Len Barrie Strikes Back at Barry Melrose

There were plenty of wonderful sound bites during Barry Melrose's marvelous appearance on Toronto's Fan590 this week, chief among them was Melrose, essentially, saying that he hated co-owner Len Barrie's guts, without actually saying it. If you'll recall, when the former Tampa Bay coach was asked how he felt about Barrie, he rambled on about how Oren Koules (Tampa Bay's other co-owner) was a great guy, great for the NHL, and that he hoped he did well, never mentioning Barrie, the guy he was asked about. It's not hard to figure out what Melrose was doing there.

Well, prior to Wednesday's game in Buffalo -- which the Lightning lost, of course -- Barrie decided to fire back in what is a strong contender for hockey cat fight of the year. Damian Cristodero of the St. Petersburg Times has all of Barrie's verbal punches, including an allegation that Melrose was "negligent" in his preparation for the season.

"I knew we were in trouble when we went to Prague," Barrie said Wednesday of the season-opening trip with the Rangers, "and Barry wanted to play the (defensive) left wing lock.

Barrie also came to the defense of No. 1 overall pick Steven Stamkos, who Melrose claimed was not ready to play in the NHL, by saying it was clear from day one that Melrose didn't want him on the team. The Tampa Bay owner also said that "everyone knows this kid is a star player."

That's a rather bold statement considering the 18-year old isn't quite a star player at the moment. A potential star player? That would be a little more accurate. But the kid has three goals in 28 games, and only one since Rick Tocchet took over.

Anyway, more from Barrie:

About the Lightning's 4-0 loss to the Panthers the day after Melrose walked out of practice and three days before his Nov. 14 firing, Barrie said, "That was the final nail in the coffin. He went at guys personally and he challenged the team, which is fine. Coaches have to do that. But you have to have guys respond ... "But my thing is you're paid to do a job, and he didn't do it from day one. How he came in and prepared for this job was total negligence."

I'm sure Melrose will respond at some point, and frankly, I can't wait for it. Regardless of whether or not Melrose did a horrible job -- he probably did -- the fact remains the Lightning have won only once in the 13 games since his firing. That would seem to be a greater reflection on the team Barrie (and Koules) put together this offseason, as opposed to the potentially negligent job Melrose did as head coach.

Through the first two-and-a-half months of the season, nearly every offseason move made by the Lightning has been a tremendous failure, whether it be the gigantic contract given to Ryan Malone, the Dan Boyle trade, or the three-year investment in Radim Vrbata.