Melrose out in Tampa
Sabres-Blue Jackets coming up at 7:35 but some bizarre breaking news first: The Lightning has fired Barry Melrose as coach after just 16 games! Yep, the ESPN mullet is gone less than two months into the season after returning to his old gig following a 15-year TV run.
Is there a more messed-up franchise in this league right now than the Bolts? Since winning the Stanley Cup in 2004, they ran themselves into salary cap jail and haven't been heard from since. It's bound to come out soon what went on with Melrose, as a run that short certainly points to severe internal strife. But Tampa's new owners and GM Brian Lawton clearly seem to be on the we-have-no-clue path. Rick Tocchet has been named to replace Melrose. Wanna bet on his credibility? (Sorry, couldn't resist).
St. Pete Times columnist Gary Shelton sensed in his column today that the organization seemed to have an oddly low supply of patience, almost foreshadowing something big was about to happen. Wonder if that impatience was caused in part by the Bay Area's market's sudden infatuation with the Rays, which pushed the Lightning further down the food chain.
Wonder what the folks at ESPN think too. Matthew Barnaby has Melrose's old job.
---Mike Harrington
