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By DAMIAN CRISTODERO
© St. Petersburg Times, published November 7, 2000
When the Lightning faced the Islanders Friday night at the Ice Palace, it was not only a clash on the ice, but a clash of ideas on how to build an NHL team.
In one corner: New York, with new ownership that pumped up the team's base salary by $10-million. In the other: Tampa Bay, with a league-low salary base of $17-million, about the same as last season, and a commitment to build with youth, though much of it is still in the minors.
The Islanders, who had 58 points last season, came in on a 5-0-1 streak. The Lightning, which had 54, had lost four straight and was at the bottom of the league. That Tampa Bay scored a 4-3 overtime victory then whipped the Capitals Sunday did not dampen the debate. "I know the coach and general manager and they know their business," Islanders general manager Mike Milbury said of Tampa Bay's Steve Ludzik and Rick Dudley. "You can say you are going to rebuild, that's all well and good. We made a lot of starts, but it wasn't until we could go out and spend some money that we could jump ahead."
"Just spending money does not solve deficiencies in your operations," Lightning president Ron Campbell said. "Spending money smartly does. ... The objective is to know when to take chances and pounce on opportunities, and I have yet to see that by paying players more money you get more wins."
It does, however, create a buzz.
As New York increased base salary to $26-million with the acquisition of players such as Roman Hamrlik, Gary Galley, John Vanbiesbrouck, Mark Parrish and Oleg Kvasha, season tickets went from 3,500 to 6,000.
There also were new contracts for Kenny Jonsson, Zdeno Chara and Brad Isbister.
The Lightning's turnover was subtly dramatic.
Six players on the 23-man roster were not around last season. Five others were acquired in trades since March. The most significant was goaltender Kevin Weekes, who has played well, but wasn't going to produce a run at the box office.
Dudley has said he is building for the long haul, and high-end rookie contracts to players such as forwards Sheldon Keefe and Brad Richards, who show much NHL promise, and highly regarded defenseman Kristian Kudroc, who is with the IHL's Detroit Vipers, are the start of a foundation.
Tom Wilson, president of Palace Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Lightning, said the scouting budget has increased from $500,000 to more than $2-million.
The team estimates Palace Sports has spent about $7-million renovating the Ice Palace.
"With the Islanders, they're early in the game," Campbell said, "and maybe the additional budget will allow them to compete quicker. But we believe the methodology that we're taking with a young nucleus that we plan on keeping together a real long time, will allow us to compete at the highest level for years and not just the short term."
The Islanders needed a quicker fix.
They share a market with the more-glamorous Rangers, who are spending $50-million on this season's team. And the Islanders' cost-cutting was so bad last season, the team sometimes flew commercial airlines instead of a charter. At least once, it went Southwest, meaning players had to get those colorful cards and hunt for seats.
When Computer Associates executives Charles Wang and Sanjay Kumar bought the team, they sent letters to the players that those days are over.
Islanders center Claude Lapointe said he empathizes with Lightning players.
"They're going through the same thing that we went through," he said. "There are a lot of young guys. They just have to do everything they have to do and things will get better."
Milbury sounded a warning.
"When you don't have the resources to get premium players ... it's clearly not going to work," he said.
The resources will be there, Campbell said, if Dudley insists a player is a good fit.
"We've always said that," Campbell said. "For the right fit, we are not afraid to make the budget available to hockey operations."
In the meantime, he said, "We believe our plan will work and we appreciate the fans' patience."