Tampa Bay Tribune (Erik Erlendsson):
Rolston waiting for his morning coffee?
Posted By Erik Erlendsson at Jun 30, 2008 at 11:41 PM
Updated Jul 01, 2008 at 12:02 AM
Just got word folks that Brian Rolston will NOT be making a decision on his immedate future in the immediate future. He’s going to sleep on the Lightning’s offer overnight and inform the team of what he intends to do in the morning.
This decision does not come down to money for Rolston. I’ve been told that a lot of it revolves around his 6-year-old son and the youth hockey programs he might be involved in. While the Tampa area can offer a lot of things to a hockey player (wearing shorts and flip-flops to practice in January), what it can’t offer is a top-notch youth hockey program. That’s not a knock on any of the programs around here which are improving every year. But if you try to compare it to other areas such as Pittsburgh, Detroit, Minnesota or Boston, it’s just not going to stack up.
Rolston is 35, so it’s not like he’d be signing a seven-year contract, or anything, so in all liklihood his son wouldn’t even be 10 by the time his contract would be up in Tampa leaving him plenty of time to still develop should Dad decide to hang ‘em up when he’s 38 or 39.
That still doesn’t make the decision any different or any easier for Rolston and his family. There’s also a chance that Rolston might be holding out for a possible chance to play for Detroit, which is close to his hometown of Flint, Michigan, while the Penguins and the chance to play with Sidney Crosby are also possibly on his short list.
With the free agent market not opening until noon on Tuesday, this still leaves a small window of hope that Rolston agrees to sign. And even if he does hit the free agent market, it doesn’t mean Tampa Bay is out of the mix. The Lightning have done a solid sales job on him that may yet still win him over.
An excerpt from Lightning Strikes (Damian Cristodero):
Lightning owner Oren Koules said he has had one conversation with Brian Rolston about money. Koules said Rolston, whom the Lightning are trying to sign by midnight before he becomes an unrestricted free agent, is more concerned about quality of life issues.
“He’s excited about it,” Koules said Rolston’s opportunity to play with Tampa Bay. “It’s lifestyle things. He’s 35, he knows this might be his last contract. He wants to figure out where he wants his family to lives. You know what? I don’t blame him.”