Melrose Criticizes Lightning Ownership For Micro-Managing Him
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Melrose Says Parts Of Lightning Ownership
Group "Wanted To Run The Team" |
ESPN hockey analyst and former Lightning coach Barry Melrose appeared on Toronto's The Fan 590-AM yesterday and criticized Lightning ownership for their oversight during his tenure with the team. Melrose said of the owners, "Basically, I had guys in Tampa that wanted to run the team and I wouldn’t let them. I was hired to coach and I coached. And I wasn’t playing the right guys. I was playing certain guys too much. Other guys I wasn’t playing enough and every day was a constant battle. Finally, the guys in charge decided they wanted to coach and they got rid of me. That’s what it comes down to, obviously it wasn’t a hockey decision because it’s not like they set the world on fire since they got rid of me. ... I hope Tampa Bay doesn’t win another game the rest of the year." Melrose said of Lightning co-Owner Oren Koules, "I actually like Oren Koules. I think Oren’s a good guy, I think he’s good for the NHL, he’s putting his heart and soul in this team. I actually hope he does well" (The Fan 590, 12/9). Lightning interim coach Rick Tocchet, who replaced Melrose, said of Melrose's comments, "I take it personally. I'm not a puppet. Ownership doesn't tell me who to play. I'm not a fan of people who go to the mike all the time to air their dirty laundry. You have a problem, it should have been done before." Lightning GM Brian Lawton said that the organization "wanted to 'move past' Melrose's 'classless' statements." Melrose said of his comments, "I'm in the TV business now. I can't say no comment. I'm not going to duck questions. I'm not going to lie. That's one of the things ESPN likes about me. I'm a TV analyst. I have to look at it from a different perspective" (ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, 12/10).
BACK WHERE HE BELONGS: SI.com's Arash Markazi wrote Melrose's comments were a "direct shot at Lightning ownership, particularly [co-Owner] Len Barrie, whom Melrose never got along with," as well as Tocchet. Melrose's "no-holds-barred, 11-minute interview on Tuesday showed why he belongs in front of the camera and on the airwaves instead of behind the bench on a last place team." Melrose is "hockey's version of Charles Barkley in the States (sorry, Don Cherry still resides on the CBC), only he is an infinitely more valuable ambassador for the league devoid of any real personalities" (FANNATION.com, 12/9).
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