Feaster and Bolts split up

From Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune:

Once Oren Koules and Len Barrie assumed control of the Lightning, they immediately went about a reconstruction project. And with all the disassembling and rebuilding done in the past two weeks, it was inevitable that the architect of the old regime would be swept out.

Tampa Bay general manager Jay Feaster submitted his resignation Friday, ending a 10-year run with the franchise that began when he was hired as assistant general manager on Oct. 20, 1998, under Jacques Demers.

Read the entire article here.

Someday love will find you
Break those chains that bind you
One night will remind you
How we touched
And went our separate ways

Lightning and Feaster part ways

From TSN:

The Tampa Bay Lightning and general manager Jay Feaster have parted ways. Sources tell TSN that club has negotiated a settlement on the remaining three years of his contract.

Feaster was hired by the Lightning in 1998 as assistant general manager to Jacques Demers and later to Rick Dudley. He was promoted to general manager in February of 2002.

Read the entire report here.

I really don't understand why the team treated Feaster the way it did. They essentially hired his replacement while he was still GM and then took away all of his power. The former Cup champ deserved better and won't have a difficult time finding another NHL job.

Feaster's role to be defined soon

From Damian Cristodero of the St. Petersburg Times:

- Lawton also better defined the team's management structure. He said he and general manager Jay Feaster are in discussions to define Feaster's role. He said co-assistant general managers Tom Kurvers and Claude Loiselle will split duties. Kurvers will be more concerned with player issues, more so on the minor league side. He said Loiselle will work on contract negotiations and CBA compliance. "So they'll be a division of work, the way I see it," Lawton said.

Read more about the Lightning here.

Feaster is a stand-up guy and a very solid GM who deserves a lot better than this. Remember, this man put together the 2004 Stanley Cup champions, so he won't have too much trouble finding another job.

Lightning round out coaching staff and front office

From Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune:

Here’s some housekeeping by the team, naming Wes Walz, Rick Tocchet and Cap Raeder to the coaching staff while naming Tom Kurvers as assistant general manager, Greg Malone (yes, Ryan’s father) as head pro scout and Jim Hammett as
director of player personnel. Here are the press releases from the team:

The Tampa Bay Lightning have named Tom Kurvers to the position of assistant general manager, Jim Hammett to the position of director of player personnel and Greg Malone to the position of head professional scout, it was announced today by owners Oren Koules and Len Barrie.

Read the entire story here.

This story helps me understand why I saw Jay Feaster on my milk carton this morning...

Lawton joins Lightning front office

From TSN:

Former NHL player and ex-player agent Brian Lawton has been hired to be the new vice president of hockey operations for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Sources tell TSN Lawton will oversee all aspects of the Lightning's hockey operations for new owners Oren Koules and Len Barrie.

General manager Jay Feaster will remain as part of the management team.

Read the short story here.

Lawton left his agency last year in order to pursue a career in NHL management and this will be his first chance on the other side of the table. Agents have had mixed success making the switch to the management side of things over the years, so we'll see how Lawton does. This move has to be weird for Jay Feaster because he used to run the Lightning show on his own before this hire. Whether he will be able to comfortably do his job anymore is anyone's guess.

Is Feaster about to lose power?

From Joe Henderson of the Tampa Tribune:

The phrase you hear most often about Koules is "hands on."

That means it's basically "hands off" for soon-to-be-former general manager Jay Feaster. His autonomy to run hockey operations - or any kind of tonomy, for that matter - has ended. He'll still be a voice in the room, but he'll use it mostly to order pizza and sandwiches for the guys.

Read more about the Lightning's off-season plans here.

If an owner buys a team, he can do as he likes. So Koules appears to be taking on a Mark Cuban-esque role with the Bolts and that's his perogative. As for Feaster, I feel like he has been unfairly criticized many times over the past couple of years. Sure he never acquired a netminder after Nikolai Khabibulin, and he has readily admitted that mistake, but he has won a Stanley Cup and locked up the three main players in the Tampa organization (Lecavalier, St. Louis and Boyle). If Feaster does eventually get released of his duties, I'm sure he will have no trouble finding another job in the NHL.

Lightning to be active in free agency?

From Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune:

The NHL buyout period began on June 15 and runs through the end of the month. Expect goaltender Marc Denis to bought out of the final year of his contract, and I’ve heard that Denis and his agent have already been contacted to expect as much.

* And lastly - and this should excite you if you are a Lightning fan - I’ve heard from those in the know that Koules expects to be very active in the free agent market once July 1 hits. This has been speculated and general manager Jay Feaster has hinted at it, but I have been told directly that the team will be at the forefront of the free agent market, at least in terms of who they want to seek (no guarantee they will actually gain the services of those players on their hit list, but at least they are going to be aggressive).....

Read more news about the Lightning from Bolts Report here.

Lightning fans have to be excited by this news. The team needs depth (offensive and defensive) very, very badly. It will be interesting to see who Jay Feaster pursues when July 1st hits.

News You Can Use Late in the Day

1. A Prince Albert man won $1 million in the TSN shootout contest.
2. Paul Kelley suggests that by firing Paddock, Eugune Melnyk has given the players another excuse for failure.
3. Senators assistant coach Ron Low was fired along with John Paddock, paving the way for Ray Emery's personal coach Eli Wilson to become the Sens new goaltending coach.
4. The CHL power rankings from Taking Note.
5. Stan Fischler thinks the Rangers have all the parts to make a run at the Cup.
6. Spector thinks that the Stars have set themselves up for years with the Richards acquisition.
7. A story about Butch Goring and his helmet.
8. MSU-Mankato is pushing for respectability in the WCHA.
9. A volunteer hockey coach in Nova Scotia is fired for including innuendo in player bios.
10. A female hockey player from UNB punched a linesman. 3 Times. No means no.
11. Fanhouse looks at the Wild's decision to acquire Chris Simon.
12. Meow.
13. Allan Muir writes that its now up to Bryan Murray to clean up the mess that he has made.
14. Bill Lankhof feels that the Commish wasn't being entirely truthful on Capitol Hill.
15. The Hockey News notes that Don Waddell has made up for his 2007 Deadline Day mistakes.
16. The 10 Best names in hockey.
17. An excerpt from Jay Feaster's blog.
18. The Roseau Rams are on their way to the state tournament.
19. Mike Brophy writes that the deals made in Washington could save George McPhee's job.
20. Joe Pelletier tells us about the movement to get a proper grave marker for James Creighton, one of the fathers of hockey in Canada.
21. Jay Onrait answers emails from his Tradecentre '08 blog.
22. The NY Times examines the new ideas to increase scoring.
23. Interesting look at the preparation that goes into the trade deadline.
24. Scott Morrison chronicles the Senators' many problems.
25. Kelly Hrudey discusses Darren McCarty's return to the NHL.

News You Can Use Late in the Day

1. Rob Ramage has received a 4 year jail sentence for his part in the crash that killed Keith Magnuson.
2. The Hurricanes have traded Craig Adams to the Blackhawks for a conditional draft pick.
3. Dan Pollard of TSN gives a shout out to Tobias Enstrom.
4. Gene Principe notes the irony of Michael Nylander going out for the season with a shoulder problem just before playing the Oilers, a team he reneged on last summer after his wife twisted his arm.
5. The NHL and IIHF propose to raise the Euro transfer age to 20, meaning no more young Euros playing in the minors.
6. A resurgent Denver Pioneers team has its sights set on the NCAA tournament.I hope they don't contract the plague of so many other pioneers, the dreaded dysentery.
7. Brandon Nolan credits coaching for his break out year, and the AHL is considering an outdoor game, with Winnipeg as a possible venue. Evidently, the AHL braintrust has never visited Winnipeg in January.
8. Anze Kopitar is living the single life in LA, with his parents for roommates. Sounds perfect for my sister in law.
9. Iggy and Vinny have been named All-Star Captains.
10. The Fargo Force is going to attempt to "tap" Fighting Sioux fans. I bet they are. Just don't disturb my wife during Project Runway. Trust me, I tried that two weeks and one testicle ago.
11. Taking Note gives us the complete run down of WHL news from Wednesday night.
12. Adam Proteau tells us that Brian Burke will listen to offers for the 1st round pick he acquired from Edmonton in the Dustin Penner deal.
13. Jay Feaster gives us his thoughts on the trade deadline in his blog.
14. Chris Pronger alleges that Edmonton fans burned his rental furniture. Still no cure for gap-toothedness.
15. The latest installment from the Year of the Rams.
16. David Staples with a very funny look at his likes and dislikes about each Oiler.
17. The Score gives the low-down for everyone involved in fantasy hockey.
18. Edward Fraser notes that the Oklahoma City Blazers are giving away livestock as a promotion for fans attending their games. They should try this in Calgary. Even Flames fans deserve a little action now and again...
19. A mildly entertaining (Think Flames vs. Wild on a Wednesday night) work of fiction on how Cujo was wooed to Cowtown.
20. Battle of California makes a heartfelt plea to Ottawa to take Rob Blake off the Kings' hands.
21. In a follow up to RP's Ovechkin editorial, Tyler Dellow of the MC79 blog offers up his detailed analysis on AO.
22. The Blackhawks have signed Patrick Sharp to a 4-year contract extension.
23. Thursday's water cooler notes from nhl.com.
24. A profile on Bruins prospect Pascale Pelletier, recently recalled to Boston.
25. George Johnson thinks the mind games will start in Calgary with Curtis Joseph's arrival. Likely the first and only time the phrase "mind games" will be used to refer to Calgary.