TAMPA - The topic, you should know, is bound to come up. And John Tortorella's irritation, you should understand, will follow close behind.
Everyone will talk of Tampa Bay's journey to the Stanley Cup final and someone will mention the days when Tortorella and Vinny Lecavalier had trouble disguising their displeasure for one another.
At this point, Tortorella's expression will flash angry. His tone will be dismissive and his words will have bite. He will say the topic is not appropriate for the hour. He will suggest too much already has been said.
Do not fall for it. Do not assume there is nothing to be learned.
Their conflict, long since resolved, is one of the reasons the Lightning still is playing today. It would not be a stretch to imply it was the catalyst that set everything else in motion.
There were immediate results, such as Rick Dudley resigning as general manager and Jay Feaster taking over. And there were long-term ramifications, such as Lecavalier growing up and tapping into his talent.
But, mostly, there was an unmistakable signal that the franchise was no longer wandering without aim. Players were going to be held responsible by Tortorella and the front office was going to back him up.
It was the only way to go. Tampa Bay was not going to buy its way into the playoffs with superstars. So the alternative was to play its way in as a team. "It established a tone, a direction," Feaster said. "It gave the players some sense of what was to be expected. Torts kept talking about running this on a merit system and the players saw management was going to support him."
It was not just the Lecavalier feud. There were other signs, as well. Dumping Zdeno Ciger after he pulled himself from a game in 2002, sending Brian Holzinger to the minors with his $1.25-million contract, benching Nikolai Khabibulin in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals last season.
Still, no personnel decision has had a more lasting effect on the franchise than the way the Tortorella-Lecavalier situation was handled.
You have to remember the era. You have to understand the circumstances. This was a franchise forever selling the future, and Tortorella was an unknown coach with little in the way of a past.
Taking on Lecavalier might not have seemed the safest path, but Tortorella was committed. He was preaching a system of accountability and Lecavalier, who was lax on defense, was to be the example.
Tortorella could hardly have pushed harder. He stripped Lecavalier of his captaincy and decreased his playing time. Worse, he berated the young star in front of teammates in the locker room.
The situation eventually grew so ugly, Lecavalier's agent went to Dudley to request a trade and the GM said he would oblige.
Deals supposedly were negotiated with Toronto and Ottawa, but team president Ron Campbell stepped in. The team had been remade too many times and was not going to start over again. Dudley, instead, was persuaded to resign and Feaster was left to deal with Tortorella and Lecavalier.
Feaster, like Tortorella, was not a famous name. Neither had played in the NHL. Both were inclined to view matters from the perspective of the team, rather than the individual.
Maybe that's why Feaster was going to back Tortorella. And maybe that's why Tortorella was willing to work with Feaster.
"That was not going to be my legacy - the guy who traded Vinny Lecavalier. I told Vinny that," Feaster said. "I also told him I was not going to fire John, but you can't just leave it at that. I had to tell John I was not going to fire him, but I wasn't going to trade Vinny either.
"Both parties said, "All right, we're going to be here together. Let's find a way to make this work.' That speaks to the character of both men. They were committed to finding a way to make Vinny the player he could be."
Months after he left the Lightning, Dudley still was boasting of the number of veterans he could have acquired for Lecavalier. He also suggested some relationships are doomed and Tortorella and Lecavalier appeared on that path.
For a time, it seemed he might be correct. Their first full season together was something of a mess. Lecavalier's numbers took a severe dip and the Lightning finished out of the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season.
Yet, by the next season, Lecavalier was named to his first All-Star team and Tortorella was a finalist for coach of the year.
These days, neither seems to like talking much about his relationship with the other. They are not pals, nor are they enemies. They have simply learned to co-exist and have discovered each was necessary for the other to succeed.
Along the way, the Lightning was able to grow. It grew with a franchise player to build around and a coach's doctrine to follow.
The topic may not be entirely pleasant, but it remains essential.
It explains how the Lightning has arrived to today.
