The Lightning crash-landed on rock bottom slightly before 10 o'clock Sunday morning.
The good, the bad and the ugly of the past six years shattered into pieces and burned to a Crisp. The only visible remains? A pink slip.
The Lightning ended an era Sunday morning, firing the only coach it has ever had: Terry Crisp. Also out: assistant Dave MacQueen.
And now it attempts to fix the wreckage with a new coach, a new system and a new hope. Finding just who will devise the new plan becomes the next step in the lowest saga of the Lightning's history. For now, the job of coach belongs to assistant Rick Paterson. But that could change. General manager Phil Esposito is assembling a list of "four or five" candidates, a list that includes interim coach Paterson and Ted Nolan, last season's coach of the year.
"This is a sad day for this organization," Esposito said. "It's never easy to make this kind of change, but we felt we had to. We needed to do something."
Rumors of a Crisp firing started smoldering after a 7-1 loss to Philadelphia on Tuesday. When the Lightning's winless streak reached seven games (0-6-1) with a loss in New York on Friday, Crisp, who compiled a 142-204-45 record with Tampa Bay and led the Lightning to its only playoff appearance two seasons ago, seemed destined for unemployment.
Crisp, 54, did not meet with the media Sunday, but he said throughout last week that he knew his job was in jeopardy.
"I told (Lightning CEO) Steve Oto that he needed to do what was best for the Lightning organization," Crisp said late last week. "If that meant changing coaches or players or whatever, but that it was up to him to do what he thought was best for the Lightning organization. Hey, I will always be a Lightning guy. I have given everything I had to this organization. And I'll still feel the same about the Lightning no matter what happens."
What did happen? According to Esposito, several factors played into his decision to fire the man he hired to introduce and sell hockey to Floridians on April 23, 1992. The chief factor: He believed after five-plus seasons behind the bench, Crisp no longer could motivate the players.
"You have to have the respect of the players and I think Terry had lost that respect," Esposito said.
In addition, Esposito and Oto thought Crisp's gruff style alienated certain players.
"He may have yelled at you and screamed behind the bench, but the next morning, he said "Hi' and treated you like a man," Tampa Bay's Rob Zamuner said. "He's a good person and that's better than being the best coach in hockey."
But after a 2-7-2 start, Esposito said he wanted to move before it was too late.
"I've only been here a few weeks, but the feeling when I got here was a change was needed," newly acquired defenseman Karl Dykhuis said.
Forward Dino Ciccarelli said, "I don't know if it's the right decision, but it's the easiest decision. Any time a team's not playing well, who gets blamed? Usually the coach. It's not right necessarily. It's not fair necessarily. But it's the easy way out."
Crisp's contract runs through next season and will pay him $550,000 each season. And that could be a factor in who the next coach is. Paterson is on the payroll. Nolan has more credentials but assuredly would cost more than Paterson.
Esposito admitted Nolan, who led Buffalo to the Northeast Division crown last season before leaving after a disagreement with owners, could be his first choice. But he will see how the team responds to Paterson and interview "a couple other candidates" before making a decision. In addition, Esposito said he hired Paterson before the season specifically to take over for Crisp in the event of a coaching change. There is no timetable for hiring a permanent coach, Esposito said.
Esposito said he has not spoken to Nolan, but Nolan reportedly said he anticipated the Lightning making a change over the weekend. He could not be reached for comment Sunday, but his agent, Robin Burns, indicated Nolan is interested in the job.
Meantime, Paterson, a former assistant with the Penguins and a coach for four years with Cleveland of the IHL, likely will have at least two games behind the bench to prove himself a worthy candidate.
"I got a break today," Paterson, 39, said. "Unfortunately, someone got hurt in the process. This time, it was Terry Crisp and I feel bad about that."
When asked how he felt about being an "interim coach," Paterson deadpanned, "All coaches are interim in this league. The end comes for everybody."
The end of Terry Crisp's Lightning career, the end of a Lightning era, and the end of the longest tenure among NHL coaches came to an end Sunday.
