Lightning moving on without Andreychuk
The team captain, 42, is waived, most likely ending his remarkable career as a player.
By TOM JONES
Published January 11, 2006
TAMPA - Dave Andreychuk woke up early Tuesday morning. He drove daughters Taylor, Ceci and Brooke to school, took the long way home and, with nothing else to do, started cleaning his garage.
For the first time in 23 seasons as a professional hockey player, Andreychuk had nowhere to go.
The 42-year-old Tampa Bay Lightning captain, who provided the most enduring image in franchise history when he lifted the Stanley Cup over his head 18 months ago, was waived Tuesday in a move that likely ended his storied career.
"Today, my whole family is crying," Andreychuk said, "but there is no crying for me because I've accomplished everything I've wanted to do. There is nothing else I would've wanted to do in my hockey career.
Andreychuk is not expected to be claimed by another NHL team.
"I want to play here more than anything else," Andreychuk said. "So if I'm not going to play here, no, I don't want to play anywhere else. ... For me, it's going to be hard for that feeling of competing to go away. It just doesn't go away in one day."
Just as difficult was the Lightning's decision to cut ties with one of the greatest players to ever lace skates. Andreychuk, who likely will enter the Hall of Fame in 2009, the first year he is eligible, is the 11th leading goal scorer in NHL history (with 640) and first in power-play goals (274). Only three players have appeared in more than Andreychuk's 1,639 NHL games.
Citing new rules that put a premium on speed and quickness, Lightning general manager Jay Feaster said the new NHL no longer suited Andreychuk's game.
"No one respects Dave Andreychuk and what he has done for the organization more than I do and it has been difficult coming to this conclusion," Feaster said. "It stinks being the guy that says, "It's over.' I don't like that role. I didn't relish that role."
Feaster, however, said his first responsibility was to the franchise, which has struggled this season after winning the Stanley Cup during the 2003-04 season. While Feaster said Andreychuk should not be blamed for the Lightning's inconsistent season, he questioned whether Andreychuk could continue being an effective leader while playing a diminished role.
With six goals and 12 assists in 42 games, Andreychuk is on pace for his worst offensive season and was even benched for a game.
"It became apparent to me that we had hit a crossroads," Feaster said. "I sensed as the season went on that there was a change in terms of leadership. David acknowledged this, that it's much more difficult to lead when your ice time is reduced, when your role is reduced, when you're not playing in the same structure as you were before."
Last week, Feaster sent an e-mail to the other 29 general managers, asking if there was interest in trading for Andreychuk. No one responded. So Feaster and coach John Tortorella met with Andreychuk for 55 minutes at the team's practice facility in Brandon Monday night to inform that he was being placed on waivers.
"It (stinks)," Tortorella said. "It's the worst part of the business, telling someone that we're going to move on. ... This guy is a Hall of Famer."
Andreychuk said he was not surprised by the move and held no bitterness toward the Lightning. He admitted he hasn't played to his standards and that the new rules have hurt him.
"Nobody wants to be told that they're moving on, but I think the longer that I think about this, the more that I realize it's something that's going to happen eventually," Andreychuk said.
After playing for Buffalo, Toronto, New Jersey, Colorado, Boston and Buffalo again, Andreychuk joined the Lightning as a free agent in the summer of 2001 and was an integral part in getting a young team to buy into the ways of the demanding Tortorella. The Lightning eventually went from league punchline to a powerhouse. With Andreychuk (who had played more games without winning a cup than any player in NHL history) leading the way, the Lightning captured the championship in 2003-04.
Andreychuk easily could have ridden off into retirement but decided to come back, even after the league shut down for the entire 2004-05 season because of a lockout.
"There were two things I wanted to do," Andreychuk said. "One, I wanted to give it a shot and try to see if I could do it. I didn't want to sit around in December and think, "What if I would've tried?' So I've accomplished that. Secondly, I wanted to be there for the banner, which is a big part of my life. And I was there for that, too."
What's next for Andreychuk? He is expected to clear waivers today and, officially, be assigned to the Lightning's minor-league affiliate in Springfield, Mass. However, the Lightning will not require Andreychuk to report. He will continue getting his regular salary (he's making $800,000), although that salary will not count against the Lightning's salary cap because he's no longer on its roster.
Andreychuk is scheduled to make $800,000 next season as well, but the Lightning will spend two-thirds of that to buy out the contract. That money will count toward next year's salary cap.
Feaster and Andreychuk have discussed his return to the team as an assistant coach, something that could happen as early as next season.
For now, Andreychuk will finish cleaning his garage.
"When you've been on a schedule for 23 years, it's tough to adjust," Andreychuk said. "I guess I'm going to have to find some things to do."