SPORTSNET.CA
The Tampa Bay Lightning have put goaltender Marc Denis on waivers for the purpose of buying out the remaining of his contract.
Denis has one year left on his contract that pays $3 million. The Lightning are responsible for two-thirds his salary, spread over double the remaining years of the contract.
“Needless to say, we are all sorry things didn’t work out differently for Marc with our organization,” Feaster said. “To his credit, Marc has been the ultimate professional to the very end, handling this news with the same dignity and grace as he has handled everything that has happened during his tenure in Tampa. We wish him nothing but success as he moves forward with his career.”
Denis will become an unrestricted free agent and the Lightning will free up some cap space in order to push during free agency.
Also on Wednesday, the Lightning announced that Bill Barber’s tenure with the Lightning will be terminated as of July 1st.
Barber, former Director of Player Personnel, said his family is the main reason for his departure, “I would like to spend some quality time with my family. They deserve that.”
A Hall of Famer, he played 12 years in the NHL and helped the Lightning capture the Stanley Cup in 2004. He spent 18 years as a coach and scout with Philadelphia.
The Lightning also announced that former NHL player and ex-player agent Brian Lawton as the new vice president of hockey operations. He will assist general manager Jay Feaster and oversee all aspects of the Lightning’s operations for new owners Oren Koules and Len Barrie.
Lawton played 10 seasons in the NHL with the North Stars, Rangers, Whalers, Nordiques, Bruins and Sharks. He had 112 goals and 266 points in 483 career games.
As an agent, Lawton represented Sergei Fedorov, Mike Modano and R.J. Umberger. He also worked as an analyst with Sportsnet’s Trade Deadline special this past spring.
