Barry Melrose to Tampa Bay?

A recent report from the Ottawa Sun stated the the Tampa Bay Lightning were going to fire head coach John Tortorella and replace him with current ESPN announcer Barry Melrose, who would sign a 3 year contract worth $2 million a year after the sale of the team from Palace Sports and Entertainment to Oren Koules’ OK Hockey LLC. The NHL Board of Governors is likely to approve the sale of the Lightning when they vote on the issue on June 18th and after that approval is when Melrose would be able to be officially announced as the new head coach of Tampa Bay. Melrose has denied that there is anything imminent in the works with Tampa Bay, stating that he is happy at ESPN. Reading between the lines here, it is highly likely that something is in fact in the works. So, where does that put the Lightning if Melrose takes over as coach? First off, I say kudos to Oren Koules’ for having a vision in place for this club. There was need for change in Tampa Bay and it has started with Koules even though he does not officially own the club yet.

Trading Brad Richards was a hard pill to swallow for Tampa Bay, but in return the Lightning received a Goalie with potential in Mike Smith, a Center in Jeff Halpern who outproduced Richards after the trade, a Winger in Jussi Jokinen who has skill and a draft pick. The other trade Tampa Bay pulled off was a another great business deal for the club, trading Vinny Prospal for Alexandre Picard and a conditional pick that was contingent on the Flyers reaching the Eastern Conference Finals. With these trades Tampa Bay greatly retooled for next season with younger players,  was able to dump some salary that can now be spread around amongst more players for a more complete team, and after the season was over, by a stroke of luck, the Lightning won the Number One pick in the NHL Entry Draft, where they WILL select Sarnia Sting standout Center Steven Stamkos. So far Koules has been producing a Hollywood script, so who better to star in his hockey movie than Barry Melrose, who has been through the media hype and Hollywood life in Los Angeles before. Melrose would provide a breath of fresh air and a cocky arrogance that the young Lightning need to believe they can compete for a Stanley Cup, something that seemed to be lacking in the past few years with John Tortorella, who has seemed more interested in what has been best for him (Taking the helm at USA Hockey) and not the Tampa Bay Lightning organization. If the Lightning add a few veteran players at the wings and blueline, Koules’ Hollywood production in Hockey Bay, USA starring Barry Melrose may be next year’s biggest blockbuster.