and that hand reached all over the building, rubbing more than a few people the wrong way, including some players. He made few apologies. It's like he told me one day last season:

"It shouldn't be that comfortable when you're not winning."

The Lightning haven't won yet. But on Wednesday, they answered a need.

It's no secret this team's horrendous defense needed overhauling. It's also no secret this franchise needed one person calling the shots. That has begun, too, apparently.

Lawton couldn't leave without invoking a slight Alexander Haig moment: He is control here.

"I really am," Lawton said.

When it comes to personnel decisions, he says the buck stops at him. That has apparently been hammered out - neither Koules and Barrie will be playing Jerry Jones. At least that's what Lawton says.

I'll believe it when I keep seeing it.

"Ultimately I'm only as good as the authority I have," Lawton said. "If that wavers in way, shape or form, my job becomes next to impossible, and quite frankly I wouldn't want to even do that job."

And:

"They have given me the authority to do what I see as the best course of action for this organization. They've done that with the caveat that if things don't go well, I probably won't be here."

We now return to our regularly schedule Mattias Ohlund quote:

"I think Tampa has a very talented hockey club. I think it was a good situation for me."

He's talking about the Lightning, right?

"We feel good that he recognizes what we believe, that this is not a 29th-place hockey team," Lawton said.

Do I hear 28th?

Do I hear 26th, 25th?

What is it going to be next season on Channelside?

I only know what it has been like the past few days.

Stable.

Right now, that might just beat wins.

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