"I'm not going to lie, we had a group in the running for this. We lost to Koules, and we lost to (current owner) Jeff (Vinik). We raised an awful lot of money. We had enough money to buy five franchises. I don't think we got outbid. I think (NHL commissioner Gary) Bettman thought Jeff was the right guy. And so do I.
"We were close (to buying the team). We were really close. We went to New York, met with attorneys and different people. We stopped short of Gary because we wanted to be absolutely sure before we got to him.''
...
"I didn't want this team to move. I didn't like the way it was going. It was almost like Koules and Barrie were trying to run the team into the ground so they could move it. There was no way I could let that happen, not if there was one possibility I could stop it.''
Phil Esposito, in an interview with St. Pete Times Columnist Gary Shelton
over 1 year ago
John Fontana
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And more to my point I harped on all of this past season...
“My honest opinion is (Koules and Barrie) tried to sabotage Vinny. They wanted to get him the hell out because they overpaid him. I don’t have anything to base that on, but it’s my opinion.’’
We had said as much over and over in the game threads. Nice to know somebody else thought so too.
I have come to a conclusion... Martin St Louis = waterbug on meth...
Not just any somebody, either, but a somebody who knows how hockey teams operate both on the ice and in the front office no less.
There's nothing quite like the sound of a frozen puck hitting the glass. It makes me happy.
Raw Charge, an SBN Tampa Bay Lightning community.
by Cassie McClellan on May 23, 2010 2:26 AM EDT up reply actions
Does anyone else find those statements completely contradictory?
How did he lose to Koules and to Vinik if “We stopped short of Gary because we wanted to be absolutely sure before we got to him”?
I got lost with that statement. I thought it might make sense to others but to me it was, like, “What is he talking about? Stopped short?”
"Seen Cincuenta" -- 04.10.10 -- Raw Charge.
by John Fontana on May 24, 2010 5:01 PM EDT up reply actions
It’s just Phil being Phil. it made sense to him, anyway. His heart and passion are in the right place. His words? Not so much.
I have come to a conclusion... Martin St Louis = waterbug on meth...
by Tina Robinson on May 25, 2010 10:37 AM EDT up reply actions
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