Bettman tells Barrie to come up with cash

by James Mirtle on Jul 14, 2009 12:17 PM CDT Comment 20 comments

Another chapter in the story of the Lightning's bickering owners will play out this week, as Len Barrie has a Friday deadline to come up with $10 million to prove he can continue funding the team. The deadline was imposed by commissioner Gary Bettman, who has ordered the participants to not speak on the issue.

— Damian Cristodero, St. Petersburg Times

This week, on As The Lightning Turn...

We've heard rumours about as long as Barrie and partner Oren Koules have been in ownership that this was an underfunded group, one sure to face challenges in the current economy, and we've seen Barrie recently move to sell off some of his assets at the Bear Mountain Resort in B.C. This latest development, however, speaks directly to just how tight on cash Tampa is — and how involved the league is in a potential solution.

If it was possible to bring in outside investors to the club, I imagine that would have happened by now, but this has quickly gone from a profitable operation to a money losing one, and the Lightning are headed in an ugly direction.

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I think it’s more of a statement about the power struggle within ownership. I got the impression that Barrie was withholding cash in protest rather than he didn’t have any at all. But maybe that’s just me.

Cassie
Raw Charge, an SBN Tampa Bay Lightning Blog. It's what's for dinner.

by Cassie McClellan on Jul 14, 2009 12:23 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Cue more Lecavalier to Montreal rumors. Although I don’t believe that’s something the NHL wants to see happen if they’re basically underwriting the Bolts.

by MathMan on Jul 14, 2009 12:32 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Lecavalier will only be moved if he wants to be moved. When his contract extension kicked in July 1st, so did his no-movement clause. They can’t even waive him without his permission. And Lecavalier’s made it clear that he wants to stay in Tampa indefinitely. Montreal isn’t going to happen unless Vinny wants it to happen. And so far he hasn’t.

Cassie
Raw Charge, an SBN Tampa Bay Lightning Blog. It's what's for dinner.

by Cassie McClellan on Jul 14, 2009 12:36 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

He’s also indicated he doesn’t intend to stick around if he’s not wanted.

But no, I personally don’t see it happening. That won’t stop the rumors, not by a long shot, though.

by MathMan on Jul 14, 2009 12:58 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah the problem is not so much the plausibility of a trade ever happening, but the over abundance of rumors that we’re bound to hear, well, forever.

by Habs on Jul 14, 2009 1:45 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Let them choke on that contract.

Tampa had ample time to send Lecavalier to Montreal at the draft.
As you noted, there is no benefit from Bettman’s perspective of having Lecavalier in Montreal. It’s not like they need to sell seats.
Rather than sit around all summer waiting for Lecavalier to maybe become available (see Sundin, Mats), Gainey said “screw it” I’ve got other options.
Poor Bettman. He’s got Phoenix in bankruptcy, Dallas on the verge and the under-funded clowns in Tampa.

by Exit716 on Jul 14, 2009 2:03 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Like Scott Gomez? Well, I guess you didn’t say they were good options.

by Godd Till on Jul 14, 2009 2:43 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Gotcha

Not everyone can be Brian Burke.
How much has he got tied up in a guy with a bad knee and a guy with a bum shoulder that can’t fight?
$8.3 million?

by Exit716 on Jul 14, 2009 4:17 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

what’s that, about $300 000 less than Gainey’s got tied up in a midget centreman. :)

by yrmom on Jul 14, 2009 6:29 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

How quickly Habs fans turn ;)

And the bum knee was so bad that he played big minutes in the post-season

Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.

by PPP on Jul 14, 2009 9:33 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

or an irrevocable letter of credit from a financial institution payable to the NHL.

Why would the NHL need it payable to them? Have they stepped in as a creditor? Does the NHL require all teams to have letters of credit payable to the NHL to protect against a shortfall of funding operations?

Glen Sather is a Hockey Genius.

http://glensathersucks.com/
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by poploser on Jul 14, 2009 12:39 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Shampoo, Rinse, Repeat......

Has the NHL been secretly running(paying the bills) yet another team? Haven’t we danced this dance before? Enter Mr. Balsille……. ; )

I find sometimes it's easy to be myself
sometimes I find it's better to be somebody else

by Fauxrumors on Jul 14, 2009 12:41 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Oh my God, is that Blackberry’s music???

The population of Pominville keeps rising!

by Blackcapricorn on Jul 14, 2009 1:14 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

One has to wonder after the Bear Mountain deal goes down, how much money Barrie will end up with and how much will be used to pay out original investors (a large amount of them being former or current NHL players). List of some of them here

Cassie, I’m not too sure this is a ploy by Barrie. If it was after the Bear Mountain deal, maybe, but right now, it looks like money’s a little tight around the Barrie household. One has to wonder how tight it is and how much it will affect not only the Lightning, but also the other investors in Bear Mountain.

Sure, Barrie is claiming everything’s alright with Bear Mountain, but looking closer, questions and cracks appear. Like why are they auctioning off townhomes and condos at 40% what the original asking price was (http://www.bclocalnews.com/news/48882787.html). And what about the financial statements from two years ago that showed the Partnership having outstanding loans in excess of 200 million and a deficit of 30 million (http://www.mondaymag.com/articles/entry/bear-mountain-bargain/news/). I wonder what the financials look like now…

Interesting to note on that last link that after Barrie himself, the largest holder in the Partnership is the Vernon Family Trust. Not too much of a jump to assume this is investor Mike Vernon, who, since Barrie took over Tampa, has found himself employed as a Special Assistant on the Lightning’s Hockey Operations staff.

-Kevin Forbes
Hockey's Future

by kforbes on Jul 14, 2009 1:57 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Did they not buy the Lightning on a Vendor Take Back? In other words, the former owner financed the purchased. No money down. The same scheme that over-leveraged suckers bought into at Bear Mountain. Hit Craigslist for Bear Mountain rentals. Scores of empty units. Just like the empty seats at Pointless Southern Expansion Arena, of whatever it’s called.

by garth the hoser on Jul 15, 2009 9:46 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

No, they put in $100 million or so. Davidson only provided bridge financing, which has since transformed into somewhat longer term financing.

by Gerald on Jul 15, 2009 6:25 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

One thing that strikes me in all this is that TB is the first casualty of the shenanigans that were perpetrated by Jerry Moyes. The NHL went along with him in an effort to help him sell the team despite being in complete default of his Consent Agreement, only to have Moyes further violate his agreement six ways form sunday and then file for bankruptcy in a vain attempt to get out from under his agreement entirely.

I can absolutely guarantee you that one of the first things that the NHL Board of Governors has done is to instruct the league office and Bettman himself that there is to be no accommodation of owners who are in violation of their Consent Agreements with the league. Part of the standard Consent Agreement is a capitalization requirement. This is about the NHL enforcing that agreement.

by Gerald on Jul 15, 2009 6:30 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Does this mean we can look forward to some contraction if certain owners violate these Consent Agreements?

I've seen enough to know that I've seen too much.

by Smoboy41 on Jul 15, 2009 6:59 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

The tide’s going out, and we’re going to get to see who was swimming naked.

I really hope Mike Illitch is as well financed as I think he is, because that’s an image I don’t need.

by J. Michael Neal on Jul 15, 2009 9:19 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sooo…what time was that deadline?

Honk if you love Justice!
"I'm betting that I'm just abnormal enough to survive. "

by TheTick on Jul 17, 2009 1:06 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

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