Columnist Tim Graham: Driving the Thunder down under

Tim Graham

Thursday, Oct. 8, 1998 | 10:38 a.m.

Tim Graham's column appears Thursdays. His media notebook appears Wednesdays on page 3. Reach him at tim@lasvegassun.com or 259-4078.

As time passes it becomes more evident the Las Vegas Thunder's brain trust suffers from a lack of blood flow.

In two days the Thunder will begin its sixth season, and unless part-owner Ken Stickney and general manager Bob Strumm dramatically revamp their administrative philosophies, it will be another tumultuous one.

The Thunder is coming off its worst campaign in franchise history and an off-season in which Stickney and Strumm handled team business in a manner befitting a meddling owner whose only hockey knowledge is what his GM tells him, and a GM who only produces when he has dollars to burn.

Stickney, known for going off half-cocked, virtually called Patrice Lefebvre a cancer but did nothing to expunge the reigning league MVP from the team. Now he expects Lefebvre -- the same malcontent who had to be forced to play one day after wrapping up the league scoring title last season -- to perform.

Stickney also dropped the puck in not re-signing head coach Clint Malarchuk, probably the most dedicated ambassador the team could ever have. Malarchuk left simply because Stickney was unwilling to give The Cowboy a token raise. Stickney wanted Malarchuk to work for the same salary he earned as Chris McSorley's assistant.

Then there's Strummer.

The Thunder advertises Strumm as a hockey genius. His biograpy in the team's program proclaims him "one of the best judges of talent in all of hockey."

But it must take money to fund a genius mind. With Stickney reducing the payroll, Strumm hasn't done much. It could even be argued that Stumm has been counterproductive.

In trying to build a winner on a shrinking budget, he has tried every angle. He even has invented a few. Most have backfired.

The same year he struck up an NHL agreement with the Phoenix Coyotes, Strumm tried an affiliation gimmick. Remember the much-ballyhooed deal with Russian squad Torpedo Yaroslavl, for which Strumm was called a visionary? The Thunder never received a player.

Even the Coyotes' affiliation has created as many problems as solutions. Strumm has relied too much on Phoenix and continues to get burned by its reluctance to send more players to Las Vegas.

And don't forget the No. 1 expansion draft pick Strumm wasted last year by selecting center Bill Bowler, who never signed. Strumm had traded the fan favorite away the season before.

Now Strumm is messing with former Pittsburgh Penguins ace Petr Nedved, much the same way he did with NHL all-stars Alexei Yashin and Curtis Joseph.

Why is this a bad thing? Let's have Strumm tell us in his own words. When Ottawa's Daniel Alfredsson expressed interest in playing in Las Vegas during a holdout last year, Strumm said: "We're not a Club Med for unsigned NHL players. We're not doing that anymore. ... It doesn't make sense. When he leaves, you have to replace him and your whole teams drops off."

Just like it will this year, when the hurting Penguins trade Nedved for inventory, ending yet another Thunder publicity stunt. The Thunder certainly will struggle in Nedved's absence. Players used to his centering skills -- which don't belong in the IHL, anyway -- will struggle to find consolation in Russ Romaniuk.

It won't be pretty.

But Stickney and Strumm deserve what they get. They deserve each other.