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Oates earns a contract

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 3, 2009

Updated: 10/03/2009 02:22 am

ATLANTA - Former All-Star Adam Oates entered Lightning training camp with a mission, but without a contract.

On the eve of the season opener, however, Oates officially joined Tampa Bay's coaching staff after signing a one-year deal with the team. While he proved his value with his work on the power play during the preseason, the 47-year-old will not just coach that unit.

"He's bringing a wealth of knowledge on the power play, but in my mind he's also doing a much better job than that in all areas," Lightning general manager Brian Lawton said. "And Adam really earned it. Adam wasn't looking for anything, he wanted to come in and prove himself. And in my opinion, he backed up everything that he wanted to show us with how he conducted himself in camp and the knowledge he instilled. And his communication skills he displayed on a daily basis was excellent."

Getting into coaching was on Oates' mind when his playing days ended after the 2003-04 season. After watching plenty of games from his couch in California, and throwing things at the television, Oates is thrilled to be on staff and joining Rick Tocchet, one of his best friends from their playing days.

"Tocc is a real good friend, and the opportunity to work with him really excited me, so just coming into camp was going to be a good experience for me," said Oates, who is sixth on the all-time list with 1,069 career assists. "So to have a chance to move forward and hopefully contribute a little bit, I'm really excited."

Ashton signed

Tampa Bay on Friday announced that LW Carter Ashton, the 29th overall pick in the 2009 draft, was signed to a standard three-year, entry-level contract.

Ashton, 18, appeared in three preseason games with Tampa Bay before he was returned to his junior team, Lethbridge of the Western Hockey League.

"He showed during training camp and the preseason exactly why we traded up to get him in the draft," Lawton said. "He fits nicely with our goal of bringing in some young, talented forwards that aren't afraid to play in the greasy areas."

The three-year contract will begin next season, assuming Ashton remains in juniors this season.

Shift change

The team also announced Friday some changes in the front office.

After the contract for assistant general manager Claude Loiselle expired earlier this week and he was not retained, the Lightning moved Imran Kahn into the position. Kahn, a Yale graduate, is a former intern of Lawton's while at Octagon Sports Agency.

Also, Liz Sylvia was named manager of hockey administration after previously serving as hockey operations executive assistant. Sylvia, a Massachusetts native, joined the organization in 2005 from the American Hockey League.

Nuts and bolts

G Jaroslav Janus, LW Justin Keller, RW Tommy Goebel and RW Travis Whitehead were all signed to professional tryout agreements with Tampa Bay's AHL affiliate, Norfolk, which opens its schedule today against defending champion Hershey. ... Tampa Bay is expected to use the same lineup tonight it used in Sunday's preseason finale against Atlanta.

Erik Erlendsson

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