Kalamazoo, Michigan. When Lawton refused to report, the North Stars traded him to the New York Rangers in October 1988. Halfway through the 1988–89 NHL season, the Rangers traded him again, to Hartford, and Lawton would go on to play in eight different cities over the next four years. Lawton would later say that being moved around as often as he was, was a factor in his performance over the years, and an aspect of the game that he never enjoyed. Post-playing career Lawton retired as a player in 1993, after being traded to the New Jersey Devils by San Jose, yet never playing for the Devils. He started his company, Lawton Sport and Financial, right away, and at the time of the company's purchase by Octagon Athlete Representation in 1998, represented 12 players in the NHL. At times representing players such as Mike Modano, Sergei Fedorov and Ryan Malone, Lawton became Octagon's managing director for hockey, helping Octagon expand their hockey client base and becoming the second-largest hockey agency in the NHL. Lawton left Octagon in 2008 in order to pursue management opportunities in the NHL, having known since his playing days that he ultimately wanted to be in management. After interviewing for management positions with a number of teams, caught the attention of then-new Tampa Bay Lightning owners Len Barrie and Oren Koules, by approaching them with a prepared 46-page proposal for how to improve the then-last place team. On June 25, 2008, Lawton was named Vice President of Hockey Operations for the Lightning, and while Jay Feaster remained in the position of general manager until resigning in July, it was Lawton, along with Koules and Barrie, who were making the decisions. Feaster himself indicated in his official announcement that Lawton had already been running the team with Koules and Barrie. Lawton was officially named as general manager and executive vice president on October 2, 2008. Among the earliest moves Lawton made with the Tampa organization were hiring Tom Kurvers and Greg Malone to front office positions, and acquiring and signing Gary Roberts and Ryan Malone, the latter of whom is the son of Greg Malone, and was also a client of Lawton's when he was an agent. Lawton was dismissed as general manager on April 12, 2010 and replaced, on an interim basis, by Tom Kurvers, a Lawton hire. Ultimately, Steve Yzerman, a former client of Lawton's,