TAMPA, Fla. – New Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik didn’t wait for the season to be over to start shaking up the organization. He simply waited until the final horn had sounded before announcing it.
In an open letter to Lightning season ticket holders sent out Monday morning, Vinik announced that General Manager Brian Lawton and Head Coach Rick Tocchet had been relieved of their duties effective immediately. He said that assistant G.M. Tom Kurvers would run hockey operations while a search for a Chief Executive Officer continues. The new C.E.O. would then be given the task of hiring a new G.M. and coach – all before the NHL Draft takes place on June 25-26 in Los Angeles.
“Effective immediately, I have decided to replace both Brian Lawton as General Manager and Rick Tocchet as Head Coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning,” Vinik said in the letter which was also released on the team’s website. “I believe that the hockey side of the TBL organization needs a fresh start in order to help us fulfill our goal of being a world-class organization.”
The firings close another chapter of the Lightning’s saga that began when Oren Koules and Len Barrie bought the team in 2008. Lawton was hired in June of 2008 and named General Manager in October of that year. Tocchet was hired by Tampa as an associate coach to Barry Melrose shortly after the 2008 NHL Draft. He took over the team when Melrose was fired just 16 games into the 2008-2009 season.
Koules and Barrie were bought out by Vinik earlier this year after their ownership group, OK Hockey, suffered financial difficulties.
According to reports, Lawton was told on Saturday that his services would no longer be needed following the season. Vinik reportedly waited to tell Tocchet until Monday morning, allowing Tocchet to finish the season on Sunday in Sunrise against the Florida Panthers. At the time of the firings, Lawton’s two-year contract was set to run out in June while Tocchet had one year left on his two-year deal.
Although they were hired by the same ownership, the relationship between Tocchet, who compiled a 53-69-12 record as the head coach, and Lawton was said to be strained at best. The boiling point may have been when Lawton, reportedly without consulting Tocchet, replaced assistant coach Wes Walz with AHL affiliate Norfolk’s head coach Jim Johnson. Tocchet never really warmed to Johnson, who was relegated to charting stats and film room work before returning to Norfolk on April 3rd.
The team posted the worst record in the NHL after the Olympic break, going 8-15-2 including a three-game winning streak to end the regular season. Tampa’s 34-36-12 record was the 25th best in the NHL in 2009-2010 and left the Lightning outside of the playoffs for the third consecutive season.
Tocchet was given the credit for nurturing Steven Stamkos, something that Melrose was very slow to do. He has also worked extensively with Steve Downie, drawing out a 22-goal scorer and plus-14 contributor.
Lawton’s successes were less noticeable. With the exception of Kurtis Foster on defense, much of Lawton’s work to improve the team went for naught as the perceived needs of goaltending, a scoring winger and stiffer defense still exist. He was also taken to task for not making trade deadline moves to help the team get to the post-season.
Along with thanking Lawton and Tocchet for their efforts, Vinik reiterated his promise to “bring it back”, the “it” being winning hockey and pride in the organization.
“Although we all are disappointed in the way our 2009-2010 season finished, I am very excited about our future,” he said. “We will all continue to build on the team’s tremendous foundation with the goal of bringing back the enthusiasm and success that the Tampa Bay Lightning and its great fans have enjoyed in the past.”
Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com
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