The move was immediately denied by the NHL for obvious reasons; Wolfe had long retired from the NHL and was well into his career as a financial planner in the Washington, D.C. -metropolitan area. Phil Esposito, who had recently become part owner of the expansion Tampa Bay Lightning was quoted as saying about the incident: ``I didn't just pay $50 million for Bernie Wolfe. He wasn't any good when I played against him''.
Phil Esposito
Bernie Wolfe