Lightning Co-Owner Len Barrie Must Deliver $10M To NHL By Friday

Barrie Needs $10M To Prove He Can Keep Funding Team

Lightning co-Owner Len Barrie has a Friday deadline to come up with $10M to "prove he can continue funding the team," according to Damian Cristodero of the ST. PETERSBURG TIMES. The deadline was imposed by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, who in a meeting last month demanded that Barrie and co-Owner Oren Koules "settle their financial and philosophical differences about how to build the team." Barrie "must come up with cash or an irrevocable letter of credit from a financial institution payable to the NHL." The money is to "cover his share of the team's projected losses for the fiscal year that began July 1 and provide an additional cushion." Consequences for "not complying were unclear, though it is conceivable Bettman could take away Barrie's managerial rights." If Barrie meets the deadline, the status quo "likely remains -- Koules as CEO and governor with Barrie's input required for all major player decisions -- while Bettman combs through papers submitted by both sides to determine who should run the team" (ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, 7/14).