Nothing seems OK about Lightning's future

Mutt and Jeff, co-owners of the Tampa Bay Lightning, have been to the principal's office in New York to meet with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, who reportedly told his secretary "Send in the clowns" when the Lightning guys arrived.

Oren Koules is in control. Len Barrie? Not so much.

And everyone else has zilch confidence in this team as Friday's draft approaches, and with it the growing possibility that Vinny Lecavalier might be traded.

The Lightning offices are Yeehaw Junction. The two biggest yeehaws are so fouled up they need to get the head of the league to break up their mud pie fight and decide who's the boss, Itchy or Scratchy.

And a pre-draft power struggle is just what's needed to send shivers down Lightning fans' spines, isn't it?

Bettman, little big man, must be exhausted. Surely the Phoenix Coyotes bankruptcy must be more fun than mediating this mess. Pretty soon, he'll have to borrow one of Koules' Saws and separate these two permanently. Someone has to go.

Meanwhile, the future of this Lightning franchise hangs in the balance, including its chances of staying in Tampa.

Lecavalier's new contract, approved and negotiated by Koules, kicks in July 1 and will pay him $85 million over 11 seasons. Koules apparently now wants out of that deal, you know, seeing as he brokered it. Lightning GM and all-around control freak Brian Lawton might be on board, too.

I'm not against trading Vinny as a general rule. Yes, Vinny has been the face of this franchise. He's a good guy and he loves it here. And there's his philanthropy, which is the real deal. Plus, when Vinny wants to be, he's one of the elite players in the game.

Only I don't think Vinny was elite last season - he skated around the edges in too many games. Scoring 67 points in 77 games is not elite. When he is driven, there's no stopping him, like the '04 Cup run, or when he sniffs playoffs. When Brad Richards got the big new contract, Vinny responded with a 50-goal season.

Is he driven now? I think he might be beaten down. I think new ownership has helped forge that reality. In the new reality, $10 million next season for a 67-point guy, well, it doesn't make much sense, does it?

But you can't trade No. 4 merely to dump salary. Bottom line: Any move had better be in the name of making over this team and making it better.

My real fear (actually, my real fear is spiders) is that the Lightning, as run by Koules and Lawton, won't get nearly what Vinny should command. If you're going to deal him, you better get the goods. And the first rule of that is knowing what's good and what's not.

I'm not feeling it with this ownership crew. Remember, these hockey pucks traded Dan Boyle to San Jose, and basically wound up with nothing.

And I remember the chilling statement Lawton made at a recent fan forum at the Forum. Lawton, in no way a driving force in the Boyle deal, nevertheless noted "Last time I checked, San Jose played five more games than we did."

The five games were ... playoff games.

The Lightning finished 29th out of 30 teams.

Feel a chill?

The Lightning should pick up a talented player in Friday's draft with the second pick, but it means nothing if Vinny gets dumped for money or Koules and Lawton are doing it just to put their stamp on this team.

This has to be about getting better.

Meanwhile, the commissioner says play nice. Oren, Len, you heard him. Or it's straight to your draft room without any supper.

We're working without a net, kids, completely.