Davidson was a great owner for the Lightning and brought a Stanley Cup to Tampa, but he wanted out and he found owners that wanted in. The group that bought the team, Absolute Hockey Enterprises, is headed by Doug MacClean, Jeff Sherrin, and Oren Kowles. Hockey fans know MacClean who is a former coach, GM, and owner in the NHL. Sherrin is into real estate and Koules is a Hollywood producer. The best news that the new group gave was that there is a 0% chance that this team will be moved from Tampa Bay. All three owners either live in Tampa or will be moving to Tampa and intend on being heavily involved in the organization. The owners also said that Jay Feester and John Torterella will be retained as GM and coach, which is a great sign for Lightning fans.
Kowles is the producer behind the Saw series and has been a hockey fan his whole life. Kowles has said that he has some great ideas for better marketing and helping to get the Lightning out there more. The owners also talked about developing the land that surrounds the St. Pete Times forum, which should have been done a while ago. These owners seem excited and ready to get down to business. Its pretty easy to see why they wanted to buy this team as it the third best team in the league for attendance and the Tampa Bay area has embraced this team and created rabid fans. These owners are passionate about hockey just like the Lightning fans and they will connect better with fans and be more involved in day to day business.
Bill Davidson was a great owner for the Lightning and brought this town a Stanley Cup and for that fans will forever be grateful. That being said, Davidson was not a hands on guy and just never related to the fans. This group seems like they will relate better and fans should be excited by these new owners.
1 comment:
I really hope that this move heads in the right direction, especially after recently winning the Stanley Cup. Tampa has been the only team to head to a "warm, southern, U.S. city" and thrive within in the city and the community. Doug MacLean is a winner and knows how to manage an NHL team. I think he'll pay dividends and do the right thing no matter what...by keeping the team in Tampa.
The bigger problem for the NHL is Gary Bettman. This guy is simply clueless and can't turn around a league despite being on ABC/NBC in the U.S. What's his next plan? He's hated by the players union and considered a joke in Canada. What's next? A team in Yellowknife?
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