Shakeup in Hockeybay

by John Fontana on May 24, 2007 5:14 PM EDT in Business of Hockey

Craig Ramsey has been fired by the Tampa Bay Lightning.

apparent to me, and to (head coach) John (Tortorella), that we still had some fundamental philosophical differences between our head coach and our associate coach on a number of issues,'' general manager Jay Feaster said in the release. "After having a series of meetings with various members of the organization, we have regretfully, yet necessarily, chosen to make a change in the coaching staff effective immediately.

"We thank Craig for his seven years of service to this franchise and for his hard work and dedication in helping us become Stanley Cup Champions. Rammer will always be a part of the Lightning family as a member of that Stanley Cup Championship team's success.''

I've wondered and worried on this blog if Rammer's health was proving detrimental to the Lightning last season, and while Special Teams rebounded to an extent this year -- this "philosophical" difference that Feaster has stated in the press release is news to me.

This comes on the heels of what I was going to write a post about when I found out the Ramsay news -- the good news of the day where Feaster reports the Lightning will not be purging payroll after all. The team's projected salary for 2007-08 will remain at $44 Million dollars while money, if needed, will be available for an acquisition to boost a playoff run.

No word yet on a replacement for Craig, but my best wishes are with him and his family...

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Comments

People are commenting on the weak defense and poor special teams as the major problems. Why do teams put former forwards in as assistant coaches responsible for the D-men? Defense is a very technical position, reactive rather than proactive. Hopefully TBL are progressive and hire a former defenseman as A/Coach.

by OntarioFan on May 25, 2007 1:50 PM EDT reply actions

This has been festering along time, now we finally see the result. One thing I can say for the Lightning organization, they are more loyal to their people than most. If this would have been New Jersey he would have been gone back in November. Maybe now the Bolts can get down to business and place a real defense in place instead of a menagerie.

by Tim on May 25, 2007 9:59 PM EDT reply actions