Never a dull moment in Tampa these days, not with Oren Koules and Len Barrie at the helm.
On Saturday, when the Lightning announced that they'd paid a heavy price to acquire the free-agent rights to Ryan Malone and Gary Roberts for a weekend from the Pittsburgh Penguins, it was the new owner, Koules, quoted in the press release, not general manager Jay Feaster.
More and more, it looks as if Feaster is a lame duck, with the crazed, hands-on pair of owners seizing control of the Lightning's hockey operations department. For Malone, the Lightning give up no less than a fourth-round draft choice, even if they cannot get his signature on a contract before the July 1 opening of the free-agent season. If they do sign Malone (and if they do, they will unquestionably be required to overpay to get him), the draft choice becomes a third-rounder.
Roberts's rights, by the sounds of it, were a throw-in on the deal. Koules described Malone and Roberts as "two impact players" which may be overstating their worth, at least in Roberts' case, at this stage of his career. He is 42 and fit, but coming off an injury-filled year in which he's clearly lost a step.
Malone, by contrast, had a breakout year, but how much of that could be attributed to playing on a line, mostly with Evgeni Malkin and Petr Sykora? On his own, Malone is a borderline top-six forward who, because of the weakness of this year's free-agent crop, could earn upwards of $5 million per season - this for a player who up until this season had never scored more than 44 points in an NHL season.
That's too much under any circumstance - and makes you wonder if the Lightning will actually be better off if they get the two under contract ... or if they strike out in this bold, but curious overture.
