Prospal to leave Lightning

The center/wing will get at least $20-million, his agent says, a lot more than Jay Feaster's offer.

TAMPA - The price of a breakout season was ultimately too high for the Lightning.

Free-agent forward Vinny Prospal, who set a career high and led the Lightning with 79 points last season, apparently has agreed to a contract with another team that will pay him between $20-million and $25-million over five seasons.

The sum dwarfs the final package offered by Lightning general manager Jay Feaster, who attempted to retain the Czech with a base of $13.75-million, and as much as $17.25-million counting incentives, over the same span. The club originally offered $2.5-million per year and a less-lucrative bonus plan.

"I think this organization certainly demonstrated how it feels about Vinny by stepping up the deal," Feaster said. "If we had a right to match (the outside offer), I would not have had to take that to (president Ron Campbell and owner Bill Davidson).

"I'm charged with running this hockey team in the best way and the right way, and we're not prepared to go to that type of money. I'm not embarrassed. I think we stepped up."

The Lightning contract would have been the longest in team history and made Prospal the second-highest paid player behind goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin. Prospal earned the offer, Feaster said, as someone the team identified as a "core player."

Prospal did not return calls Saturday. The 28-year-old center/left wing last season tied a career high with 22 goals, set a personal best with 57 assists and led the Lightning with 17 winning points.

His agent, Ritch Winter, said Prospal's new team will announce the deal early this week.

"The team Vinny ended up agreeing to terms with had a specific need, a little better budget and a structure advantageous to Vinny," Winter said.

Anaheim must replace left wing Paul Kariya, who signed with Colorado. Atlanta, which is negotiating to re-sign wing Slava Kozlov, also has been mentioned as a destination. So has Detroit, which must re-sign Sergei Fedorov.

Prospal opted for Group V free agency as a 10-year pro earning less than the league average. He made $1.55-million last season.

Feaster and Winter had a gentlemen's agreement in which the Lightning would be given the right to match any outside offer. But according to Feaster, Winter reneged on the promise Monday, when it became a hinderance to soliciting outside offers.

Winter asked for a final offer Wednesday, and Feaster increased his original pitch of $12.5-million over five years to $13.75-million over the same period with $500,000 available yearly in scoring bonuses and up to $200,000 more if Prospal was named to the postseason all-star team.

Because, Feaster said, Winter changed the terms of their gentlemen's agreement and had eight days to solicit offers, he set a 10 a.m. Friday deadline for accepting the offer.

"Late in the morning on Friday, I spoke with Winter," Feaster said. "He advised me they had two teams making offers so far beyond where we were, there was no sense in giving us the right to match."

Feaster said the funds allocated to sign Prospal will be slotted for a top-four defenseman. He considers 29-year-old left wing Cory Stillman, acquired on draft day for the 62nd pick, a viable replacement for Prospal.

Stillman had 24 goals and 67 points for St. Louis last season.

"When you look at his productivity," Feaster said, "I am confident if (Stillman) gets the same type of role and ice time that Prospal did, Cory will produce."

Theoretically, team chemistry could suffer, though Feaster predicted no drop in "team mood." Prospal was affable and popular, admired by coach John Tortorella and helped elevate linemate Vinny Lecavalier to a career-best 33 goals last season.

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