TAMPA, Fla. — The new owners of the Tampa Bay Lightning promised that they would be “staggeringly aggressive” when the NHL’s free agent period started at midnight on July 1. Who knew they were going to be THIS aggressive.
Oren Koules and Len Barrie made it clear they wanted to give new coach Barry Melrose every tool he needed to return the franchise to its winning ways. By the time the sun had set over the Gulf of Mexico, they had done that as forwards Adam Hall, Radim Vrbata and goalie Olaf Kolzig all signed contracts, joining forwards Ryan Malone and Gary Roberts on a quickly changing Bolts roster.
The wheeling and dealing began over the weekend when the Lightning, in search for free agent players who could play with and teach rookie Steven Stamkos, were able to strike a deal with Pittsburgh. In return for a conditional draft choice, the Penguins sent the rights to Malone and Roberts south. The deal allowed Tampa a little over two days to negotiate with the pair before each became a free agent.
Malone, a 27 year-old native of Pittsburgh, had a career year in 2007-2008, setting personal highs in goals (27), assists (24), points (51), power play goals (11) and game-winning goals (6). For his career, he has amassed 169 points in 299 games, all of them in a Penguins uniform. His sense of defensive responsibility and ability to mentor younger players made him very valuable to the Lightning. Expected to garner in excess of $5 million per year on the market, Tampa was able to get Malone to sign by offering a seven-year deal worth $4.5 million per season.
“Ryan’s signing is a great validation of the organization’s plans and desires as we move forward,” Koules and Barrie said in a joint statement. “He fits our strategic plan of adding quality players with a warrior mentality. We look forward to a long and productive career for Ryan as a member of the Lightning organization and the Tampa Bay community.”
If Malone is considered a teacher, then 20-year NHL veteran Roberts, who signed a one year deal for a base salary of $1.25 million with incentives that could take the cap hit to just over $2 million, would be the tenured professor. In 1,194 career games, Roberts has 903 points and has been a member of the 20-goal club in 16 of his 20 seasons. Ownership clearly wants to have Stamkos learn the ropes from Roberts.
“When meeting the media and our fans last week in Tampa we talked about not leaving Steven Stamkos alone,” Koules and Barrie said. “We talked about being aggressive at the start of the free agency signing period. We think Gary’s signing today represents a great first step for us. He brings the Lightning leadership, tenacity, grit and experience and he will be great for our young players, especially Steven. He will be tremendous for the locker room and his ability to play different roles at the forward position will be beneficial to the team next season.”
Those two deals proved to be precursors to a wild Tuesday. The Lightning tendered an offer to Minnesota Wild forward Brian Rolston, whose rights they had acquired in a trade for a conditional draft choice on Sunday. Rolston declined the offer, choosing to test the free agent waters. Sources indicate that Rolston wanted to go to a more established hockey city with strong youth programs that his son could participate in.
Rolston’s decision opened the door for the Lightning to talk to and sign Vrbata. The 27-year old had a career year in Phoenix, scoring 27 goals and 56 points in 76 games. He followed that with a strong showing for the Czech Republic team at the 2008 World Championships. Vrbata agreed to a three-year, $9 million dollar contract.
Rich Evans, Vrbata’s agent, said that the moves the Bolts were making made them the top choice for his client.
“We had a list of teams that we feel would be a good fit for Radim and Tampa was on top of that list,” Evans said. “We’re pleased that everything worked out. Radim is very excited about coming to Tampa and playing on a team that looks pretty darn good right now.”
Tampa then dipped into the Pittsburgh player pool a third time, netting winger Hall with a three-year deal worth $1.8 million. Once again, it was character and a knack for defensive play that drew Tampa’s attention.
“Adam bring us versatility as a defensive player and he is a character guy who will help us get back into the playoffs,” Koules and Barrie said in making the announcement. “He was very impressive this past postseason and we think he brings some intangibles that every team needs to be successful.”
The signing of the 38 year-old Kolzig may have been the biggest surprise of the day. With Mike Smith and Karri Ramo set to fill the nets, no one expected the Bolts to be shopping for a goalie. Kolzig, who had played his entire NHL career in Washington, has a career record of 301-293-63 with a goals against average of 2.70. Kolzig’s downfall in Washington was his 20-24 career playoff record.
Kolzig’s one-year deal with a base salary of $1.5 million and incentives that could stretch it to $2.5 million will give him time to work with Smith and Ramo, who are considered to be Tampa’s future in net.
“Olaf is a real stabilizer in the locker room and on the ice,” Lightning vice president of hockey operations Brian Lawton said. “With Karri Ramo, Olaf Kolzig and Mike Smith we have a great deal of depth at the goaltending position and we like all the options that allows us moving forward.”
Tampa also announced the expected multi-year deal with winger Vinny Prospal worth $3.5 million per year and that the team will be making an announcement soon regarding a contract extension for Smith, possibly two years in length.
Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com
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