Lightning decides to part with Ramsay

A chasm between the associate coach and John Tortorella was too great to continue.

By Damian Cristodero, Times Staff Writer
Published May 25, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT Craig Ramsay was fired Thursday after seven years as Tampa Bay's associate coach

To hear Craig Ramsay tell it, the Lightning did a heck of a lot right.

He said it kept him apprised of where he stood in the organization through conversations with general manager Jay Feaster and coach John Tortorella.

And when Ramsay was fired Thursday after seven years as Tampa Bay's associate coach, he said: "They decided it was time to move on. I understand it and have no problem with that."

At the top of the list as replacement appears to be former Bruins coach Mike Sullivan.

So what went wrong?

Ramsay and Tortorella called it "philosophical differences." But they and Feaster also revealed a relationship that had gone stale.

"The dynamic of the personalities was so different, " Feaster said. "It became more difficult for Rammer to deal with some things that John views as coaching, as teaching tools."

"What happened in our relationship is not a disrespect in the X's and O's of the game, " Tortorella said. "But the gap has gotten wider as far as how you teach players. We just can't bridge that, and that's what's fallen apart here."

The relationship sought to maintain the players' equilibrium; Ramsay's grandfatherly approach countering Tortorella's butt-kicking.

But cracks developed. Tortorella last season took the power play away from Ramsay, who still guided the defense and penalty kill, which was 28th in the 30-team league.

Still, Tortorella said: "This has nothing to do with blaming. He's a good coach. It's just philosophical differences about how you run a hockey team."

Ramsay, 56, said his relationship with Tortorella is "fine, " but acknowledged "disagreements about how we were doing some things, " though he would not be specific.

The Weston, Ontario, native, who had two years and $1-million left on his contract, said the good outweighed the bad: "I'm going out of here with good memories. This has been a great stop for me, one of the best places I've been. That's what makes this so hard."

[Last modified May 25, 2007, 01:29:59]