Lightning sale to Vinik gets final approval

The sale of the Lightning to Boston-based financier Jeff Vinik is final, the team announced Wednesday.

The NHL Board of Governors unanimously approved the sale during a vote that came shortly after Vinik met with the board's executive committee in Vancouver during the Olympics. Vinik, 50, becomes the fifth owner since the team was founded by Phil Esposito in 1990.

Vinik, sole owner of Tampa Bay Sports and Entertainment, reached a purchase agreement for the team, lease on the St. Pete Times Forum and five acres of adjacent land, on Feb. 4, effectively ending the shaky two-year tenure of co-owners Oren Koules and Len Barrie.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"The Lightning is a great franchise in a terrific community," Vinik said in a statement. "We thank Oren Koules and his partners for beginning the turnaround of the Lightning hockey club. Our goal now is to build a world-class organization, on and off the ice."

Vinik, who attended Tuesday's game against Philadelphia, will be formally introduced during a Friday news conference at the Forum. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman also is scheduled to attend.

Tampa Bay enters tonight's game at Washington two points out of a playoff spot and Lightning coach Rick Tocchet said the announcement of the ownership change won't have any immediate impact for the team on the ice.

"It's business as usual for us but it's nice to finally know who the owner is," Tocchet said.

Vinik, a minority owner in the Boston Red Sox, is the founder and chairman of Vinik Asset Management. Prior to founding his own company he was the successful manager of Fidelity's Magellan Fund, at that time the world's largest mutual funds.

The team was founded in 1990 by Hockey Hall of Famer Phil Esposito and began play in the NHL in 1992. It won the Stanley Cup in 2004.

Vinik is the team's fifth owner. Previous owners include Kokusai Green Ltd. (1992-1998), Art Williams (1998-99), Palace Sports & Entertainment (1999-2008) and Lightning Enterprises LP (2008-2010).