Lightning adds Barber to staff

For Jay Feaster and Bill Barber, friendship always came before feuding. Still, there was plenty of feuding to go around.

Feaster was president and general manager of AHL Hershey in 1996, when the Bears lost their affiliation with the Flyers. And the rivalry with the Philadelphia Phantoms, the Flyers new affiliate was, as Feaster said, "as white hot as any could be."

Barber, who coached the Bears, moved to the Phantoms.

"We didn't exchange a lot of pleasant phone calls," Feaster said.

What then to make of Feaster, now Lightning general manager, hiring Barber as Tampa Bay's director of player personnel?

"It's the respect you have for someone who is that tough an opponent," Feaster said Wednesday.

"Personally, there was never a conflict," Barber said. "I got to know Jay and I admired him. And he did put a team together that won the (AHL) Calder Cup."

Now they are in charge of putting together a winner at the Ice Palace.

Barber, 50, a Hall of Fame left wing who played 12 seasons with the Flyers, got a two-year deal with a club option for a third. He will be Feaster's right-hand man, consulting on all trades and transactions, and scouting other teams while watching players those teams might dangle in trade.

Barber also will scout the Lightning farm system. He said he will be based in Philadelphia, but with the Sarasota condominium he has had since 1977, he will make frequent trips to Tampa.

Feaster, in his first job as an NHL general manager, said the hire was not made for him to gain credibility around the league but to strengthen the team's hand.

"I feel very strongly I earned my stripes in the league. But at the same time I am honest enough to know what I am not," he said. "I never played the game. I don't have the perspective of someone who played the game. I haven't coached. I don't have the perspective of a guy who's done the X's and O's. What I lack in hockey experience, that's what Billy brings."

Barber had a Flyers-record 420 goals and won Stanley Cups in 1974 and '75. The native of Callander, Ontario, was coach of the year in 2000-01, his first season guiding Philadelphia.

Last season was brutally emotional. Barber's wife, Jen, died in December of lung cancer. He was fired four months later after the Flyers fizzled in the first round of the playoffs and his players publicly criticized him for a lack of communication and preparation.

Feaster stayed in touch and got permission from the Flyers to talk to Barber about a job. They forged a friendship from 1989-96, when Feaster was with Hershey and Barber was the Flyers director of pro scouting and then Bears coach. Feaster called Barber his "mentor from a scouting perspective."

Feaster said he interviewed six others, but Barber was his first choice. That is why he was willing to wait until Barber was sure he wanted to return to hockey.

"I'm pleased Jay had patience with me," Barber said. "We had talks very early in the spring and I wasn't geared very much to the hockey standpoint. I was trying to piece my personal stuff together. I wanted to make a commitment with honesty and be totally free of what I was dealing with with my family."

That included the marriage of his daughter, Kerri, 27. Barber also has a son, Brooks, 25.

Barber said he has a clear view of his future, and it does not include coaching. Feaster reiterated the point.

"This is not a coach-in-waiting sort of thing," he said. "It's not a threat to the coaching staff."

"I'm a big believer in chemistry," Barber said. "I'm a big believer that it doesn't only take good players. It's way more than that. It takes chemistry and commitment."

And, in this case, the help of a friend.

Lightning says it's not chasing Theo Fleury

Feaster said he is not pursuing free-agent forward Theo Fleury despite persistent rumors in Canada. The Toronto Sun reported Fleury had narrowed his choices to the Coyotes, Blackhawks and Lightning. But Feaster said, "We're not in that mix. ... We are not part of the process."

FEDOTENKO CLOSE: Dave Schatia, agent for left wing Ruslan Fedotenko, said he expects a deal to be done in "a week to 10 days." It is believed Tampa Bay is offering a two-year, $1.5-million contract.

MORE CONTRACTS: Feaster said he expects this week to complete a deal with left wing Gordie Dwyer. ... Sasha Goc decided not to sign. Feaster said the defenseman will play in his native Germany, though Tampa Bay retains his rights. ... Feaster said negotiations with fifth-round draft choice Gerard Dicaire have stalled. It was hoped the slick defenseman from Kootenay in the Western Hockey League would be in camp, but that does not seem likely. ... Minor-league wing Matt Elich also is unsigned.

HURRICANES: Goalie Randy Petruk signed to a two-year deal. Terms weren't given,

RANGERS: Defenseman Tom Poti was awarded a one-year, $1.8-million contract by an arbitrator. Also, center Roman Lyashenko re-signed. Terms weren't given.

STARS: Goalie Corey Hirsch signed a one-year deal. Terms weren't given.

-- Information from Times wires was used in this report.