TAMPA, Fla. — Everyone who watched the Tampa Bay Lightning dive into the freshly opened NHL free agent period like they had never seen water before knew that there would be some displacement to make up for the weight (or in this case money spent) of the body.
The displaced water fell on Friday in the form of defensemen Dan Boyle and Brad Lukowich being packaged up and dealt to the San Jose Sharks. In return, the Lightning got defensemen Matt Carle and Ty Wishart along with San Jose’s first round draft choice in 2009 and fourth round pick in 2010. The deal was a net gain for Tampa as they reduced their team salary number by $5.334 million dollars after the smoke had cleared.
It also left Boyle seemingly upset with the sequence of events and his
Photo courtesy of the NHL
“I understand business is business and I would have not taken it personally if it was done the right way,” he told the St. Petersburg Times newspaper. “When threats are involved and my personal character and work ethic are questioned, when those things get personal, that’s not the way to do business.”
Boyle, who turns 32 next week, had been a mainstay of the Lightning’s defense for several seasons. He was a vital cog in the team’s march to the Stanley Cup championship in 2004 and was one of the better known faces on the team as fans thought of him as part of the Bolt’s “Big Three” with Vinny Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis. His presence on the ice was sorely missed last season when he played in only 37 games due to a wrist injury caused by a falling skate in the team’s locker room.
Just before last season’s trade deadline, Boyle and the Lightning had agreed to a six-year contract extension that put the defenseman’s salary at $6.667 million dollars per season. The contract also included a no-trade clause, meaning that Boyle was off the market unless he and his agent agreed to waive the clause. At the time, he felt it was a commitment by the team and the incoming new ownership to keeping him in the bay area. Boyle was so sure he was set to stay that since the season ended he got married, went to Hawaii for his honeymoon, came back to Tampa and then headed north to spend Canada Day (July 1) with his family. The couple, who are expecting their first child in November, even bought land and are in the process of building a home in the Tampa area.
Recently, however, Oren Koules and Len Barrie, the two new principal owners, decided that the contract was too hefty given the aggressive nature of their free agent plans. They approached Boyle and agent George Bazos to waive the no-trade clause, even going so far as, according to Bazos, to allow the agent to contact other teams seeking a deal. San Jose presented a good enough package, including the announced signing of veteran defenseman Rob Blake, that Boyle waived the clause and the deal was finalized.
What seems to have bothered Boyle the most was when word got back to him that the new ownership might have been shopping him around days after the signing of the extension (a rumor that Barrie denied) and that when he initially balked at waiving the no-trade that the team told him – or in Boyle’s own words “threatened him” – that he would be placed on waivers. Boyle also stated that someone in the ownership group questioned his work ethic.
“He knows who he is,” Boyle said of the person who allegedly challenged the defenseman’s work. “But when your work ethic is questioned, I can’t even, I’m at a loss for words as to what was said. It’s absolutely disrespectful and not a way to treat a person.”
Brian Lawton, Tampa’s V.P of Hockey Operations, said that the decision to trade Boyle was not done on a whim.
“Anytime you consider trading a player of Dan Boyle’s caliber, you have to be sure of your options and subsequent decisions,” Lawton said. “For years, Dan has been a big part of the Lightning’s success but we felt the need to make this move was in the best interest of our present and our future. We know this has been difficult for Dan and his family but he has been nothing but a professional through the entire process and we thank him for that.”
Also heading to San Jose is Lukowich, 31, who has been a steady, no-nonsense defenseman throughout his 582-game NHL career that has included stops in Dallas, Tampa, New Jersey and on Long Island with the New York Islanders. He has two Stanley Cup rings (1999 in Dallas, 2004 in Tampa) so his leadership will be welcome on the Sharks blue line.
In return, Tampa gets Wishart, a 20-year old defenseman who was a first round pick (number 16 overall) by San Jose in the 2006 draft. Last season, he split time between Prince George and Moose Jaw in the Western Hockey League, leading all d-men with 67 points.
Carle, 23, was drafted by the Sharks in the second round of the 2003 draft. He was named to the 2007 NHL All-Rookie team and has 63 points in 151 NHL games. A huge drop in offensive output last season made him a prime candidate to be traded.
“We really feel that Matt will have tremendous success in this league,” Sharks Executive V.P. and General Manager Doug Wilson said. “But you have to give to get and we felt that this move will ultimately help us get to where we want to get.”
Carle is also the older brother of David Carle, who was expected to be a solid draft pick this season before a medical diagnosis derailed those plans. Tests at the Mayo Clinic found the younger Carle to have hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a thickening of the heart walls that has been cited in the sudden deaths of young athletes. Koules and Barrie used the team’s final selection in the draft (number 203 overall) to honor the young man by selecting him.
Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com
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