The NHL season is almost upon us. That means the weather is getting colder, leaves are falling off trees and coaches are ever closer to getting the proverbial axe. Last year, it took only four games for the Chicago Blackhawks to fire Dennis Savard. The Penguins let Michel Therrien go with 25 games left in the season and it was just what the doctor ordered. The team went 18-3-4 under Dan Bylsma the rest of the season on their way to a Stanley Cup victory. Here, I'll be taking a look at the coaches most likely to end up like Savard -- coaches who are starting the season on the hot seat.
Somewhere Barry Melrose is smiling, perhaps even laughing maniacally, at the news that Tampa Bay Lightning co-owners Oren Koules (pictured right) and Len Barrie are meeting with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman on Tuesday to determine which individual has the authority to make decisions for the team.
Quick refresher course: The Lightning were, by far, the busiest team last offseason (and during the season itself) acquiring every player they could get their hands on, and, in some cases, badly overpaying them. A season that started with playoff predictions from ownership ended with the second-worst record in the league, and Melrose, hired on June 27, was ultimately fired after just 16 regular season games, sparking a public feud between he and the two owners. While Melrose didn't exactly get his wish of Tampa Bay not winning another game the rest of the season, he was relatively close.
Thanks to the lottery on Tuesday night, we now know the order of selection for the draft. The Islanders will lead off from the pole position and, as I discussed earlier in the week, they've got an awful lot on their plate. But what about the other teams that sent representatives to TSN studios on Tuesday night?
Well, today we have an inside look at the war room of the Tampa Bay Lightning*. Since Oren Koules and Len Barrie took over the franchise last year, the Lightning have made some interesting personnel decisions. They hired and fired Barry Melrose as coach, shipped out Dan Boyle and Matt Carle, leaving the team almost devoid of defense, and had Lecavalier trade rumors swirl around them faster than a tornado. After the jump, I'll give you a little more insight into what is going on behind the scenes.
* - May not actually be the what the Lightning are planning.
One of the best power forwards in the NHL during the late 1980's and early 1990's, his skills had obviously diminished in recent years, but he was still a valuable role player on a Pittsburgh team that played in the Stanley Cup Final a season ago.
It's been a rough couple of months for the Tampa Bay Lightning, as they're already on their second head coach of the season, the stud rookie is looking like somewhat of a dud, and the team is currently sitting with the fourth-worst record in the league. About the only way things could possibly get worse for the Lightning is if management did something completely crazy, off-the-wall and relatively insane, such as, oh, I don't know, trading team captain and franchise player Vincent Lecavalier.
Sounds crazy, sure, but earlier this week rumors began to surface that the Lightning may be shopping their captain before his new contract -- and no-trade clause -- kicks in this offseason.
Good news, however, as Bob McKenzie of TSN reports the Lightning have told Lecavalier the rumors are just that, and they have no intentions of trading him.
I think it would be fair to say that Steven Stamkos, the No. 1 overall pick in this year's NHL Entry Draft, has been somewhat of a disappointment for the Tampa Bay Lightning during his rookie season.
After Lightning management hyped the stuffing out of him before he was even a member of the organization, the 18-year-old has registered just four goals and 10 assists through his first 40 games. Probably not what Oren Koules and Len Barrie had in mind when they plastered his name all over billboards this summer.
There were plenty of wonderful sound bites during Barry Melrose's marvelous appearance on Toronto's Fan590 this week, chief among them was Melrose, essentially, saying that he hated co-owner Len Barrie's guts, without actually saying it. If you'll recall, when the former Tampa Bay coach was asked how he felt about Barrie, he rambled on about how Oren Koules (Tampa Bay's other co-owner) was a great guy, great for the NHL, and that he hoped he did well, never mentioning Barrie, the guy he was asked about. It's not hard to figure out what Melrose was doing there.
Well, prior to Wednesday's game in Buffalo -- which the Lightning lost, of course -- Barrie decided to fire back in what is a strong contender for hockey cat fight of the year. Damian Cristodero of the St. Petersburg Times has all of Barrie's verbal punches, including an allegation that Melrose was "negligent" in his preparation for the season.
"I knew we were in trouble when we went to Prague," Barrie said Wednesday of the season-opening trip with the Rangers, "and Barry wanted to play the (defensive) left wing lock.
Things are starting to get hilarious when the topic of the Tampa Bay Lightning comes up. Unless, of course, you're a fan of the Lightning, in which case, it's probably not a laughing matter at all. But for the rest of us, man, it just keeps getting better.
After cornering the market on free agents this summer -- and dumping them two months into the season -- the Lightning find themselves in the basement of the NHL, having won just twice in their past 17 games.
They've already fired head coach Barry Melrose -- who lasted just 16 games -- and have won only once since naming Rick Tocchet as his replacement. And you know who finds all of this funny, and is taking great delight in it? Melrose himself.
The revolving door that is the Tampa Bay Lightning organization took a few more turns on Monday, as they placed forwards Radim Vrbata and Chris Gratton on waivers, as reported by TSN. Once Vrbata clears waivers, he's going back to the Czech Republic for the remainder of this season, supposedly, because he's lost confidence playing in the NHL this season.
From Bob McKenzie:
"Radim is a great guy and he came into our office on Sunday morning and just told us his confidence is low and he would like to head home to the Czech Republic to finish the season," Lightning owner Oren Koules told TSN. "He just wants to take the rest of the year off (from the NHL) and try to get his game back over there. If he wants to come back next season, great. That's his call. This is all very amicable. He's a great guy who's really struggling right now."
Vrbata was part of Tampa Bay's summer of spending, inking a three-year, $9 million deal after a career year with the Coyotes a season ago. He scored 27 goals for Phoenix, but hit a wall in the final two months, not scoring over the final 22 games of the season. He had three goals for the Lightning in 18 games this season.
There was a time when Dallas Stars goalie Marty Turco was among the best in the National Hockey League. It appears as if those days are over, at least for this year, as the 33-year old netminder was lifted for the third time this season, after giving up five goals on just 19 shots Friday night. In the end, the Stars fell to the runaway locomotive that is the San Jose Sharks, 6-2.
Honestly, San Jose may never lose again, as it now has a league-best 39 points.
Turco's save percentage is just about ready to drop below the .870 mark, which is pretty hard to comprehend for an NHL goalie, and Stars head coach Dave Tippettsort of agrees, saying "our goaltender has to be better." Indeed he does. And while he wouldn't announce anything after the game, Tippett left open the possibility that Tobias Stephan could start Sunday's game against Edmonton. I guess the question is: could he really be any worse?
San Jose received a pair of goals from Dan Boyle, while Joe Pavelski, Milan Michalek and Rob Blake slipped shots behind the struggling Turco before he was lifted following the second period.
Evgeni Nabokov, making his second start since returning to the lineup, turned aside 25 of 27 shots in the win.
The NHL season is almost upon us. That means the weather is getting colder, leaves are falling off trees and coaches are ever closer to getting the proverbial axe. Last year, it took only four games for the Chicago Blackhawks to fire Dennis Savard. The Penguins let Michel Therrien go with 25 games left in the season and it was just what the doctor ordered. The team went 18-3-4 under Dan Bylsma the rest of the season on their way to a Stanley Cup victory. Here, I'll be taking a look at the coaches most likely to end up like Savard -- coaches who are starting the season on the hot seat.
Somewhere 
It's kind of a shame to see 
It's been a rough couple of months for the Tampa Bay Lightning, as they're already on their second head coach of the season, the stud rookie is looking like somewhat of a dud, and the team is currently sitting with the fourth-worst record in the league. About the only way things could possibly get worse for the Lightning is if management did something completely crazy, off-the-wall and relatively insane, such as, oh, I don't know, trading team captain and franchise player 
I think it would be fair to say that 
There were plenty of wonderful sound bites during 
The revolving door that is the Tampa Bay Lightning organization took a few more turns on Monday, as they placed forwards 
There was a time when Dallas Stars goalie 
