As expected, the Tampa Bay Lightning and Colorado Eagles of the Central Hockey League announced an affiliation agreement today. But the release from the Lightning was short on specifics. Eagles president and general manager Chris Stewart said the arrangement is part of the team's long-term plan to get more deeply involved in player development. He went on to say the arrangement does not include players, per se. But if AHL Norfolk, which the Lightning will provide only 20 players next season, needs some short-term depth, the Eagles could provide it.
"It seems workable as another place to go to potentially if we need some short-term help," Norfolk owner Ken Young said. "It sounds okay."
In addition, Stewart said the Eagles also could provide a place to play for draft choices who are not yet ready for the AHL, but do not need another season in juniors. The CHL is a low minor league, one step behind the ECHL, a league in which the Lightning does ot have an affiliate.
"The fact of the matter is, with the way free agency has gone and having to develop players through the draft now, chances are there are going to be players out there in the future who will need a good place to play that may not be ready to play in the American Hockey League," Stewart said. "They need somewhere to play, somewhere professional where they can get the proper training, a lot of ice time and be in a conducive environment where they do get better. Sometimes spending an extra year in the juniors isn’t the way to go especially if they’re not in a winning environment."
As of now, though, "There are no specifics on players at all," Stewart said. "This is a work in progress sort of thing."
But it is something Stewart sounds as if he wants badly.
"We’re looking to try to keep our fans on the edge of their seats," he said. "We’ve done that the last few years. To be able to help develop young players and help them make it to the National Hockey League will be intriguing for our fans. That’s the motivation behind it more than anything else. ... We haven’t been in the developmental business. We’ve always been in the entertainment business, so this will really help broaden our wheel base by being able to do this. Hopefully we’ll be able to play a key role in the development of a player down the road.
Stewart said the arrangement has nothing to do with the Lightning's exhibition game at the Eagles' arena on Sept. 23 against the Coyotes. Stewart said the team needs no help to sell out the 5,500-seat Budwesier Event Center, and that the exhibition game would have happened regardless.
Stewart coached Lightning co-owner Len Barrie with the Calgary Spurs in 1985-86. He also is the brother-in-law of Tampa Bay director of player personnel Jim Hammett.
Here is the announcement from the Lightning:
The Governors' Cup Champion Colorado Eagles of the Central Hockey League and the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League announced an affiliation agreement today between the two organizations. More specific details of the agreement and the relationship between the teams will be announced on Wednesday, September 23 in a pre-game ceremony before the Lightning face-off against the Phoenix Coyotes in a preseason game at the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland, Colorado.
“We look forward to bringing NHL hockey to Loveland next month and we appreciate the Eagles and their fans for their willingness to host the Lightning and the Coyotes as we prepare for our respective seasons,” said Brian Lawton, Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Lightning. “With respect to the affiliation agreement, I can say that we look to align ourselves with first class, winning organizations and we see nothing but that with Colorado. We look forward to developing an ongoing relationship with the Eagles."
The Tampa Bay Lightning is expected to announce today a minor-league agreement with the Colorado Eagles of the Central Hockey League. The affiliation was first reported in the Loveland (Colo.) Reporter-Herald. The Lightning on Monday declined comment.
What exactly is this? It is curious, if nothing else as Lightning general manager Brian Lawton has previously said Tampa Bay will not have a second affiliate this season besides AHL Norfolk. It is unclear if the arrangement with Colorado will include a commitment of players, though it seems unlikely if, as Lawton has said, Tampa Bay is committed to just 20 contract players in Norfolk.
The Central Hockey League is a very minor league, a level below the ECHL.
The Lightning is scheduled to play a Sept. 23 exhibition game with the Coyotes at the Eagles' stadium, the Budweiser Events Center. The Reporter-Herald also had two other tidbits; that Lightning co-owner Len Barrie played junior hockey for Colorado president and general manager Chris Stewart, and Tampa Bay's director of player personnel, Jim Hammett, is Stewart's brother-in-law.
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Mark Gandler, agent for Evgeny Artyukhin, who was traded Thursday by the Lightning to the Ducks for Drew Miller and a 2010 third-round pick, said his client understands moving players is part of the business and has no hard feelings toward the organization.
The episode ends a strange and tumultuous relationship between the parties that included Artyukhin playing two years in his native Russia because of a contract dispute while Jay Feaster was the general manager. Artyukhin finally got the contract he wanted when Oren Koules' OK Hockey took over the team.
"Once he signed with Tampa, there were no issues between he and the organization, whatsoever," Gandler said. "It's not a blaming game here. I think it's a situation where things evolve and just worked out better for everyone involved."
It will be interesting to see how Artyukhin does with coach Randy Carlyle, who does not tolerate sloppy work on the ice. And that was the main hit on Artyukhin, other than his $1 million salary. Tampa Bay coach Rick Tocchet spoke often of Artyukhin's low hockey IQ, and hoped he would work this summer to become smarter in game situations.
And while Miller (6 feet 2, 185 pounds compared to Artyukhin's 6-5, 260) won't provide the crunching body checks we have become used to from Artyukhin, he likely will provide more offense and a more responsible defensive game, all for $475,000 less in salary.
Whatever happens, Gandler said Artyukhin, who is in Moscow, is at peace with the Lightning.
"Zero hard feelings," Gandler said. "There's no one to blame. It's just hockey. You can't say too much about it."
The Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday picked up left wing Drew Miller and a third-round pick in next year's draft in exchange for wing Evgeny Artyukhin.
Miller, 25, a 6-foot-2, 185-pound left wing is the brother of Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller. He had four goals, six assists and 17 penalty minutes in 27 games last season, including four goals and four assists in his last 18 games. He is considered a hard worker and a defensively responsible player. The word out of Anaheim is he never got the chance he deserved.
Figure him a third- or fourth-line player if he sticks with the team. More immediate for the Lightning is that Miller gives them even more payroll flexibility. Artyukhin is scheduled to make $1 million next season. Miller is scheduled to make $525,000. Better yet for Tampa Bay, Miller is on a two-way contract, which means that the team has one less player on a one-way deal to complicate putting together the final roster. It also means if Miller starts the season in the minors, the deal will save $1 million off its payroll and salary cap.
Miller would have to clear waivers to get to the minors, but because his minor-league salary would be $105,000, he would not need waivers to come back up. The $105,000 is the limit of what a player can make in the minors and not require re-entry waivers.
Getting rid of Artyukhin, 26, will be a disappointment for Lightning fans who loved his free-wheeling style and his crunching body checks that rattled teeth as well as the boards. But Artyukhin, a 6-foot-5, 254-pounder, was not considered asmart hockey player. Coach Rick Tocchet said several times at the end of last season that one of Artyukhin's goals this summer was to get hockey smart. In other words, he had to better learn how to play the game.
This is what I will always remember about Artyukhin: a great end-to-end rush down right wing only to watch the puck dribble off his stick as he tried to make a move as he approached the net. That is not to say Artyukhin does not have tons of potential. But given his salary and the number of mistakes he made last season, and the constraints on payroll for the financially troubled Lightning, the move should not be a complete surprise.
Here is the announcement from the team:
The Tampa Bay Lightning has acquired left wing Drew Miller and a third-round draft choice in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for right wing Evgeny Artyukhin today, Lightning Executive Vice President and General Manager Brian Lawton announced.
"In acquiring Drew Miller today, we were able to add a character individual, a versatile player with good size and the ability to kill penalties," said Lawton upon making the announcement. "Drew finished the season nicely in Anaheim a year ago and he has played well for the Ducks in the postseason over his career. We'd like to thank Evgeny for his hard work in Tampa Bay and his diligence to improve as a player. We wish him all the best moving forward."
Miller, 6-foot-2, 185 pounds, has played in 53 NHL games in his career, all with the Ducks. He has recorded six goals and 15 points in those games. Miller made his NHL regular season debut on October 6, 2007 and netted his first NHL goal on October 17, 2007. He has played in 16 career Stanley Cup Playoff games with Anaheim, recording two goals and three points. He made his playoff debut in the 2007 NHL Playoffs, including Games 1 and 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals against Ottawa as Anaheim went on to win the Stanley Cup.
A native of Dover, New Jersey, Miller played in 27 games with the Ducks in 2008-09, recording four goals and 10 points. He appeared in a career high 13 playoff games, recording two goals and three points. He also spent 53 games with the Iowa Chops of the American Hockey League, recording 23 goals and 38 points. He was tied for the team lead in goals and was fourth in points.
Miller has played in 163 career AHL games with Iowa and the Portland Pirates, recording 55 goals and 110 points. In 2007-08 he helped Portland to the Eastern Conference Finals by registering a goal and eight points in 16 games. Miller made his professional hockey debut with the Pirates in 2006-07, finishing tied for first on the team in rookie scoring and tied for third in overall scoring.
The 25-year-old played his college hockey at Michigan State University, where he was the 10th member of his family to play for the Spartans, including brother Ryan Miller of the Buffalo Sabres. He amassed 39 goals and 86 points in 125 career games with the Spartans. Miller served as team captain during his junior year while leading the club in scoring with 18 goals and 43 points. He was also named Michigan State’s Most Valuable Player and was honored as the CCHA’s Best Defensive Forward. He was recognized as the CCHA’s 2006 Illitch Humanitarian Award winner and was nominated for the Hockey Humanitarian Award in 2005 and 2006.
Don't know how many of you saw this little beauty recently, but it seems the NHL would consider -- for the right price, NHL chief operating officer John Collins told USA Today -- putting corporate sponsorships on game uniforms.
The question came about because the NBA, beginning next season, will let teams sell ads on their practice jerseys and is exploring allowing them on game jerseys.
I understand the economy stinks and leagues are looking for any way to give teams a financial boost. But jerseys, to me, almost always have been sacred, haven't they? We accept ads on the fire retardant suits of NASCAR drivers because we know that sport always has been sponsor driven. We don't blink when soccer jerseys don't even have the name of the team because, well, it's always been that way. But when it comes to hockey, the team name is supreme, the look of the uniform paramount.
Growing up, I even rooted for teams in all of the major sports (outside my hometown teams, of course) that had the best looks.
I guess it can be done without too much fuss on practice gear. As for game jerseys, I could even take a small corporate logo on a sleeve or near a collar. But it would be bad if traditional logos were lost to corporate ones.
Regardless of how you feel about the Tampa Bay Lightning's ownership issues, no matter if you believe Len Barrie or Oren Koules should have control of the team or if you think former owner Palace Sports & Entertainment should come back in the picture, you have to give commissioner Gary Bettman credit for at least pushing to get the situation resolved.
As we read in Sunday's paper, Bettman has given Barrie a 60-day exclusive window to see if he can buy out Koules. If he fails, Koules gets a shot. If he fails, the league could find another buyer or former owner Palace Sports, which financed about $70 million of the $200 million purchase price and lent OK Hockey another $30 million in operating capital, could take the team back.
In other words, there are a lot of moving parts, but at least there is a direction forward, and it all started with Bettman's June 23 meeting at his New York officewith Koules and Barrie in which he ordered them to try to work out their financial and philosophical differences about how to run and build the team.
Bettman, certainly with the help of deputy commissioner Bill Daly, set deadlines and conditions. They made sure GM Brian Lawton could do his job as head of hockey operations without undue influence from the owners. How important was that? Lawton himself has described trying to run the team last season as "chaos" with so many opinions coming from so many directions. Lawton, too, deserves credit for a great summer in which he bolstered the blue line, cut payroll and, perhaps, can land one more forward to play with Vinny Lecavalier.
So give credit for the league for recognizing an unsustainable situation and at least pushing these guys forward to getting this thing resolved one way or another. It's probably a long way from being over (even if Barrie or Koules comes up with new investors, they must go through the NHL's due diligence and be approved by the Board of Governors) but at least there seems to be a road map. And that's something. Isn't it?
From the team:
The Tampa Bay Lightning is searching for an In-Game Host for the 2009-10 season. The position serves as the voice and face of the Lightning’s in-game entertainment during all home games.
Aside from being the front man of the Lightning’s in-game experience, the In-Game Host emcees pre-game activities both in the arena and on the plaza and also during period breaks, intermissions and following the conclusion of the game. The In-Game Host must accurately and effectively communicate corporate messaging of both the team and their partners while also interactively engaging and entertaining fans and guests. The position also assists in creating interactive in-arena content and must be able to work cooperatively with guest performers. There is also potential for similar responsibilities at Lightning events away from the St. Pete Times Forum and at other non-hockey events at the St. Pete Times Forum.
Interested candidates must be available for all scheduled Lightning home games. They must have LIVE on-air stadium/arena , television, radio or stage performance experience and be comfortable performing in front of a large audience. Strong hockey knowledge and good memorization skills are preferred. The In-Game Host must be able to perform material with little or no advance preparation and have strong inter-personal skills while handling multiple projects simultaneously.
Those interested in applying for the position must submit their resume and a DVD or web link of their on-camera hosting work to: Lightning Vision, Tampa Bay Lightning, 401 Channelside Dr. , Tampa , FL 33602 . The Submission deadline is August 21. A final selection will be made on September 14 .
Submission and Audition Timeline:
August 21 Submission deadline
August 24-28 Submissions reviewed –preliminary judging
September 1 Top 5 finalists contacted
September 14 Live finalist auditions at the St. Pete Times Forum
Final selection (1 primary and 2 back-ups)
September 17 Pre-season game rehearsal
September 18 Pre-season game
September 21-Oct. 2 Follow up issues
From the team:
The Tampa Bay Lightning announced that 10-packs for the 2009-10 season will go on sale tomorrow, Aug. 7. There are three different packages for fans to choose from with each one starting at $79, the equivalent of $7.90 per game.
“Our mini-plans are the perfect way for fans who can not commit to a full or half season package to still follow the team in 2009-10,” Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing Brad Lott said. “This year’s schedule has allowed us to put together some great packages with some outstanding games at an affordable price. We strongly encourage fans to take advantage of our aggressive pricing and unmatched list of benefits.”
The three plans to choose from are the Big Game Plan, the Weekend Plan and the Southeast Division Plan. The Big Game Plan features the Lightning’s home opener on Oct. 8 against the New Jersey Devils as well as an afternoon matchup against the Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins on Jan. 2. The Weekend Plan features seven games on Saturdays, one on a Sunday and two on Fridays, including games against the Penguins, Washington Capitals and Florida Panthers. The Southeast Division plan focuses on matchups with the Lightning’s division rivals, including two against Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals.
In addition to receiving substantial discounts off box office prices, 10-pack plan holders enjoy pre-sale opportunities for other St. Pete Times Forum events, opportunity to purchase playoff tickets before the general public, invitations to Lightning parties and events, discounts on Lightning merchandise, and more!
Fans can purchase 10-packs or receive even more savings by purchasing a full or half season plan and receive more information by calling (813) 301-6600 or by logging on to www.tampabaylightning.com . Group packages for the 2009-10 season are also available by calling (813) 301-6900.