Ex-Lightning star rips both sides

By DAMIAN CRISTODERO
Published May 27, 2005

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ST. PETERSBURG - Former Lightning captain Brian Bradley said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and Players Association head Bob Goodenow have turned the league's labor dispute into a clash of egos.

And for that, Bradley said, both must go.

"I think both of them are in the wrong," he said. "I don't think both of them should be around once the deal is made. We need a change."

Bradley, the Lightning's first star and, arguably, its greatest player, was at Tropicana Field on Thursday to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before the game between the Devil Rays and A's.

It didn't take him long to get revved up after the NHL lockout was mentioned. And it didn't take him long to assign blame for the stalled negotiations that have defined much of the eight-month lockout.

"I think Gary Bettman and Bob Goodenow have ego problems," Bradley said. "I'm not saying Gary's a bad guy. I'm not saying Bob's a bad guy. I know them both personally. But after everything is said and done, what they did to the game, they damaged it."

Bradley said the worst moment was just before the season was canceled when the sides could not bridge a paltry $6.5-million gap in salary-cap structures.

"For no one to come back and make a push to get the season going, I really think with both of them there's a problem," he said. "I think they really need to sit down and come to a conclusion for the game. They need to look at the big picture. Get it done."

Bradley said he feels especially bad for the Lightning, which never had a chance to build off its Stanley Cup championship.

"They lost so much stuff with being the champions they will never recoup, and that's sad," he said. "They've done such a great job. They built this thing and never got to capitalize on it. That is a major drawback."