Cutting The Mullet

What in the hell is going on in the NHL this year? First, the Chicago Blackhawks fire Denis Savard after 4 games. 4 games! And he even won his last game 4-1. Today, the Tampa Bay Lightning fired Barry Melrose after 16 games. This is taking What have you done for me lately? way too far. I understand that we live in a world where we want instant gratification, but the Lightning are flat out idiots for firing Melrose after 16 games.

Last year under John Torterella, the Lightning finished dead last in the Eastern Conference. It's not as if they were a goal away from winning the Stanley Cup. They were dead last! How can you fire a new coach after 16 games when he took over the worst team in the league? And take a look at the players that he had to work with. Besides Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, and Andrej Meszaros, it's hard to find another player to really get excited about. Steve Stamkos will become a good player, but it appears that he might not be ready for the NHL.

Take a look at some of the free agents the Lightning signed this offseason:
Olaf Kolzig - Way past his prime.
Ryan Malone - Has been flat out awful.
Radim Vrbata - He was let go by a TERRIBLE Blackhawks team in 2006. That's all you need to know about Radim.
Gary Roberts - Hasn't been good since the start of this decade.

Of course, Melrose was going to have trouble winning with his current squad. And if management was under some illusion that this team was going to contend, they need to get their heads checked. I understand that every team, no matter what sport it is, aims to win the championship, but that doesn't mean that reality should be forgotten about either. It's unfair that Melrose got fired and I hope ESPN decides to bring him back, because he's a great hockey guy. The hell with the Lightning.