Lecavalier vs. the hockey media

I hate rumors. The thing that I hate about them is the fact that unless you're a part of the situation, you'll never find out the truth. And while the rumor itself can be pretty entertaining, often the truth is even more so.

I really wanted to avoid writing about this. I prefer dealing with facts rather than with speculation. Sure, I've been known to throw speculation out there upon occasion, but I'm always careful to make sure everyone knows that that's what it is - pure speculation. The only reason I'm even going to say anything about this is because people are overlooking one big fact in this entire situation, and I feel that it ought to be pointed out.

So, here is my opinion on the story - again, this is just my opinion: the hockey media versus Lecavalier over the Melrose firing. The whole thing is just silly. It really is. But I believe that they're blaming the wrong guy. You see, I think Melrose was partly right about his situation - that a player was involved in his departure - but I don't think anyone ran to management/ownership over it. They didn't have to. The owners already have a stool pigeon in the locker room.

It's been well documented that left wing Matt Pettinger is a friend and a minority business partner of Lightning owner Len Barrie. It was a brief topic of interest when Pettinger was traded to Tampa Bay, but then forgotten. Somehow, I just can't believe that they never ever talk about hockey away from the rink. Not when Barrie himself used to be a player. And I also can't believe that they don't ever talk when away from the rink, either, since they're business partners.

Let me throw some known facts out there for you. Matt Pettinger was traded to Tampa Bay from Vancouver on October 21st. Pettinger's first game with the Lightning was October 28th. Koules had mentioned in an interview that they had been thinking about letting Melrose go for about two weeks - which would be around October 31st. (It's rather puzzling that they'd be thinking about firing their coach when the team had just won two games in a row on the road (October 28th at Toronto 3-2, and October 30th at Buffalo 5-2), don't you think?) Melrose was then fired on November 14th after coming home from a 1-3-1 road trip.

And what was Lecavalier doing since Pettinger arrived? In the 11 games between Pettinger being traded to the Lightning and Melrose being fired, he had 4 goals & 4 assists for 8 points (half of those points came on the power play), +3, 39 shots on goal, and 4 penalty minutes. Does that sound like a guy who's slacking to you to get his coach fired? Sure, his stats aren't perhaps as good as they could be considering what he's done in the past, but then neither is anybody else's on the team - except, perhaps, the goaltenders - and 8 points in 11 games still isn't bad.

What makes Lecavalier such an easy scapegoat are his well documented problems with Tortorella in the past, the fact that he obviously didn't like Melrose (body language speaks volumes no matter what's being said), and the fact that he's the star of the team. In most sports, star players tend to be spoiled, selfish, self-centered prima donnas used to getting their own way and throwing fits if they don't. Hockey players aren't usually like that, but there have been exceptions. And, let's face it, much of the hockey media does deal with other sports and their athletes during the offseason. So it's not hard to just apply that stereotype to all star athletes, particularly when you're a jaded media drone.

So did Lecavalier get Melrose fired? It's certainly possible, but probably not. I think that it's more likely that Pettinger said something to Barrie away from the rink and that's what started it all. Barrie, you notice, hasn't said anything publicly about the situation. And, he was the primary person involved in the Boyle trade as well. Still, there's no way to tell what the truth is in this situation, and it's unlikely that anyone will ever really know anything for sure.

My only question is why is Lecavalier going to present his side of things on Hockey Night in Canada this weekend when he supposedly doesn't care about his reputation? (I'm pretty sure I read that somewhere....) I can understand it if he's representing the players on the team and not himself. But the fact is, people have already made up their minds about him in this situation. Either they believe him or they don't, and that's based upon what people already think of him. He can't change anyone's minds about anything at this point. To stand up for the guys that you play with, that's one thing. But to try to clear your own name when the verdict has already been handed down is a lesson in futility.

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