fbpx
Wikipedia

Tampa Bay Lightning

May 06, 2023

The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play their home games at Amalie Arena in Downtown Tampa.

Tampa Bay Lightning
2022–23 Tampa Bay Lightning season
ConferenceEastern
DivisionAtlantic
Founded1992
HistoryTampa Bay Lightning
1992–present
Home arenaAmalie Arena
CityTampa, Florida
ColorsTampa Bay blue, white, black[1][2]
     
MediaBally Sports Sun
102.5 The Bone
Owner(s)Vinik Sports Group, LLC
(Jeffrey Vinik, chairman)[3][4]
General managerJulien BriseBois
Head coachJon Cooper
CaptainSteven Stamkos
Minor league affiliatesSyracuse Crunch (AHL)
Orlando Solar Bears (ECHL)
Stanley Cups3 (2003–04, 2019–20, 2020–21)
Conference championships4 (2003–04, 2014–15, 2019–20, 2021–22)[note 1]
Presidents' Trophy1 (2018–19)
Division championships4 (2002–03, 2003–04, 2017–18, 2018–19)
Official websitewww.nhl.com/lightning

The Lightning have won three Stanley Cup championships: 2004, 2020, and 2021. They also reached the Stanley Cup Finals in 2015 and in 2022. The team is owned by Jeffrey Vinik, and the general manager is Julien BriseBois. Jon Cooper has served as head coach since March 2013, and is the longest-tenured active head coach in the NHL.

Franchise history

Early years (1992–2000)

Bringing hockey to Tampa

In the late 1980s, the NHL announced it would expand. Two rival groups from the Tampa Bay Area decided to bid for a franchise: a St. Petersburg-based group fronted by future Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes owners Peter Karmanos and Jim Rutherford, and a Tampa-based group fronted by Phil Esposito and his brother Tony, both members of the Hockey Hall of Fame. One of the Esposito group's key backers, the Pritzker family, backed out a few months before the bid, to be replaced by a consortium of Japanese businesses headed by Kokusai Green, a golf course and resort operator. Although it appeared on paper that the Karmanos/Rutherford group had more financial resources, it only wanted to pay $29 million before the game began. In contrast, the Esposito/Kokusai Green group was one of the few groups willing to pay the full $50 million expansion fee up front.[5] The Esposito group would win the expansion franchise on December 6, 1990,[6] and name the team the Lightning, after Tampa Bay's status as the "Lightning Capital of North America".

 
Phil Esposito fronted an ownership group that was later awarded an NHL franchise in 1992.

Phil Esposito assigned himself president and general manager, while Tony became chief scout. Terry Crisp, who played for the Philadelphia Flyers when they won two Stanley Cups in the mid-1970s and coached the Calgary Flames to a Stanley Cup in 1989, was tapped as the first head coach. Phil Esposito also hired former teammates from the Boston Bruins of the 1970s, including former linemate Wayne Cashman as an assistant coach and former Bruin trainer John "Frosty" Forristal as the team's trainer. The inaugural team photo has him flanked by Cashman and player Ken Hodge, Jr., son of his other Bruins' linemate.

In 1991, Angus Montagu, 12th Duke of Manchester announced that a company of which he was a director would raise millions of dollars in investments in the Lightning, but his plans were unsuccessful and he was later convicted of wire fraud.[7]

The Lightning played their first preseason game in September 1992 against the Minnesota North Stars, and then turned heads later that preseason when Manon Rhéaume became the first woman to play in an NHL game, which also made her the first woman to play in any of the major professional North American sports leagues. She played for the Lightning against the St. Louis Blues, and stopped seven of nine shots.[8][9]

The Lightning played their first regular-season game on October 7, 1992, in Tampa's tiny 11,000-seat Expo Hall at the Florida State Fairgrounds. They surprised the visiting Chicago Blackhawks, winning 7–3 with four goals by little-known Chris Kontos. The team rose to the top of the Campbell Conference's Norris Division within a month, behind Kontos' initial torrid scoring pace and a breakout season by forward Brian Bradley. However, it buckled under the strain of some of the longest road trips in the NHL—their nearest division rival, the Blues, were over 1,000 miles (1,600 km) away—and finished in last place with a record of 23–54–7 for 53 points. This was, at the time, one of the best-ever showings by an NHL expansion team. Bradley's 42 goals gave Tampa Bay fans optimism for the next season; it would be a team record until the 2006–07 season.

The following season saw the Lightning shift to the Eastern Conference's Atlantic Division, as well as move into the Florida Suncoast Dome (a building originally designed for baseball) in St. Petersburg, which was reconfigured for hockey and renamed the "ThunderDome."[10] The team acquired goaltender Daren Puppa, left wing goal scorer Petr Klima, and veteran forward Denis Savard. While Puppa's play resulted in a significant improvement in goals allowed (from 332 to 251), Savard was long past his prime and Klima's scoring was offset by his defensive lapses. The Lightning finished last in the Atlantic Division in 1993–94 with a record of 30–43–11 for 71 points. Another disappointing season followed in the lockout-shortened 1994–95 season with a record of 17–28–3 for 37 points.

On-ice and off-ice struggles

In their fourth season, 1995–96, backed by Bradley's team-leading 79 points, second-year forward Alexander Selivanov's 31 goals, and Roman Hamrlik's All-Star year on defense, the Lightning finally qualified for the playoffs, posting a 38–32–12 record for 88 points, ahead of the defending Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils for the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference by a single win. Due to his stellar play in net, Puppa was named a finalist for the Vezina Trophy (losing out to Jim Carey of the Washington Capitals). Playing the Philadelphia Flyers, a team seen as a Stanley Cup contender, in the first round, the Lightning split the opening two games in Philadelphia before taking Game 3 in overtime before a ThunderDome crowd of 28,183. This was the largest crowd for an NHL game, a record that stood until the 2003 Heritage Classic in Edmonton; and it still stands today as the largest crowd at a Stanley Cup playoffs game. An injury to Puppa in that game, however, would see the Lightning lose the next three games and the series.

 
The Lightning moved to their present home, the Ice Palace (now Amalie Arena), during the 1996 off-season.

The Lightning moved into a new arena in downtown Tampa, the Ice Palace (later the St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa Bay Times Forum and now Amalie Arena) for the 1996–97 season. They had acquired goal-scorer Dino Ciccarelli from the Detroit Red Wings during the 1996 off-season, and he did not disappoint, scoring 35 goals while Chris Gratton notched another 30 goals. The team appeared destined for another playoff appearance, but suffered a devastating rash of injuries. Puppa developed back trouble that kept him out of all but six games during the season; he would only play a total of 50 games from 1996 until his retirement in 2000. Bradley also lost time to a series of concussions that would limit him to a total of 49 games from 1996 until his retirement in December 1999. Center John Cullen developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and missed the last 12 games of the 1996–97 season; he would eventually be forced to retire in 1999. Decimated by these ailments, the Lightning narrowly missed the playoffs. They would not tally as much as 60 points again for five years.

Most of the Lightning's early stars were gone by the 1998–99 season due to free agency and a series of ill-advised trades. Crisp was fired 11 games into the 1997–98 season and replaced by Jacques Demers. Though Demers had presided over the resurgence of the Detroit Red Wings in the 1980s and helmed a Stanley Cup run with the Montreal Canadiens in 1993, he was unable to change the team's fortunes and the Lightning ended up losing 55 games. That team's .268 winning percentage is still the worst in franchise history.

By most accounts, the Lightning's plunge to the bottom of the NHL was due to inattentive ownership by Kokusai Green. Rumors abounded as early as the team's second season that the Lightning were on the brink of bankruptcy and that the team was part of a money laundering scheme for the yakuza (Japanese crime families).[11] Its scouting operation consisted of Tony Esposito and several satellite dishes. The Internal Revenue Service investigated the team in 1994 and 1995, and nearly threatened to put a tax lien on the franchise for $750,000 in back taxes. The situation led longtime NHL broadcaster and writer Stan Fischler to call the Lightning a "skating vaudeville show."[12]

Even in their first playoff season, the team was awash in red ink and Kokusai Green was looking to sell the team; however its asking price of $230 million for the team and the lease with the Ice Palace deterred buyers.[12] A possible sale was further hampered by the team's murky ownership structure; many team officials (including Crisp) did not know who really owned the team.[11] Kokusai Green's owner, Takashi Okubo, had never met with the Espositos or with NHL officials in person prior to being awarded the Lightning franchise, and never watched his team play during his seven years as owner.

Nearly all of Kokusai Green's investment in the team and the Ice Palace came in the form of loans, leaving the team constantly short of cash.[13] At least one prospective buyer pulled out after expressing doubts that Okubo even existed.[11] In fact, the first time anyone connected with the Lightning or the NHL even saw Okubo was in the spring of 1998. Esposito was forced into several trades just to keep the team above water. The team's financial situation was a considerable concern to NHL officials; rumors surfaced that the NHL was seriously considering taking control of the team if Okubo failed to find a buyer by the summer of 1998.[12]

Forbes wrote an article in late 1997 calling the Lightning a financial nightmare, with a debt equal to 236% of its value, the highest of any major North American sports franchise. Even though the Ice Palace was built for hockey and the Lightning were the only major tenant, Forbes called the team's deal with the arena a lemon since it would not result in much revenue for 30 years. It was also behind on paying state sales taxes and federal payroll taxes.[14]

Finally, in 1998, Kokusai Green found a buyer. Although William Davidson, longtime owner of the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA), was thought to be the frontrunner, the buyer turned out to be insurance tycoon and motivational speaker Art Williams, who previously owned the Birmingham Barracudas of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The team was $102 million in debt at the time the sale closed.[12] Williams knew very little about hockey, but was very visible and outspoken, and immediately pumped an additional $6 million into the team's payroll. He also cleared most of the debt from the Kokusai Green era. After taking control, Williams publicly assured the Espositos that their jobs were safe, only to fire them two games into the 1998–99 season. He then gave Demers complete control of hockey operations as both coach and general manager. The Lightning drafted Vincent Lecavalier first overall in 1998, a player who would be a cornerstone of the team for years to come.

Williams was widely seen as being in over his head. Early in the 1998–99 season, the Lightning lost ten games in a row, all but ending any chance of making the playoffs. They ended up losing 54 games that year, more than the expansion Nashville Predators.

Return to respectability

By the spring of 1999, Williams had seen enough. He had not attended a game in some time because "this team broke my heart". He lost $20 million in the 1998–99 season alone, as much money in one year as he had estimated he could have reasonably lost in five years.[15] Williams sold the team for $115 million—$2 million less than he had paid for the team a year earlier—to Detroit Pistons owner William Davidson, who had almost bought the team a year earlier.[16] Along with the sale, the Lightning acquired a new top minor league affiliate; Davidson also owned the Detroit Vipers of the now-defunct International Hockey League.

Davidson remained in Detroit, but appointed Tom Wilson as team president to handle day-to-day management of the team. Wilson immediately fired Demers, who despite his best efforts (and fatherly attitude toward Lecavalier) was unable to overcome the damage from the Kokusai Green ownership. Wilson persuaded Ottawa Senators general manager (and former Vipers GM) Rick Dudley to take over as the Lightning's new general manager; Dudley, in turn, brought Vipers coach Steve Ludzik in as the team's new head coach. Wilson, Dudley and Ludzik had helped make the Vipers one of the premier minor league hockey franchises, having won a Turner Cup in only their third season in Detroit (the team had originally been based in Salt Lake City).

St. Louis–Lecavalier era (2000–2013)

However, as had been the case with Demers, the damage from the last few seasons under Kokusai Green was too much for Ludzik to overcome. Even with a wholesale transfer of talent from Detroit to Tampa (a move that eventually doomed the Vipers, which folded along with the IHL in 2001), the Lightning lost 54 games in 1999–2000 and 52 in 2000–01, becoming the first team in NHL history to post four straight 50-loss seasons. The lone bright spots in those years were the blossoming of Lecavalier and Brad Richards into NHL stars. Ludzik was replaced in early 2001 by career NHL assistant John Tortorella. The March 5 trade deadline offered another glimmer of hope when the team acquired hold-out goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin from the Phoenix Coyotes for three players and a draft pick.

The 2001–02 season, Tortorella's first full year behind the bench, saw some improvement. Martin St. Louis was having a breakout season when he broke his leg in game number 47 and was lost for the remainder of the season.[17] Khabibulin recorded a shut out at the NHL All-Star Game but was not named its MVP, by all accounts due to the game's voting protocol.[18] By mid-February, the Lightning were well out of playoff contention and were sinking under a rash of injuries. Dudley, who had guaranteed a playoff berth before the season, was fired and replaced by his assistant, Jay Feaster. Still the Lightning showed some signs of life, earning more than 60 points for the first time since 1997. Tortorella stripped Lecavalier of the captaincy due to contract negotiations that had made the young center miss the start of the season.

Two dream seasons and first Stanley Cup championship

With a young core of players led by Vincent Lecavalier, Brad Richards, Martin St. Louis and Fredrik Modin, the Lightning were thought to be very close to respectability. However, they arrived somewhat earlier than expected in 2002–03. The young team was led by the goaltending of Nikolai Khabibulin and the scoring efforts of Lecavalier, St. Louis, Modin, Richards and Ruslan Fedotenko. Throughout the season, the Lightning battled the Washington Capitals for first place in the Southeast Division. They finished with a record of 36–25–16 for 93 points, breaking the 90-point barrier for the first time in team history. They won the division by just one point, giving them home-ice advantage in their first-round match-up with the Capitals. At season's end, coach Tortorella was recognized for his efforts by being named a finalist for the Jack Adams Award, losing out to Jacques Lemaire of the Minnesota Wild.

In the first round of the playoffs, the Lightning quickly fell two games behind in the series but followed the two losses with four consecutive wins for their first playoff series win in franchise history. However, in the semifinals, they went down in five games to the New Jersey Devils, who went on to win the Stanley Cup. The Lightning's dramatic improvement continued through the 2003–04 regular season, finishing with a record of 46–22–8–6 for 106 points, second-best in the NHL after the Western Conference's Detroit Red Wings—the first 100-point season in franchise history. The Lightning lost only 20 man-games to injury. In the first round of the playoffs, the Lightning ousted the New York Islanders in five games, with Khabibulin posting shutouts in games 1, 3, and 4.

In the second round, the Lightning faced the Montreal Canadiens; Lecavalier, Richards, and Khabibulin led the team to a four-game sweep of Montreal. Next, they faced the Philadelphia Flyers in the Conference Finals. After a tightly fought seven-game series in which neither team was able to win consecutive games, Fredrik Modin notched the winning goal of the seventh and deciding game, earning the Eastern Conference championship for the Lightning and their first-ever berth in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Their opponent in the final round was the Calgary Flames. The final round also went the full seven games, with the deciding game played in the St. Pete Times Forum on June 7, 2004. This time, Ruslan Fedotenko was the Game 7 hero, scoring both Lightning goals in a 2–1 victory. Brad Richards, who had 26 points in the post-season, won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs; the Lightning had won all 31 contests in which he had scored a goal since the opening of the season.[19] Tortorella won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL's Coach of the Year. Only three years after their last of four consecutive seasons of 50 or more losses, and in only their 12th year of existence, the Lightning became the southernmost team ever to win the Stanley Cup. Martin St. Louis led the team and the NHL with 94 points (his 38 goals were fourth-most after the 41 of tied trio Jarome Iginla, Rick Nash and Ilya Kovalchuk), and won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player. St. Louis also won the Lester B. Pearson Award for the NHL's most outstanding player as voted by the NHL Players' Association, and tied the Vancouver Canucks' Marek Malik for the NHL Plus/Minus Award. A season of superlatives was capped with one final accolade, as The Sporting News named GM Jay Feaster as the league's executive of the year for 2003–04.

Post-championship successes and disappointments

The Lightning had to wait a year to defend their title due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout, but in 2005–06, they barely made the playoffs with a record of 43–33–6 for 93 points in a conference where six teams notched 100 or more points. They lost to the Ottawa Senators in five games in the first round of the 2006 playoffs.

 
During the 2006–07 season, Vincent Lecavalier broke the then franchise record for most points, and goals in a single season.

During the off-season, the Lightning traded Fredrik Modin and Fredrik Norrena to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for goaltender Marc Denis in an effort to replace the departing John Grahame, who had signed with the Carolina Hurricanes. However, free agent Johan Holmqvist would eventually receive the majority of playing time and most of the club's wins. The first half of 2006–07 was inconsistent for the Lightning, maintaining an 18–19–2 record throughout the first few months. January and February were far better months for the team, going 9–4–0 in January and 9–2–2 in February, driving them back into the playoff race. Fourteen games in March were split even, and on March 16, 2007, Vincent Lecavalier broke the franchise record for most points in a season, with 95 (finishing with 108). The record was previously held by Martin St. Louis, who had set the record in the 2003–04 Stanley Cup-winning year. Lecavalier also broke the franchise's goal-scoring record, finishing with a league-leading 52 goals.

The Lightning were busy during the final weeks before the NHL's trade deadline, acquiring wingers Kyle Wanvig, Stephen Baby and defenseman Shane O'Brien. Former first-round pick Nikita Alexeev was traded on deadline day to the Chicago Blackhawks. Other mid-season additions to the team included Filip Kuba, Luke Richardson and Doug Janik. Veteran Andre Roy, who had won the Stanley Cup with the Lightning in 2004, was claimed off waivers from the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Throughout March, the Lightning had been competing with the Atlanta Thrashers for first place in the Southeast Division. With a chance to overtake the Thrashers one final time and once again become division champions for the third time in team history, on April 6, 2007, in the final week of the regular season, the Lighting suffered a loss to the Florida Panthers, the night before the season finale in Atlanta. That same night, the Thrashers defeated the Carolina Hurricanes and subsequently clinched the division. For the Lightning, this meant having to settle for the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference with a final record of 44–33–5 (93 points). However, the Lightning were eliminated from playoff competition on April 22 after a 3–2 home loss to the New Jersey Devils in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.

 
Vaclav Prospal with the Lightning in 2007. Prior to the 2007 NHL trade deadline, the Lightning traded Prospal to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Alexandre Picard and a conditional draft pick.

Following their playoff exit, on August 7, 2007, Absolute Hockey Enterprises, a group led by Doug MacLean, announced it had signed a purchase agreement for the team and the leasehold on the St. Pete Times Forum. MacLean is the former president and general manager of the Columbus Blue Jackets and former head coach for both the Blue Jackets and the Florida Panthers. The group announced it planned to keep the team in Tampa, but the deal collapsed during the 2007–08 season.

Decline

The Lightning struggled to maintain success during the 2007–08 campaign. Although the "Big 3" of Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis and Brad Richards, along with Vaclav Prospal, had performed up to expectations, they had little consistent play from supporting players.

At the start of the All-Star Break on January 25, 2008, the Lightning had a 20–25–5 record, and with 45 points, were in last place in both the Southeast Division and the Eastern Conference. Only the Los Angeles Kings had a lower point total at this time of the season, with 40 points.

On February 13, 2008, it was announced that Palace Sports & Entertainment had agreed to sell the Lightning to OK Hockey LLC, a group headed by Oren Koules, a producer of the Saw horror movies, and Len Barrie, a former NHL player and real estate developer.

The Lightning were active during the trade deadline, similar to the previous season. More notable trades included Vaclav Prospal's trade to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for prospect Alexandre Picard and a conditional draft pick.[20] Additionally, former Conn Smythe Trophy winner Brad Richards and goaltender Johan Holmqvist were traded to the Dallas Stars in exchange for goaltender Mike Smith and forwards Jussi Jokinen and Jeff Halpern, as well as a fourth-round draft pick in 2009.[21] Jan Hlavac, a regular contributor, was also traded, moving to the Nashville Predators in exchange for a seventh-round pick in 2008.[22] Defenseman Dan Boyle was re-signed to a six-year contract extension reportedly worth $40 million.[23]

However, after the trade deadline, the Lightning fared no better than they had throughout the entire season. After the February 26 trade deadline, the Lightning won only five games. Finishing with a 31–42–9 record, with 71 points, they had the highest chance of winning the top overall pick in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft through the draft lottery, which they eventually won on April 7. They would use their first overall pick to select Steven Stamkos of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL)'s Sarnia Sting, who (like Lecavalier before) was expected to become a franchise cornerstone player for years to come.

The Lightning were the worst team on the road in the NHL, winning only 11 games. Another showing of the team's poor play was the difference from the previous season's success in the overtime/shootout periods. In the 2006–07 season, the Lightning had one of the best extra period records, winning 15 games in either overtime or the shootout. However, in the 2007–08 season, they won only three games, losing nine.

Vincent Lecavalier suffered a dislocated shoulder as the result of an open-ice hit from Matt Cooke of the Washington Capitals in the game before the season finale in Atlanta. Lecavalier, who planned on having arthroscopic wrist surgery after the season's ending, would undergo surgery to repair his right shoulder as well. Cooke was fined $2,500 by the NHL for the hit, as Lecavalier did not have possession of the puck at the time. Perhaps the lone bright spot in the season was Lecavalier's winning both the King Clancy Memorial Trophy and the NHL Foundation Player Award for work through his foundation, including a $3 million pledge to All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida, for what would become the Vincent Lecavalier Pediatric Cancer and Blood Disorders Center at All Children's Hospital.

Head coach John Tortorella was fired by the Lightning following their worst season since Tortorella was hired. At the time working as an NHL analyst for ESPN, Barry Melrose stated on June 4 during an episode of Pardon the Interruption that he missed coaching and would entertain any NHL coaching offers. He stated, "I miss not having a dog in the fight."[24] On June 23, ESPN reported Melrose had been chosen to be the head coach of the Lightning, beginning in 2008–09. The next day, the Lightning officially introduced him as their new head coach.

 
Steven Stamkos was drafted first overall by the Lightning in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.

On July 4, 2008, Dan Boyle, despite coming off a recent contract extension, was traded (along with Brad Lukowich) to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Matt Carle, Ty Wishart, a first-round draft pick in 2009 and a fourth-round pick in 2010. Boyle was pressured to waive his no-trade clause by Tampa Bay's ownership, who said they would otherwise place him on waivers, where he would likely be claimed by the Atlanta Thrashers. In the fallout from the trade, Boyle would call Lightning ownership "liars"[25] for misrepresenting the aforementioned events to the public, while former coach Tortorella later labeled them as "cowboys" and said he had zero respect for them.[26] Frustrated at interference in the team's hockey operations by Barrie and Koules, seven days later, Jay Feaster resigned as general manager, despite having three years remaining on his contract.

The Lightning opened the 2008–09 season in the Czech Republic against the New York Rangers as a part of the NHL's regular-season "Premiere" that selects several teams to open the regular season in Europe.

Barry Melrose would record his first win as a head coach in over 13 years on October 21, 2008, with a 3–2 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers. However, the Lightning did not get off to a great start as hoped, and Melrose was eventually fired by the Lightning with a 5–7–4 record. Rick Tocchet, who had been hired as assistant coach during the previous off-season, was promoted to interim head coach.

 
Martin St. Louis with the Lightning during the 2009–10 season. He signed a four-year extension with the team in the 2010 off-season.

On March 4, veterans Mark Recchi and Olaf Kolzig were traded by the Tampa Bay Lightning to the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs, respectively. The Lightning acquired top round picks Matt Lashoff and Martins Karsums from the Bruins.

After the firing of Melrose, the Lightning went 19–33–14 and would finish the season 24–40–18 with 66 points, their lowest point total since the 2000–01 season. With the second overall pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, the Lightning selected Swedish defenseman Victor Hedman, who would also be another major part of the franchise for years to come.

In the 2009 off-season, the Lightning removed the interim status of Rick Tocchet, making him the full-time head coach and signing him to a multi-year contract.[27] The Lightning had an up-and-down beginning to the 2009–10 campaign. Despite an overmatched roster on paper, and a team that struggled in the first two periods of many games, the Lightning remained competitive in the playoff race until March, when they went 5–10–1 for the month and fell eight points out of a playoff spot. Unable to make a final push for the playoffs, they were officially eliminated from contention within the first week of April. The Lightning finished the season 34–36–12 for 80 points, fourth in the Southeast Division and 12th in the Eastern Conference.

Steven Stamkos scored 51 goals in just his second NHL season, earning himself a share of the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy by finishing tied for the NHL lead in goals with Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby.[28]

During the season, the team was sold to Bostonian investment banker Jeffrey Vinik. Following the late-season collapse, Vinik cleaned house, firing both head coach Rick Tocchet and GM Brian Lawton on April 12, 2010, one day after the season ended.[29]

Arrival of Steve Yzerman

In May 2010, Vinik hired Steve Yzerman away from the Detroit Red Wings front office to be the new GM on a five-year contract. Yzerman then hired Guy Boucher from the Montreal Canadiens organization to succeed Tocchet as the head coach two weeks later.

Yzerman's first off-season with Tampa Bay began with a splash. With the sixth pick of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, the Lightning selected forward Brett Connolly despite a history of injuries while playing for the Western Hockey League (WHL)'s Prince George Cougars. On July 1, 2010, veteran blueliner Andrej Meszaros was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for their second-round pick in 2011. Later that day, the Lightning signed star winger Martin St. Louis to a four-year, $22.5 million contract extension to come into effect on July 1, 2011. On July 19, in another move with the Flyers organization, the Lightning traded defenseman Matt Walker and Tampa Bay's fourth-round pick in 2011 for high-scoring winger Simon Gagne. Other off-season acquisitions included the signing of forwards Sean Bergenheim, Dominic Moore and Marc-Antoine Pouliot, along with defensemen Brett Clark, Randy Jones and Pavel Kubina and goaltender Dan Ellis, as well as the re-signing of restricted free agent forward Steve Downie to a two-year, $3.7 million deal.

With starting goaltender Mike Smith injured, the Lightning called up Cedrick Desjardins, who played with a .950 save percentage and a 1.00 goals against average (GAA) in two games. The team then acquired veteran Dwayne Roloson from the New York Islanders for further coverage in net.[30]

The Lightning compiled a 46–25–11 record with 103 points in the 2010–11 season, matching a franchise record for wins in a season. After holding the first place in the Southeast Division for several months, they fell to second after a poor performance in March. However, their record was solid enough for second in the Southeast Division and fifth in the Eastern Conference, and they returned to the playoffs for the first time since the 2006–07 season. Scoring 31 goals and assisting on 68, Martin St. Louis finished second in the NHL in points.

 
Lecavalier scores the game-winning goal in Game 2 of the 2011 Eastern Conference semi-finals. The team went on to sweep the Washington Capitals in the series.

In the playoffs, Tampa Bay played the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Conference Quarterfinals. After losing Game 4 at home in the second overtime period, they fell behind in the series one game to three. However, the Lightning went on to win the next three games, including a 1–0 Game 7 win on the road, taking their first playoff series since winning the Stanley Cup in 2004. In the Conference Semifinals, the Lightning swept the top-seeded Washington Capitals.

Tampa Bay played the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference Finals. In Game 4 of the series, the Lightning trailed 3–0 at the end of the first period. When Dwayne Roloson was pulled for Mike Smith, the Bruins failed to score again, and the Lightning tied the game in the second period by scoring three goals in 3:58, going on to win the game 5–3 and tying the series at two games apiece. The series went the full seven games, though the Lightning were eliminated by a single goal, as the game was lost (0–1).

The Lightning finished the 2011–12 season with a 38–36–8 record. With only 84 points, they fell short of reaching the playoffs, ending the season third in the Southeast Division and tenth in the Eastern Conference.

Individually, Steven Stamkos scored a franchise-record 60 goals. He won the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy for the second time in his career. Stamkos was also second in the NHL in points with 97, and was a finalist for both the Hart Memorial Trophy and the Ted Lindsay Award.

As with the 1994–95 NHL lockout, the 2012–13 NHL lockout resulted in a 48-game season.

Nearing the end of an 18–26–4 season for 40 points, in which the Lightning ended fourth in the Southeast and 14th in the East, GM Steve Yzerman looked to their highly-successful American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. On March 25, 2013, head coach Guy Boucher was dismissed for following a 7–16–1 record.[31] The Lightning announced Jon Cooper would become the eighth head coach in franchise history.[32]

Martin St. Louis won his second Art Ross Trophy with 60 points in the shortened season, as Stamkos finished runner-up 57.

On June 27, 2013, the team announced that they would exercise one of their two "compliance buyouts" on captain Vincent Lecavalier, as permitted by the collective agreement. This move made Lecavalier an unrestricted free agent beginning July 5 of that year. The team stated the move was made not because of Lecavalier's play on the ice, but because of how his contract affected the team's salary cap, which would have been more than $7 million per year until its expiration after the 2019–20 season.[33][34][35]

Stamkos–Hedman era (2013–present)

After acquiring goaltender Ben Bishop from the Ottawa Senators in a trade the previous season, the Lightning started the 2013–14 season with an above-average performance. On November 11, 2013, going into the day tied for most goals during the regular season, Steven Stamkos suffered a broken right tibia after crashing into one of the goalposts during play against the Boston Bruins. He would miss 45 games and was not cleared to play again until March 5, 2014.[36]

 
Ryan Callahan during his first month with the Lightning. Callahan was acquired by the team in a trade that sent Martin St. Louis to the New York Rangers.

In January, GM Steve Yzerman, who also served as the general manager for Canada's team at the 2014 Winter Olympics, elected not to name Lightning captain Martin St. Louis to Canada's roster, instead choosing the still-injured Stamkos. After Stamkos was not medically cleared to play in Sochi in early February, Yzerman ultimately named St. Louis to Team Canada as an injury replacement. In late February, it was reported St. Louis had requested a trade from Yzerman the month prior.[37] St. Louis, who had a no-move clause in his contract with Tampa Bay, reportedly consented to only being traded to the New York Rangers. On March 5, 2014, St. Louis was sent to New York along with a conditional 2015 second-round pick in exchange for New York captain Ryan Callahan, a 2015 first-round draft pick, a conditional 2014 second-round pick and a 2015 conditional seventh-round pick. The deal came subsequently after Stamkos had been cleared to return to the Lightning's active roster. St. Louis cited his decision based on his family and thanked Lightning fans for their support during his tenure with the franchise, but would not specify any further about the reasons leading to his request.[38]

On March 6, 2014, Steven Stamkos was named Tampa Bay's 10th captain in his first game back after recovering from a tibia injury.[39]

On April 7, 2014, the team announced it had signed GM Steve Yzerman to a four-year contract extension.[40]

Finishing the season with 101 points, the Lightning placed second in the Atlantic Division, qualifying for the playoffs for the first time since 2011. However, Tampa Bay was eliminated in the first round, losing to the Montreal Canadiens in a four-game sweep.[41]

On June 25, 2014, the Lightning agreed to terms with Ryan Callahan, signing him to a six-year, $34.8 million contract extension.[42] The same day, the Lightning used its remaining compliance buyout on forward Ryan Malone after his on-ice performance had declined from injuries seasons prior in addition to his off-ice troubles that included a DUI arrest before the end of the season.[43]

Second Stanley Cup Finals appearance

Finishing the 2014–15 season with 108 points, the Lightning placed second in the Atlantic Division and qualified for the playoffs for the second-straight season, scoring the most goals out of any team in the NHL. Tampa Bay eliminated the Detroit Red Wings in seven games in the first round of the playoffs before facing Montreal in the second round. The Lightning won the first three games of the series and had a chance to sweep the Canadiens; however, Montreal responded with wins in Games 4 and 5 to extend the series to a sixth game. Tampa Bay won the sixth game of the series to eliminate the Canadiens and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2011, facing the New York Rangers.

 
A viewing party outside Amalie Arena for Game 6 of the 2015 Stanley Cup Finals

In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Lightning and the Rangers split the first two games of the series in New York, with the Lightning winning Game 2 of the series thanks to a Tyler Johnson hat-trick. The series then shifted to Tampa, where the Lightning had a come-from-behind overtime victory in Game 3 but lost Game 4 to even the series at two games apiece. During Game 5 in New York, goaltender Ben Bishop recorded his second shutout of the playoffs in a 2–0 victory, but the Rangers responded in Game 6 by scoring seven goals to tie the series at three games apiece. In Game 7, Bishop recorded his third shutout of the playoffs in another 2–0 victory against the Rangers to lead the Lightning to their first appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals since 2004. The Lightning not only became the first team to defeat the Rangers in a Game 7 at Madison Square Garden, but they also became the first team to successfully defeat three Original Six teams in the first three rounds of the playoffs.[44] The Lightning would face the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Finals, making it the first time a finalist faced four Original Six teams in the playoffs since the four-round format was introduced in 1980.[45] After losing Game 1 at home, the Lightning built a two games to one series lead, though the Blackhawks would win the following three games to win the Stanley Cup in six games at the United Center in Chicago.[46] This made Tampa Bay the first team to beat three of the Original Six teams in the playoffs since the Pittsburgh Penguins completed the feat in 1992. However, they became the first team to lose the Stanley Cup Finals despite beating three Original Six teams.[47]

Conference Finals and continuing contention

The Lightning had a slow start to the 2015–16 season. The season was filled with controversy for the team, starting off with the contractual questions regarding captain Steven Stamkos and with the former third overall pick Jonathan Drouin publicly requesting a trade and being suspended from the organization. The Lightning picked up their play at the beginning of 2016 and set the franchise record to nine consecutive wins on March 5, 2016, when Alex Killorn scored with 42.5 seconds remaining in overtime to propel the Lightning to a 4–3 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes at Amalie Arena. On March 26, 2016, the Lightning announced cornerstone defenseman Anton Stralman had suffered a fractured leg in their game against the New York Islanders at home. Stamkos was out of the lineup for the team's game on April 2 against the New Jersey Devils in Tampa; GM Steve Yzerman announced after the game that the captain would miss one-to-three months due to a blood clot in his arm. Due to unfortunate circumstances, the team had no other option but to bring Drouin back to the team. The Lightning ended up finishing second in the Atlantic Division and would once again face the third-seeded Detroit Red Wings in the first round of the playoffs.

 
Nikita Kucherov emerged as the Lightning's leading point-scorer during the 2015–16 season.

The Lightning defeated the Red Wings in five games after winning 1–0 at Amalie Arena. Next up, the Islanders (who had recently defeated the Panthers to win their first playoff series since the 1992–93 season) would face the Lightning. In Game 1, the Islanders defeated the Bolts 5–3. The Lightning would eventually answer back by winning four consecutive games in the series to defeat the Isles in five games, in large part due to back-to-back road overtime victories with goals scored by Brian Boyle and Jason Garrison. The Lightning were set to play against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Finals. In Game 1 at Consol Energy Center, star goaltender Ben Bishop would be added to the list of devastating injuries for the team as he left on a stretcher and did not return for the remainder of the series. Stralman would eventually return in Game 2. A back-and-forth series would eventually lead to a Game 7 showdown in Pittsburgh. Lightning captain Steven Stamkos surprisingly took warmups and was in the Lightning lineup after a long absence from blood clot surgery. However, it was not enough to go back to back in the Stanley Cup Finals, as the Lightning would fall 2–1 against the Penguins, who went on to defeat the San Jose Sharks and win the Stanley Cup.

With the Lightning under the spotlight in the 2016 off-season, Drouin rescinded his trade request. Steve Yzerman would then announce on June 29 the team re-signed Stamkos to an eight-year, cap-friendly deal. He would then sign star defenseman Victor Hedman to an eight-year contract on July 1, along with a seven-year deal for Alex Killorn and a three-year deal for former first-round pick, goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy.

The Lightning narrowly missed the playoffs in the 2016–17 season. Finishing with 94 points, they were beaten to the second wildcard by the Toronto Maple Leafs, with 95 points. The 2016–17 season for the Lightning was a host of injuries, mainly their captain, Steven Stamkos. Stamkos went down in the 17th game, against the Detroit Red Wings. It was revealed he suffered from a torn left meniscus, which put him out for the rest of the season. During the season, they traded goaltender Ben Bishop to the Los Angeles Kings, center Brian Boyle to the Toronto Maple Leafs, and forward Valtteri Filppula to the Philadelphia Flyers. However, there were positive signs as winger Nikita Kucherov emerged with 40 goals and goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy stepped up after Bishop left. The Lightning also showcased their young talent with rookie Brayden Point and promising AHL call-ups Yanni Gourde and Jake Dotchin. The Lightning bounced back with this talent in the last third of the season, but it was not enough as they missed the playoffs by one point.

In the off-season, the Lightning made a deal with the Montreal Canadiens to send Jonathan Drouin to their franchise in exchange for defensive prospect Mikhail Sergachev and a second-round pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. They also signed defenseman Dan Girardi for two years and winger Chris Kunitz to a one-year deal.

In the 2017–18 season, Steven Stamkos returned from injury, scoring 20 points in the first 10 games and assisting on nine of Nikita Kucherov's 11.[48] The Lightning finished the 2017–18 season with a record of 54–23–5, finishing with 113 points. The Lightning won their first Atlantic Division title and first division title since the 2003–04 season, as well as securing the top seed in the Eastern Conference for the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs. Andrei Vasilevskiy was nominated for the Vezina Trophy. Nikita Kucherov scored 100 points during the regular season, finishing third overall in the league. Steve Yzerman was once again nominated for the NHL General Manager of the Year Award. During the playoffs, the Lightning eliminated the New Jersey Devils in the first round and the Boston Bruins in the second round, both in five games. However, they were defeated in the Eastern Conference Finals by the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Washington Capitals, in seven games.

Record-breaking season marred by playoff failure

On September 11, 2018, it was announced that Steve Yzerman would be resigning from his position as general manager, and Julien BriseBois would be currently taking his place.[49][50] During the 2018–19 season, the Lightning clinched their first Presidents' Trophy and second consecutive division title after a 4–1 win over the Arizona Coyotes. Winning their final regular season game against the Boston Bruins, the Lightning finished with 62 wins, tying the NHL record set by the 1995–96 Detroit Red Wings for most wins in a season.[51] Nikita Kucherov became the second player in Lightning franchise history (after Martin St. Louis) to win the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's most valuable player and the Art Ross Trophy as the league's leading point scorer, setting a new franchise record of 128 points. Andrei Vasilevskiy became the first player in franchise history to win the Vezina Trophy as the league's best goaltender. However, in the first round of the playoffs, they were swept in four games by the Columbus Blue Jackets in that team's first-ever playoff series victory,[52] becoming the first Presidents' Trophy winner to be swept in the first round of the playoffs.[53] The series is widely regarded as one of the biggest upsets in league history. Jeremy Roenick of NBC Sports described Tampa's elimination as "one of the biggest letdowns in history", while the Tampa Bay Times described it as "the disappointment that all others are measured against".[54]

Back-to-back Stanley Cup championships and three straight Finals appearances

Following their earlier than expected exit from the playoffs, several players left the Lightning. Left winger J. T. Miller was traded to the Vancouver Canucks. Backup goaltender Louis Domingue was dealt to the New Jersey Devils for a conditional seventh-round draft pick in 2021. Defenseman Anton Stralman signed a three-year contract with the Florida Panthers. Right winger Ryan Callahan's career was effectively ended when he was diagnosed with a degenerative back disease.[55] The Lightning signed defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk to a one-year contract, after his contract with the New York Rangers was bought out. Left winger Patrick Maroon, who was coming off a Stanley Cup championship with the St. Louis Blues, was also signed to a one-year deal. The Lightning re-signed centers Cedric Paquette and Brayden Point to two and three-year contracts, respectively. Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy's contract was extended by eight years.

The Lightning began the season with a 17–13–4 record after 34 games. After this point, they won 23 of their next 26 games, including two separate win streaks of at least ten games, the second of which eventually set a new franchise record of eleven consecutive wins. They lost captain Steven Stamkos to injury once again, as he underwent surgery to repair a core muscle in March. He was expected to miss 6–8 weeks as a result, which at the time was expected to keep him out for the remainder of the regular season and the start of the playoffs.[56][57]

 
Andrei Vasilevskiy backstopped the Lightning to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2021.

Tampa Bay had only played 70 games when the NHL suspended the season on March 12, 2020, due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic.[58] It was not until late May that the league decided to cancel the remainder of the regular season. At the time, the Lightning had a record of 43–21–6 and were second in their conference. To finish the season the league expanded the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs to include 24 teams. In July, it was announced that the playoffs would begin August 1, and would take place in the Canadian cities of Toronto as the Eastern Conference hub, and Edmonton for the Western Conference. By virtue of having one of the top four highest point percentages at the time the season was suspended, the Lightning not only qualified for the playoffs, but would first compete in a single round-robin opening round group with the Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals, and Philadelphia Flyers to determine seeding.[59] Winning two out of three games, the Lightning earned the second seed in the East.

Following the round-robin, the Lightning drew the Columbus Blue Jackets again in the first round. The first game of the series ultimately became the fourth-longest NHL game in history, as the game-winning goal was scored by Brayden Point at the 10:27 mark of the fifth overtime period. Point also scored in overtime for a second time in game five, eliminating Columbus.[60] In the second round, the Lightning faced the Boston Bruins. After losing the first game of this series, the Lightning rallied to win the next four, with Victor Hedman's double-overtime goal in game 5 sealing the series victory for Tampa Bay.[61] After advancing, the remainder of the Lightning's playoff run took place in Edmonton, which had been planned as the site of both of the Conference Finals and the Stanley Cup Finals. In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Lightning took on the New York Islanders. The Islanders extended the Lightning to six games, but Tampa Bay would once again prevail in overtime to win the series, with the game-winning goal this time being scored by Anthony Cirelli. The win earned the Lightning the Prince of Wales Trophy for the third time in their history, and their first trip to the Stanley Cup Finals since 2015.[62]

In the 2020 Stanley Cup Finals, the Lightning met the Dallas Stars. The teams split the first two games of the series. In game three, Steven Stamkos returned to the lineup, having missed the entire playoff run to that point after suffering an injury prior to the start of the playoffs, unrelated to an injury he sustained during the regular season.[63] He scored a goal on what was his only shot on goal of the series, as he did not take to the ice again following the end of the first period. Tampa Bay did, however, win both game three and four to take a 3–1 series lead. Dallas stayed alive in the series by winning game five in double-overtime, but the Lightning closed them out with a 2–0 win in game six to win their second Stanley Cup championship, and first since 2004.

Victor Hedman was named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as the MVP of the playoffs, having recorded 22 points on 10 goals and 12 assists. Nikita Kucherov set a new franchise record for points in a single playoff season with 34, and also became the franchise leader for playoff goals, assists, and points. The team set a league record with over 221 minutes played in overtime periods alone.[64] They also became the first team in league history to have three series-winning goals in overtime.[65] Andrei Vasilevskiy surpassed both former Lightning goalies Ben Bishop and Nikolai Khabibulin to become the franchise leader in playoff games played and playoff games won.

The victory led to a new tradition for Tampa Bay sports teams: boat parades. The 2020 Lightning held a parade of boats on the Hillsborough River rather than a traditional victory parade through the streets of the city, mainly to comply with COVID-19 regulations, but subsequent championship teams in Tampa have held similar parades even with those restrictions lifted.[66][67][68]

Due to COVID-19, the league moved the Lightning to the Central Division, where they would compete with the Blackhawks, Blue Jackets, Hurricanes, Panthers, Predators, Red Wings, and Stars for the 2020–21 season.[69] The Lightning would only play against teams in the Central Division, with limited attendance to start the season. The team once again played in a shortened season, playing 56 games in total. Nikita Kucherov would miss the entire regular season with a hip surgery he had in December 2020.[70] During the season, the Lightning acquired defenseman David Savard through a multi-team trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Detroit Red Wings.[71] The Lightning would also acquire defenseman Fredrik Claesson in another trade with the San Jose Sharks.[72] The Lightning finished the season with a 36–17–3 record, and would finish 3rd in the Central Division.

Entering the playoffs, the Lightning would face against the Florida Panthers in the first round, making this the first time the state rivals would meet each other in the playoffs. The Lightning would win the series 4–2, with the last game continuing a playoff series clinching shutout streak that had carried over from the 2020 Stanley Cup Finals against Dallas. In the second round, the Lightning would face the Carolina Hurricanes. In the third game of the series, Brayden Point would score the first goal in a playoff goal-scoring streak that would last for 9 games, coming in second to Reggie Leach with 10 games in a single playoff year.[73] The Hurricanes would win game 3 in overtime, however the Lightning would win the next two games to win the series 4–1. For the second consecutive year, the Lightning would again face the New York Islanders before heading to the Stanley Cup Finals. Due to the lack of conferences for this season, this series would not be called the "2021 Eastern Conference Finals", but instead it would be known as the "2021 Stanley Cup Semifinals". The Islanders would once again take the Lightning to an extended series, having won game 6 in overtime to force the series to 7 games. However, the Lightning would clinch the series in game 7 with a single shorthanded goal scored by Yanni Gourde. The win would earn the Lightning their second consecutive Prince of Wales Trophy, and a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals.

In the 2021 Stanley Cup Finals, the Lightning went up against the Montreal Canadiens. In the first three games, the Lightning would prevail, a notable highlight being the diving goal Blake Coleman would score with 1.1 seconds left in the second period in the second game in the series.[74] The Canadiens however would force a game 5 and prevent a sweep, winning game 4 in overtime. The Lightning however would win the Stanley Cup in game 5, with a single goal scored by Ross Colton in the second period. The game would also see the Lightning win in their own arena, the second time in team history, and the first time since the Chicago Blackhawks won the Cup in 2015. Andrei Vasilevskiy won the Conn Smythe Trophy with 5 shutouts during the playoffs, 4 of which were series-clinching shutouts. Patrick Maroon would win his third consecutive Stanley Cup, one with the St. Louis Blues and two with the Lightning. Maroon later slipped and dropped the Stanley Cup and severely dented the trophy's bowl during a celebration at Julian B. Lane Park following the team's victory parade on July 11. Maroon cited the strong thunderstorm during the outdoor celebration as the reason, and the Cup was quickly repaired with no further issues.[75]

On February 26, 2022, the Lightning played their first outdoor game in franchise history against the host Nashville Predators in the 2022 NHL Stadium Series at Nissan Stadium. The Lightning would win the game against the Predators with a score of 3–2, with Steven Stamkos receiving first star. On April 14, 2022, the Lightning clinched a playoff berth after a 4–3 overtime win against the Anaheim Ducks. In the 2022 playoffs, the Lightning defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in seven games in the First Round and swept their in-state rivals in the Second Round. On June 11, 2022, the Lightning clinched their third straight Stanley Cup Finals berth after a 2–1 win against the New York Rangers in game six of the Eastern Conference Finals. However, in the 2022 Finals, they came up short for a third consecutive Stanley Cup title, in game six against the Colorado Avalanche on June 26. [76]

In the following season, the Lightning finished in 3rd place in the Atlantic Division, and once again played the Maple Leafs in the First Round of the 2023 playoffs. However, this time, the Leafs would avenge their loss and eliminated the Lightning 4–2.

Radio and television

The Lightning's flagship radio outlet is WHPT, which replaced WFLA as of the 2022–23 NHL season.[77] Dave Mishkin serves as play-by-play announcer, joined by Phil Esposito as color commentator for home games. Greg Lenelli is the pregame and intermission host. The Lightning television broadcasts can be seen on Bally Sports Sun. From 1995 to 2020, the television play-by-play announcer was Rick Peckham. He announced that he would be retiring following the 2019–20 season. His final game for the Lightning was game five of their First Round series during the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs, in which the Lightning won in overtime to win the series.[78] Dave Randorf was named as his replacement prior to the 2020–21 season.[79] The color commentator is Brian Engblom. The studio host is Paul Kennedy. Caley Chelios, daughter of Hall of Fame defenseman Chris Chelios, is the in-arena host and Lightning reporter. Former Lightning player Dave Andreychuk and former color commentator Bobby "The Chief" Taylor assist with the television pregame and postgame broadcasts.

On December 10, 2014, long-time color commentator Bobby "The Chief" Taylor announced he would be retiring from the broadcast booth at the end of the 2014–15 season. Taylor had served as the team's color commentator since the 1993–94 season, which was the team's second year of existence. Taylor cited that he desired to be home with his wife Jan more. Taylor said, "The road was starting to get a little stale," and "I've been traveling since I was 15, and that's a long time." However, Taylor announced that he was not completely stepping away from the team broadcasts. He has continued to serve as a studio analyst during the games on Fox Sports Sun for both home and away games.[80]

On August 11, 2015, Fox Sports Sun, the regional television home of the Lightning, announced Brian Engblom as Taylor's replacement on color commentary for the 2015–16 season. Prior to joining Sun Sports, Engblom served as the "inside the glass" analyst on both NBC and NBC Sports Network, as well as the network's coverage of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Engblom has served as an analyst on NHL Live, and also served as color analyst for Winnipeg Jets games on TSN in Canada. Prior to being an announcer, Engblom played at the University of Wisconsin, and was Montreal's third pick, 22nd overall, in the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft. He won three Stanley Cups with the Canadiens from 1977 to 1979.[81]

Team colors and mascot

Since 2010, the Lightning colors have been blue, black and white. Their logo has been a stylized lightning bolt. This is the origin of one nickname for the team—the "Bolts".[82]

Logo and jerseys

 
 
The primary (left) and alternate logos (right) used by the team from 1992 to 2007. The team was named the Lightning in reference to the Tampa Bay Area being the "lightning capital of North America".

The original Lightning jerseys featured simple stripes on the sleeves and tail, and contrasting shoulders—black shoulders over a white jersey, and white shoulders over the black—with the alternate logo (a lightning bolt over the outline of the state of Florida). The underarm gussets included a feature referred to as "victory stripes"—a group of thin stripes, alternating in the team's colors (black-silver-blue on white, or white-blue-silver on black). For the 1996–97 season, the Lightning added a third jersey, primarily blue with a sublimated wave and rain design on the front and back, lightning bolts down the sleeves, a silver-gray shoulder yoke, and black gussets. The third jersey was retired after the 1998–99 season.

In their first two seasons, the Lightning used a stylized block font for player names, with gaps in the upper loops of letters such as A, B, D, and R. The numbers were standard block numbers with drop shadows. The fonts were vertical in 1992–93, and italicized in 1993–94. The following season, the name font changed to a block font, vertically arched, while the number font changed to a painted style resembling the letters "Tampa Bay" in the logo. This style was also used on the blue alternate in 1998–99, replacing an "electrified" number font used from 1996 to 1998. In 2001–02, the old fonts were replaced with traditional block letters and numbers, which have been used ever since. They also darkened their shades of blue that season from a royal blue to a speed (Indy) blue.

As with all NHL teams for the 2007–08 season, the Lightning debuted in new Reebok "Rbk Edge" jerseys. Also, like several other NHL teams, the Lightning updated their team logo.

The Lightning unveiled their new logo on August 25, 2007. The logo was similar to the inaugural one, but with a more modern look. The new logo also kept the same theme as the previous one, but with the words "Tampa Bay" across the top now appearing with tall capital initials, and the word "Lightning" no longer appearing on the bottom of the logo.

 
In 2007 the Lightning adopted a new primary logo, which was used until 2011.

The Edge jerseys use the same template adopted by the Ottawa Senators and Pittsburgh Penguins. Unlike those teams, the Lightning's elbow panels remain the base color of the jersey, and an additional blue panel is added near the cuff of the sleeve. The Edge uniforms retain the underarm gusset "victory stripes" of their predecessors.

The Lightning then debuted a new "alternate" or "third" jersey in the 2008–09 season. The jersey features a dominant "electric blue" color, with black and silver accents at the end of the sleeves. The logo is removed, and in its place emblazoned across the front of the jersey descending to the lower left of the jersey is the word "BOLTS" (utilizing a layout similar to that of the Ottawa Senators' third jersey). The numbers are featured on the back and sleeves only, using white lettering.[83]

It was reported on January 23, 2011, that the Lightning had filed paperwork with the NHL to change their logo and colors, beginning with the 2011–12 season.[84] The new logo, as well as the new home and away jerseys, were unveiled by the team at a press conference at the St. Pete Times Forum on January 31, 2011.[85] The Lightning began to integrate the new logo onto center ice, and even distributed free T-shirts with the simplified logo on February 4, 2011, while still using the old Lightning logo and uniforms.[86]

The current uniforms are made in a traditional hockey sweater design. Initially, the colors that were to be used were simply blue and white, but by popular demand, black was later added as a trim color on the numbers. The victory stripes were also eliminated. Despite the introduction of the new uniforms, the previous third jersey was retained, with the new simplified logo replacing the old logo in the shoulders prior to the 2012–13 season.

For the 2014–15 season, the Lightning announced that a new black third sweater will replace the existing "BOLTS" sweaters. The new sweaters were unveiled on September 27, 2014. It retained the "BOLTS" wordmark, while adding white accents in a similar manner as the Los Angeles Kings' sweaters. The secondary roundel logo also replaced the primary logo on the sleeves, while the metro name was enscripted on the collar.

The Lightning made some minor tweaks to their current uniform set following the NHL's move to Adidas as its uniform provider in the 2017–18 season. The most notable change is the removal of the "TAMPA BAY" wordmark on the white away sweaters.

A third sweater was not used during all of 2017–18 and much of the 2018–19 season. On February 7, 2019, the Lightning unveiled a new black uniform, lacking any blue and white elements and featuring sublimated black and grey patterns on the sleeves, socks and back numbers.

For the 2020–21 season, the Lightning released a "Reverse Retro" uniform, using the design they wore from 2001 to 2007. Unlike the originals, blue served as the base color while black was relegated to trim color. Their 2022–23 "Reverse Retro" uniform used the design of the third jersey from 1996 to 1999, but with a white base.[87]

For the 2022 NHL Stadium Series, the Lightning unveiled a white uniform with a stylized blue stripe shaped like a thunderbolt at the bottom. An updated rendition of the "BOLTS" wordmark was stitched in front, and numbers featured pointed accents.

In-game personalities

Greg Wolf has been the Lightning’s in-game host since the 2006–07 season.

Retired United States Air Force Technical Sergeant Sonya Bryson-Kirksey sings the Canadian and American national anthems at most home games. She started singing the US national anthem for the team in 2013, and the Canadian anthem in 2020. She is accompanied on game nights by organist, Krystof Srebrakowski.

ThunderBug

The Lightning mascot is a lightning bug named ThunderBug, who performs at games and makes appearances in the community.[88]

Lightning Girls

Until the 2019–20 season,[89] an official dance team known as the Lightning Girls performed at all home games and community events. The Tampa Bay Lightning Girls were a group of dancers who performed in the stands.[90]

Season-by-season record

This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by the Lightning. For the full season-by-season history, see List of Tampa Bay Lightning seasons

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

Season GP W L OTL Pts GF GA Finish Playoffs
2018–19 82 62 16 4 128 325 222 1st, Atlantic Lost in First Round, 0–4 (Blue Jackets)
2019–20 70 43 21 6 92 245 195 2nd, Atlantic Stanley Cup champions, 4–2 (Stars)
2020–21 56 36 17 3 75 181 147 3rd, Central Stanley Cup champions, 4–1 (Canadiens)
2021–22 82 51 23 8 110 287 233 3rd, Atlantic Lost in Stanley Cup Finals, 2–4 (Avalanche)
2022–23 82 46 30 6 98 283 254 3rd, Atlantic Lost in First Round, 2–4 (Maple Leafs)

Players

Current roster

Updated April 21, 2023[91][92]

No. Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
41   Pierre-Edouard Bellemare C L 38 2021 Le Blanc-Mesnil, France
24   Zach Bogosian D R 32 2021 Massena, New York
81   Erik Cernak   D R 25 2017 Košice, Slovakia
71   Anthony Cirelli C L 25 2015 Woodbridge, Ontario
28   Ian Cole D D 34 2022 Ann Arbor, Michigan
79   Ross Colton C L 26 2016 Robbinsville, New Jersey
1   Brian Elliott G L 38 2021 Newmarket, Ontario
23   Mikey Eyssimont LW L 26 2023 Littleton, Colorado
7   Haydn Fleury D L 26 2022 Carlyle, Saskatchewan
38   Brandon Hagel LW L 24 2022 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
77   Victor Hedman (A) D L 32 2009 Örnsköldsvik, Sweden
84   Tanner Jeannot LW L 25 2023 Oxbow, Saskatchewan
17   Alex Killorn (A) C L 33 2007 Halifax, Nova Scotia
86   Nikita Kucherov RW L 29 2011 Maykop, Russia
14   Patrick Maroon LW L 35 2019 St. Louis, Missouri
20   Nick Paul LW L 28 2022 Mississauga, Ontario
48   Nick Perbix D R 24 2017 Elk River, Minnesota
10   Corey Perry RW R 37 2021 Peterborough, Ontario
21   Brayden Point C R 27 2014 Calgary, Alberta
43   Darren Raddysh D R 27 2021 Caledon, Ontario
98   Mikhail Sergachev D L 24 2017 Nizhnekamsk, Russia
91   Steven Stamkos (C) C/RW R 33 2008 Markham, Ontario
88   Andrei Vasilevskiy G L 28 2012 Tyumen, Russia

Retired numbers

Tampa Bay Lightning retired numbers
No. Player Position Career Date of retirement
4 Vincent Lecavalier C 1998–2013 February 10, 2018[93]
26 Martin St. Louis RW 2000–2014 January 13, 2017[94]

Team captains

 
Named to the position in 2014, Steven Stamkos is the current captain of the Lightning.

Honored members

See also: List of Tampa Bay Lightning award winners
Tampa Bay Lightning Hall of Famers
Players
Name Position Career Inducted
Dave Andreychuk LW 2001–2006 2017
Dino Ciccarelli RW 1996–1998 2010
Mark Recchi RW 2008–2009 2017
Denis Savard C 1993–1995 2000
Martin St. Louis RW 2000–2014 2018

NHL All-Star team

NHL All-Rookie Team

All-Star Game

NHL YoungStars Game

NHL All-Star Skills Competition (Rookie)

First-round draft picks

See also: List of Tampa Bay Lightning draft picks

Franchise scoring leaders

These are the top-ten-point-scorers in franchise history. Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season.[96]

  •  *  – current Lightning player

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game

 
Recording 652 points with the Lightning, Victor Hedman is the Lightning's all-time leading scorer amongst defencemen.

Franchise playoff scoring leaders

These are the top-ten playoff point-scorers in franchise playoff history. Figures are updated after each completed NHL season.

  •  *  – current Lightning player

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game; * = current Lightning player

NHL awards and trophies

Main article: List of Tampa Bay Lightning award winners

Stanley Cup

Presidents' Trophy

Prince of Wales Trophy

Art Ross Trophy

Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy

Conn Smythe Trophy

Foster Hewitt Memorial Award

Hart Memorial Trophy

Jack Adams Award

James Norris Memorial Trophy

King Clancy Memorial Trophy

Lady Byng Memorial Trophy

Lester B. Pearson Award/Ted Lindsay Award

Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy

NHL Foundation Player Award

Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award

NHL Plus/Minus Award

Vezina Trophy

Franchise records

Individual

Team

  • Largest home playoff attendance: 28,183 (ThunderDome – now Tropicana Field) (1995–96)
  • Largest home regular season attendance: 27,227 (ThunderDome) (1993–94)[98]
  • Most points in a season: 128 (2018–19)
  • Most wins in a season: 62 (2018–19)
  • Most home wins in a season: 32 (2014–15 and 2018–19)
  • Most road wins in a season: 30 (2018–19)
  • Most wins in a row: 11 (2019–20)

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Though the Lightning won the Prince of Wales Trophy and advanced into the Stanley Cup Finals in 2021, this does not count as a conference championship. Due to restrictions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020–21 NHL season saw a realignment of teams into new divisions, without any conferences.

References

  1. ^ "Lightning Unveil New Logo, Jersey Systems Along with Vision and Brand Aspiration". TampaBayLightning.com. NHL Enterprises, L.P. January 31, 2011. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  2. ^ Smith, Chris. "Tampa Bay Lightning Jersey History". TampaBayLightning.com. NHL Enterprises, L.P. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
  3. ^ "Tampa Bay Sports And Entertainment LLC Closes on Purchase of Tampa Bay Lightning". TampaBayLightning.com. NHL Enterprises, L.P. March 3, 2010. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  4. ^ "Tampa Bay Lightning owner expands business portfolio with Vinik Sports Group". SportBusiness. February 25, 2020. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  5. ^ Stein, Gil (1997). Power Plays: An Inside Look at the Big Business of the National Hockey League. pp. 86–92.
  6. ^ "A franchise is born 25 years ago". NHL.com. December 6, 2015. Retrieved May 27, 2019.
  7. ^ Basse, Craig (August 1, 2002). "Notorious duke, tied to Lightning, dies". Tampabay.com. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
  8. ^ "Part 1: Manon Rhéaume shatters hockey's gender barrier". National Hockey League.
  9. ^ "Manon Rheaume". www.whockey.com.
  10. ^ Buckley, Tim (October 10, 1993). "Lightning's spark? It was on the bench". Tampa Bay Times. p. 6C. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  11. ^ a b c Duhatschek, Eric; et al. (2001). Hockey Chronicles. New York City: Checkmark Books. ISBN 0-8160-4697-2.
  12. ^ a b c d Fischler, Stan (1999). Cracked Ice: An Insider's Look at the NHL. Lincolnwood, Illinois: Masters Press. ISBN 1-57028-219-6.
  13. ^ Sandomir, Richard (April 6, 1998). "A Soap Opera on Ice". The New York Times. Retrieved January 27, 2008.
  14. ^ "Lightning Highlights".
  15. ^ "LCS Hockey : Team Reports : Tampa Bay Lightning". www.lcshockey.com.
  16. ^ "Davidson has deal to buy Lightning".
  17. ^ "Lightning winger St. Louis out with broken leg". CBC News. January 24, 2002.
  18. ^ "Vote deadline may have cost Khabibulin the MVP award". CNN.
  19. ^ "Raising the Cup presents: Game 7 2004 Stanley Cup Final". NHL.com. August 16, 2011. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
  20. ^ . Archived from the original on December 27, 2008.
  21. ^ . Archived from the original on December 27, 2008.
  22. ^ "Tampa Bay Lightning – News: Lightning Acquire Seventh-Round Pick In 2008 From Nashville In Exchange For Jan Hlavac – 26 February 2008".
  23. ^ "Lightning re-sign D Boyle to six-year extension". Espn.com. February 26, 2008.
  24. ^ "Lightning hire Barry Melrose as coach". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Associated Press. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  25. ^ "Tampa Bay Lightning". Tampa Bay Times.
  26. ^ "Tortorella calls new Tampa owners 'cowboys,' rips old franchise".
  27. ^ "Lightning award Tocchet full-time coaching job". May 11, 2009.
  28. ^ "Steven Stamkos' empty-net goal gives him 51 and a share of the Rocket Richard Trophy Damian Cristodero". St. Petersburg Times. April 12, 2010. Retrieved April 12, 2010.
  29. ^ Damian Cristodero (April 12, 2010). "It's official: Tampa Bay Lightning fires coach Rick Tocchet and GM Brian Lawton". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved April 12, 2010.
  30. ^ Smith, Joe (January 2, 2011). "Tampa Bay Lightning gets goalie Dwayne Roloson from New York Islanders for minor-league defenseman". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved May 31, 2011.
  31. ^ "Lightning Release Guy Boucher of Coaching Duties". Tampa Bay Lightning. March 24, 2013. Retrieved March 25, 2013.
  32. ^ "Lightning name Jon Cooper as head coach". Tampa Bay Lightning. March 25, 2013. Retrieved March 25, 2013.
  33. ^ "Lightning To Use Compliance Buyout on Vincent Lecavalier". Tampa Bay Lightning. June 27, 2013. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
  34. ^ "Analysis of Lecavalier Compliance Buyout". Tampa Bay Lightning. June 27, 2013. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
  35. ^ Damian Cristodero (June 27, 2013). "Lightning plans Lecavalier buyout". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
  36. ^ Cristodero, Damian. "Lightning's Stamkos cleared to play Thursday against Sabres". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved March 6, 2014.
  37. ^ "St. Louis, Lightning discuss future with team". National Hockey League. February 26, 2014. Retrieved March 6, 2014.
  38. ^ Tampa Bay, FOX 13 (March 5, 2014). "Exclusive Interview: Martin St. Louis". FOX. myfoxtampabay. Retrieved March 6, 2014.
  39. ^ "Steven Stamkos back, named captain". ESPN. Associated Press. March 6, 2014. Retrieved March 6, 2014.
  40. ^ Halford, Mike (April 7, 2014). "Lightning sign GM Yzerman to four-year extension". NBC Sports Pro Hockey Talk. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  41. ^ "Max Pacioretty lifts Habs to 2nd round in sweep of Lightning". ESPN. Associated Press. April 22, 2014. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
  42. ^ LeBrun, Pierre (June 25, 2014). "Ryan Callahan signs 6-year deal". ESPN. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
  43. ^ Stubits, Brian (June 25, 2014). "Lightning use second compliance buyout on Ryan Malone". ESPN. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
  44. ^ "Lightning beat up on Original Six to reach Cup finals". Reuters. May 30, 2015. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  45. ^ Gretz, Adam (May 31, 2015). "The Tampa Bay Lightning's playoff journey through the Original Six". CBS Sports. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  46. ^ "Lightning strikes again". Hockey reference. May 30, 2015. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
  47. ^ Beacham, Greg (June 16, 2015). "Tampa Bay Falls Just Short, Loses the Cup in Game 6 Shutout". ABC News. Associated Press.
  48. ^ Campbell, Ken. "Stamkos' transformation into Kucherov's set-up man has Lightning looking scarier than ever | The Hockey News". The Hockey News. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  49. ^ "AP Source: Steve Yzerman stepping down as Lightning GM". USA Today. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  50. ^ Smith, Joe. "Steve Yzerman stepping down as Lightning general manager". The Athletic. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  51. ^ Nearhos, Diana C. (April 6, 2019). "Lightning ties NHL wins record with No. 62". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved April 8, 2019.
  52. ^ Merz, Craig (April 16, 2019). "Blue Jackets sweep Lightning in Game 4 for first playoff series victory". NHL.com. from the original on April 17, 2019. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
  53. ^ Nearhos, Diana C. (April 16, 2019). "Lightning's Jon Cooper: 'For six days in April, Columbus was the better team'". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  54. ^ "Quest for the Cup: Blue Jackets and Isles advance". NBC Sports. April 16, 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
  55. ^ "Former Rangers captain Ryan Callahan diagnosed with degenerative back disease". CBS Sports. June 20, 2019. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  56. ^ "Lightning Captain Steven Stamkos to Miss 6–8 Weeks After Surgery". Sports Illustrated. February 29, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  57. ^ "Lightning Captain Steven Stamkos to have surgery". NHL. February 29, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  58. ^ "NHL statement on coronavirus". NHL.com. September 29, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  59. ^ "Stanley Cup Qualifiers schedule". NHL.com. September 29, 2020. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  60. ^ "Lightning eliminate Blue Jackets with overtime win in Game 5". Sportsnet.ca. September 29, 2020. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
  61. ^ James O'Brien (September 29, 2020). "Lightning eliminate Bruins after Game 5 goes to double overtime". nbcsports.com. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  62. ^ Arun Srinivasan (September 29, 2020). "Lightning eliminate Islanders in OT, will face Stars in Stanley Cup Final". yahoo.com. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  63. ^ "Steven Stamkos set to return in Game 3". NHL. September 23, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  64. ^ @PR_NHL (September 29, 2020). "The @TBLightning finished the postseason with a 7–2 record in overtime games, playing a League-record 221:14 overtime minutes in the 2020 postseason – equivalent to nearly four extra regulation games" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  65. ^ @PR_NHL (September 29, 2020). "The @TBLightning won three series in OT and got clinching goals from NHL goals leader @BraydenPoint19 in both the First Round and #StanleyCup Final." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  66. ^ "Lightning, City of Tampa to host boat parade, fan rally". NHL.com. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
  67. ^ "Brady completes Lombardi pass as Bucs party". ESPN.com. February 10, 2021. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
  68. ^ "2021 Stanley Cup Celebration Events". Retrieved July 16, 2021.
  69. ^ "2021 NHL season: Division realignment, coronavirus protocols, Stanley Cup Playoffs dates". CBSSports.com. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  70. ^ "Insight into Kucherov's injury and his playoff readiness". NHL.com. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  71. ^ "Savard acquired by Lightning in trade with Blue Jackets, Red Wings". NHL.com. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  72. ^ "Sharks trade Fredrik Claesson, acquire NCAA goalie from Lightning". The Mercury News. April 12, 2021. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  73. ^ "Point falls short of playoff goal streak record for Lightning". NHL.com. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  74. ^ "Coleman goal in Game 2 of Final ranks among greatest in Lightning history". NHL.com. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  75. ^ "So that's what happened: Lightning's Pat Maroon admits to dropping the Stanley Cup". wtsp.com. July 14, 2021. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
  76. ^ Gulitti, Tom (June 26, 2022). "Avalanche edge Lightning in Game 6, win Cup for first time since 2001". NHL.com. NHL Enterprises, L. P. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  77. ^ Staff, BSM (September 14, 2022). "Tampa Bay Lightning Moving to 102.5 The Bone". Barrett Sports Media. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  78. ^ Faiello, Mari (August 19, 2020). "Lightning gift broadcaster Rick Peckham with a thrilling final game". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  79. ^ "Lightning hire veteran play-by-play announcer Dave Randorf" (Press release). Tampa Bay Lightning. January 7, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  80. ^ Erlendsson, Erik (December 10, 2014). "Bolts TV analyst Bobby 'The Chief' Taylor in final season". Tampa Tribune. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
  81. ^ Smith, Joe (August 11, 2015). "Bolts name 'The Chief's' successor: Brian Engblom to take over as color analyst". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved August 11, 2015.
  82. ^ Burns, Bryan (November 30, 2017). . NHL.com. Archived from the original on March 19, 2019. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  83. ^ . Archived from the original on December 27, 2008.
  84. ^ Damian Cristodero (January 23, 2011). "Tampa Bay Lightning's new uniforms sound as if they will include a simple, classic design". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved January 23, 2011.
  85. ^ "Lightning Unveil New Logo, Jersey Systems Along with Vision and Brand Aspiration". National Hockey League. January 31, 2011. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
  86. ^ "A couple of Tampa Bay Lightning records could fall tonight at Times Forum against the Capitals". St. Petersburg Times. February 4, 2011. Retrieved June 24, 2012.
  87. ^ "Lightning's Reverse Retro jersey a blast from the past". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  88. ^ "ThunderBug". Tampa Bay Lightning.
  89. ^ "Lightning announce new brand ambassador team, the Bolts Blue Crew". TampaBayLightning.com. Tampa Bay Lightning. August 23, 2019. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  90. ^ . May 29, 2013. Archived from the original on May 29, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  91. ^ "Tampa Bay Lightning Roster". National Hockey League. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
  92. ^ "Tampa Bay Lightning Hockey Transactions". The Sports Network. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
  93. ^ Smith, Joe (February 10, 2018). "Lightning retires Vinny Lecavalier's No. 4". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
  94. ^ "Lightning to retire Martin St. Louis' No. 26 this season". National Hockey League. October 6, 2016. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  95. ^ . CNN Sports Illustrated. Associated Press. February 6, 2000. Archived from the original on November 12, 2013. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
  96. ^ "List of all the Tampa Bay Lightning Career Leaders". Hockey-Reference.com.
  97. ^ "Rick Peckham named Foster Hewitt Memorial Award recipient". nhl.com. June 30, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  98. ^ Kreiser, John (April 23, 2017). "Lightning made NHL history at Thunderdome". NHL.com. Retrieved December 19, 2019.

External links

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tampa Bay Lightning.
  • Official website

May 06, 2023
tampa, lightning, colloquially, known, bolts, professional, hockey, team, based, tampa, florida, they, compete, national, hockey, league, member, atlantic, division, eastern, conference, they, play, their, home, games, amalie, arena, downtown, tampa, 2022, sea. The Tampa Bay Lightning colloquially known as the Bolts are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa Florida They compete in the National Hockey League NHL as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference They play their home games at Amalie Arena in Downtown Tampa Tampa Bay Lightning2022 23 Tampa Bay Lightning seasonConferenceEasternDivisionAtlanticFounded1992HistoryTampa Bay Lightning1992 presentHome arenaAmalie ArenaCityTampa FloridaColorsTampa Bay blue white black 1 2 MediaBally Sports Sun102 5 The BoneOwner s Vinik Sports Group LLC Jeffrey Vinik chairman 3 4 General managerJulien BriseBoisHead coachJon CooperCaptainSteven StamkosMinor league affiliatesSyracuse Crunch AHL Orlando Solar Bears ECHL Stanley Cups3 2003 04 2019 20 2020 21 Conference championships4 2003 04 2014 15 2019 20 2021 22 note 1 Presidents Trophy1 2018 19 Division championships4 2002 03 2003 04 2017 18 2018 19 Official websitewww wbr nhl wbr com wbr lightningThe Lightning have won three Stanley Cup championships 2004 2020 and 2021 They also reached the Stanley Cup Finals in 2015 and in 2022 The team is owned by Jeffrey Vinik and the general manager is Julien BriseBois Jon Cooper has served as head coach since March 2013 and is the longest tenured active head coach in the NHL Contents 1 Franchise history 1 1 Early years 1992 2000 1 1 1 Bringing hockey to Tampa 1 1 2 On ice and off ice struggles 1 1 3 Return to respectability 1 2 St Louis Lecavalier era 2000 2013 1 2 1 Two dream seasons and first Stanley Cup championship 1 2 2 Post championship successes and disappointments 1 2 3 Decline 1 2 4 Arrival of Steve Yzerman 1 3 Stamkos Hedman era 2013 present 1 3 1 Second Stanley Cup Finals appearance 1 3 2 Conference Finals and continuing contention 1 3 3 Record breaking season marred by playoff failure 1 3 4 Back to back Stanley Cup championships and three straight Finals appearances 2 Radio and television 3 Team colors and mascot 3 1 Logo and jerseys 3 2 In game personalities 3 3 ThunderBug 3 4 Lightning Girls 4 Season by season record 5 Players 5 1 Current roster 5 2 Retired numbers 5 3 Team captains 5 4 Honored members 5 5 First round draft picks 5 6 Franchise scoring leaders 5 7 Franchise playoff scoring leaders 6 NHL awards and trophies 7 Franchise records 7 1 Individual 7 2 Team 8 See also 9 Notes 10 References 11 External linksFranchise history EditEarly years 1992 2000 Edit Bringing hockey to Tampa Edit In the late 1980s the NHL announced it would expand Two rival groups from the Tampa Bay Area decided to bid for a franchise a St Petersburg based group fronted by future Hartford Whalers Carolina Hurricanes owners Peter Karmanos and Jim Rutherford and a Tampa based group fronted by Phil Esposito and his brother Tony both members of the Hockey Hall of Fame One of the Esposito group s key backers the Pritzker family backed out a few months before the bid to be replaced by a consortium of Japanese businesses headed by Kokusai Green a golf course and resort operator Although it appeared on paper that the Karmanos Rutherford group had more financial resources it only wanted to pay 29 million before the game began In contrast the Esposito Kokusai Green group was one of the few groups willing to pay the full 50 million expansion fee up front 5 The Esposito group would win the expansion franchise on December 6 1990 6 and name the team the Lightning after Tampa Bay s status as the Lightning Capital of North America Phil Esposito fronted an ownership group that was later awarded an NHL franchise in 1992 Phil Esposito assigned himself president and general manager while Tony became chief scout Terry Crisp who played for the Philadelphia Flyers when they won two Stanley Cups in the mid 1970s and coached the Calgary Flames to a Stanley Cup in 1989 was tapped as the first head coach Phil Esposito also hired former teammates from the Boston Bruins of the 1970s including former linemate Wayne Cashman as an assistant coach and former Bruin trainer John Frosty Forristal as the team s trainer The inaugural team photo has him flanked by Cashman and player Ken Hodge Jr son of his other Bruins linemate In 1991 Angus Montagu 12th Duke of Manchester announced that a company of which he was a director would raise millions of dollars in investments in the Lightning but his plans were unsuccessful and he was later convicted of wire fraud 7 The Lightning played their first preseason game in September 1992 against the Minnesota North Stars and then turned heads later that preseason when Manon Rheaume became the first woman to play in an NHL game which also made her the first woman to play in any of the major professional North American sports leagues She played for the Lightning against the St Louis Blues and stopped seven of nine shots 8 9 The Lightning played their first regular season game on October 7 1992 in Tampa s tiny 11 000 seat Expo Hall at the Florida State Fairgrounds They surprised the visiting Chicago Blackhawks winning 7 3 with four goals by little known Chris Kontos The team rose to the top of the Campbell Conference s Norris Division within a month behind Kontos initial torrid scoring pace and a breakout season by forward Brian Bradley However it buckled under the strain of some of the longest road trips in the NHL their nearest division rival the Blues were over 1 000 miles 1 600 km away and finished in last place with a record of 23 54 7 for 53 points This was at the time one of the best ever showings by an NHL expansion team Bradley s 42 goals gave Tampa Bay fans optimism for the next season it would be a team record until the 2006 07 season The following season saw the Lightning shift to the Eastern Conference s Atlantic Division as well as move into the Florida Suncoast Dome a building originally designed for baseball in St Petersburg which was reconfigured for hockey and renamed the ThunderDome 10 The team acquired goaltender Daren Puppa left wing goal scorer Petr Klima and veteran forward Denis Savard While Puppa s play resulted in a significant improvement in goals allowed from 332 to 251 Savard was long past his prime and Klima s scoring was offset by his defensive lapses The Lightning finished last in the Atlantic Division in 1993 94 with a record of 30 43 11 for 71 points Another disappointing season followed in the lockout shortened 1994 95 season with a record of 17 28 3 for 37 points On ice and off ice struggles Edit In their fourth season 1995 96 backed by Bradley s team leading 79 points second year forward Alexander Selivanov s 31 goals and Roman Hamrlik s All Star year on defense the Lightning finally qualified for the playoffs posting a 38 32 12 record for 88 points ahead of the defending Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils for the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference by a single win Due to his stellar play in net Puppa was named a finalist for the Vezina Trophy losing out to Jim Carey of the Washington Capitals Playing the Philadelphia Flyers a team seen as a Stanley Cup contender in the first round the Lightning split the opening two games in Philadelphia before taking Game 3 in overtime before a ThunderDome crowd of 28 183 This was the largest crowd for an NHL game a record that stood until the 2003 Heritage Classic in Edmonton and it still stands today as the largest crowd at a Stanley Cup playoffs game An injury to Puppa in that game however would see the Lightning lose the next three games and the series The Lightning moved to their present home the Ice Palace now Amalie Arena during the 1996 off season The Lightning moved into a new arena in downtown Tampa the Ice Palace later the St Pete Times Forum Tampa Bay Times Forum and now Amalie Arena for the 1996 97 season They had acquired goal scorer Dino Ciccarelli from the Detroit Red Wings during the 1996 off season and he did not disappoint scoring 35 goals while Chris Gratton notched another 30 goals The team appeared destined for another playoff appearance but suffered a devastating rash of injuries Puppa developed back trouble that kept him out of all but six games during the season he would only play a total of 50 games from 1996 until his retirement in 2000 Bradley also lost time to a series of concussions that would limit him to a total of 49 games from 1996 until his retirement in December 1999 Center John Cullen developed non Hodgkin lymphoma and missed the last 12 games of the 1996 97 season he would eventually be forced to retire in 1999 Decimated by these ailments the Lightning narrowly missed the playoffs They would not tally as much as 60 points again for five years Most of the Lightning s early stars were gone by the 1998 99 season due to free agency and a series of ill advised trades Crisp was fired 11 games into the 1997 98 season and replaced by Jacques Demers Though Demers had presided over the resurgence of the Detroit Red Wings in the 1980s and helmed a Stanley Cup run with the Montreal Canadiens in 1993 he was unable to change the team s fortunes and the Lightning ended up losing 55 games That team s 268 winning percentage is still the worst in franchise history By most accounts the Lightning s plunge to the bottom of the NHL was due to inattentive ownership by Kokusai Green Rumors abounded as early as the team s second season that the Lightning were on the brink of bankruptcy and that the team was part of a money laundering scheme for the yakuza Japanese crime families 11 Its scouting operation consisted of Tony Esposito and several satellite dishes The Internal Revenue Service investigated the team in 1994 and 1995 and nearly threatened to put a tax lien on the franchise for 750 000 in back taxes The situation led longtime NHL broadcaster and writer Stan Fischler to call the Lightning a skating vaudeville show 12 Even in their first playoff season the team was awash in red ink and Kokusai Green was looking to sell the team however its asking price of 230 million for the team and the lease with the Ice Palace deterred buyers 12 A possible sale was further hampered by the team s murky ownership structure many team officials including Crisp did not know who really owned the team 11 Kokusai Green s owner Takashi Okubo had never met with the Espositos or with NHL officials in person prior to being awarded the Lightning franchise and never watched his team play during his seven years as owner Nearly all of Kokusai Green s investment in the team and the Ice Palace came in the form of loans leaving the team constantly short of cash 13 At least one prospective buyer pulled out after expressing doubts that Okubo even existed 11 In fact the first time anyone connected with the Lightning or the NHL even saw Okubo was in the spring of 1998 Esposito was forced into several trades just to keep the team above water The team s financial situation was a considerable concern to NHL officials rumors surfaced that the NHL was seriously considering taking control of the team if Okubo failed to find a buyer by the summer of 1998 12 Forbes wrote an article in late 1997 calling the Lightning a financial nightmare with a debt equal to 236 of its value the highest of any major North American sports franchise Even though the Ice Palace was built for hockey and the Lightning were the only major tenant Forbes called the team s deal with the arena a lemon since it would not result in much revenue for 30 years It was also behind on paying state sales taxes and federal payroll taxes 14 Finally in 1998 Kokusai Green found a buyer Although William Davidson longtime owner of the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association NBA was thought to be the frontrunner the buyer turned out to be insurance tycoon and motivational speaker Art Williams who previously owned the Birmingham Barracudas of the Canadian Football League CFL The team was 102 million in debt at the time the sale closed 12 Williams knew very little about hockey but was very visible and outspoken and immediately pumped an additional 6 million into the team s payroll He also cleared most of the debt from the Kokusai Green era After taking control Williams publicly assured the Espositos that their jobs were safe only to fire them two games into the 1998 99 season He then gave Demers complete control of hockey operations as both coach and general manager The Lightning drafted Vincent Lecavalier first overall in 1998 a player who would be a cornerstone of the team for years to come Williams was widely seen as being in over his head Early in the 1998 99 season the Lightning lost ten games in a row all but ending any chance of making the playoffs They ended up losing 54 games that year more than the expansion Nashville Predators Return to respectability Edit By the spring of 1999 Williams had seen enough He had not attended a game in some time because this team broke my heart He lost 20 million in the 1998 99 season alone as much money in one year as he had estimated he could have reasonably lost in five years 15 Williams sold the team for 115 million 2 million less than he had paid for the team a year earlier to Detroit Pistons owner William Davidson who had almost bought the team a year earlier 16 Along with the sale the Lightning acquired a new top minor league affiliate Davidson also owned the Detroit Vipers of the now defunct International Hockey League Davidson remained in Detroit but appointed Tom Wilson as team president to handle day to day management of the team Wilson immediately fired Demers who despite his best efforts and fatherly attitude toward Lecavalier was unable to overcome the damage from the Kokusai Green ownership Wilson persuaded Ottawa Senators general manager and former Vipers GM Rick Dudley to take over as the Lightning s new general manager Dudley in turn brought Vipers coach Steve Ludzik in as the team s new head coach Wilson Dudley and Ludzik had helped make the Vipers one of the premier minor league hockey franchises having won a Turner Cup in only their third season in Detroit the team had originally been based in Salt Lake City St Louis Lecavalier era 2000 2013 Edit However as had been the case with Demers the damage from the last few seasons under Kokusai Green was too much for Ludzik to overcome Even with a wholesale transfer of talent from Detroit to Tampa a move that eventually doomed the Vipers which folded along with the IHL in 2001 the Lightning lost 54 games in 1999 2000 and 52 in 2000 01 becoming the first team in NHL history to post four straight 50 loss seasons The lone bright spots in those years were the blossoming of Lecavalier and Brad Richards into NHL stars Ludzik was replaced in early 2001 by career NHL assistant John Tortorella The March 5 trade deadline offered another glimmer of hope when the team acquired hold out goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin from the Phoenix Coyotes for three players and a draft pick The 2001 02 season Tortorella s first full year behind the bench saw some improvement Martin St Louis was having a breakout season when he broke his leg in game number 47 and was lost for the remainder of the season 17 Khabibulin recorded a shut out at the NHL All Star Game but was not named its MVP by all accounts due to the game s voting protocol 18 By mid February the Lightning were well out of playoff contention and were sinking under a rash of injuries Dudley who had guaranteed a playoff berth before the season was fired and replaced by his assistant Jay Feaster Still the Lightning showed some signs of life earning more than 60 points for the first time since 1997 Tortorella stripped Lecavalier of the captaincy due to contract negotiations that had made the young center miss the start of the season Two dream seasons and first Stanley Cup championship Edit With a young core of players led by Vincent Lecavalier Brad Richards Martin St Louis and Fredrik Modin the Lightning were thought to be very close to respectability However they arrived somewhat earlier than expected in 2002 03 The young team was led by the goaltending of Nikolai Khabibulin and the scoring efforts of Lecavalier St Louis Modin Richards and Ruslan Fedotenko Throughout the season the Lightning battled the Washington Capitals for first place in the Southeast Division They finished with a record of 36 25 16 for 93 points breaking the 90 point barrier for the first time in team history They won the division by just one point giving them home ice advantage in their first round match up with the Capitals At season s end coach Tortorella was recognized for his efforts by being named a finalist for the Jack Adams Award losing out to Jacques Lemaire of the Minnesota Wild In the first round of the playoffs the Lightning quickly fell two games behind in the series but followed the two losses with four consecutive wins for their first playoff series win in franchise history However in the semifinals they went down in five games to the New Jersey Devils who went on to win the Stanley Cup The Lightning s dramatic improvement continued through the 2003 04 regular season finishing with a record of 46 22 8 6 for 106 points second best in the NHL after the Western Conference s Detroit Red Wings the first 100 point season in franchise history The Lightning lost only 20 man games to injury In the first round of the playoffs the Lightning ousted the New York Islanders in five games with Khabibulin posting shutouts in games 1 3 and 4 In the second round the Lightning faced the Montreal Canadiens Lecavalier Richards and Khabibulin led the team to a four game sweep of Montreal Next they faced the Philadelphia Flyers in the Conference Finals After a tightly fought seven game series in which neither team was able to win consecutive games Fredrik Modin notched the winning goal of the seventh and deciding game earning the Eastern Conference championship for the Lightning and their first ever berth in the Stanley Cup Finals Their opponent in the final round was the Calgary Flames The final round also went the full seven games with the deciding game played in the St Pete Times Forum on June 7 2004 This time Ruslan Fedotenko was the Game 7 hero scoring both Lightning goals in a 2 1 victory Brad Richards who had 26 points in the post season won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs the Lightning had won all 31 contests in which he had scored a goal since the opening of the season 19 Tortorella won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL s Coach of the Year Only three years after their last of four consecutive seasons of 50 or more losses and in only their 12th year of existence the Lightning became the southernmost team ever to win the Stanley Cup Martin St Louis led the team and the NHL with 94 points his 38 goals were fourth most after the 41 of tied trio Jarome Iginla Rick Nash and Ilya Kovalchuk and won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL s most valuable player St Louis also won the Lester B Pearson Award for the NHL s most outstanding player as voted by the NHL Players Association and tied the Vancouver Canucks Marek Malik for the NHL Plus Minus Award A season of superlatives was capped with one final accolade as The Sporting News named GM Jay Feaster as the league s executive of the year for 2003 04 Post championship successes and disappointments Edit The Lightning had to wait a year to defend their title due to the 2004 05 NHL lockout but in 2005 06 they barely made the playoffs with a record of 43 33 6 for 93 points in a conference where six teams notched 100 or more points They lost to the Ottawa Senators in five games in the first round of the 2006 playoffs During the 2006 07 season Vincent Lecavalier broke the then franchise record for most points and goals in a single season During the off season the Lightning traded Fredrik Modin and Fredrik Norrena to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for goaltender Marc Denis in an effort to replace the departing John Grahame who had signed with the Carolina Hurricanes However free agent Johan Holmqvist would eventually receive the majority of playing time and most of the club s wins The first half of 2006 07 was inconsistent for the Lightning maintaining an 18 19 2 record throughout the first few months January and February were far better months for the team going 9 4 0 in January and 9 2 2 in February driving them back into the playoff race Fourteen games in March were split even and on March 16 2007 Vincent Lecavalier broke the franchise record for most points in a season with 95 finishing with 108 The record was previously held by Martin St Louis who had set the record in the 2003 04 Stanley Cup winning year Lecavalier also broke the franchise s goal scoring record finishing with a league leading 52 goals The Lightning were busy during the final weeks before the NHL s trade deadline acquiring wingers Kyle Wanvig Stephen Baby and defenseman Shane O Brien Former first round pick Nikita Alexeev was traded on deadline day to the Chicago Blackhawks Other mid season additions to the team included Filip Kuba Luke Richardson and Doug Janik Veteran Andre Roy who had won the Stanley Cup with the Lightning in 2004 was claimed off waivers from the Pittsburgh Penguins Throughout March the Lightning had been competing with the Atlanta Thrashers for first place in the Southeast Division With a chance to overtake the Thrashers one final time and once again become division champions for the third time in team history on April 6 2007 in the final week of the regular season the Lighting suffered a loss to the Florida Panthers the night before the season finale in Atlanta That same night the Thrashers defeated the Carolina Hurricanes and subsequently clinched the division For the Lightning this meant having to settle for the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference with a final record of 44 33 5 93 points However the Lightning were eliminated from playoff competition on April 22 after a 3 2 home loss to the New Jersey Devils in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals Vaclav Prospal with the Lightning in 2007 Prior to the 2007 NHL trade deadline the Lightning traded Prospal to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Alexandre Picard and a conditional draft pick Following their playoff exit on August 7 2007 Absolute Hockey Enterprises a group led by Doug MacLean announced it had signed a purchase agreement for the team and the leasehold on the St Pete Times Forum MacLean is the former president and general manager of the Columbus Blue Jackets and former head coach for both the Blue Jackets and the Florida Panthers The group announced it planned to keep the team in Tampa but the deal collapsed during the 2007 08 season Decline Edit The Lightning struggled to maintain success during the 2007 08 campaign Although the Big 3 of Vincent Lecavalier Martin St Louis and Brad Richards along with Vaclav Prospal had performed up to expectations they had little consistent play from supporting players At the start of the All Star Break on January 25 2008 the Lightning had a 20 25 5 record and with 45 points were in last place in both the Southeast Division and the Eastern Conference Only the Los Angeles Kings had a lower point total at this time of the season with 40 points On February 13 2008 it was announced that Palace Sports amp Entertainment had agreed to sell the Lightning to OK Hockey LLC a group headed by Oren Koules a producer of the Saw horror movies and Len Barrie a former NHL player and real estate developer The Lightning were active during the trade deadline similar to the previous season More notable trades included Vaclav Prospal s trade to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for prospect Alexandre Picard and a conditional draft pick 20 Additionally former Conn Smythe Trophy winner Brad Richards and goaltender Johan Holmqvist were traded to the Dallas Stars in exchange for goaltender Mike Smith and forwards Jussi Jokinen and Jeff Halpern as well as a fourth round draft pick in 2009 21 Jan Hlavac a regular contributor was also traded moving to the Nashville Predators in exchange for a seventh round pick in 2008 22 Defenseman Dan Boyle was re signed to a six year contract extension reportedly worth 40 million 23 However after the trade deadline the Lightning fared no better than they had throughout the entire season After the February 26 trade deadline the Lightning won only five games Finishing with a 31 42 9 record with 71 points they had the highest chance of winning the top overall pick in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft through the draft lottery which they eventually won on April 7 They would use their first overall pick to select Steven Stamkos of the Ontario Hockey League OHL s Sarnia Sting who like Lecavalier before was expected to become a franchise cornerstone player for years to come The Lightning were the worst team on the road in the NHL winning only 11 games Another showing of the team s poor play was the difference from the previous season s success in the overtime shootout periods In the 2006 07 season the Lightning had one of the best extra period records winning 15 games in either overtime or the shootout However in the 2007 08 season they won only three games losing nine Vincent Lecavalier suffered a dislocated shoulder as the result of an open ice hit from Matt Cooke of the Washington Capitals in the game before the season finale in Atlanta Lecavalier who planned on having arthroscopic wrist surgery after the season s ending would undergo surgery to repair his right shoulder as well Cooke was fined 2 500 by the NHL for the hit as Lecavalier did not have possession of the puck at the time Perhaps the lone bright spot in the season was Lecavalier s winning both the King Clancy Memorial Trophy and the NHL Foundation Player Award for work through his foundation including a 3 million pledge to All Children s Hospital in St Petersburg Florida for what would become the Vincent Lecavalier Pediatric Cancer and Blood Disorders Center at All Children s Hospital Head coach John Tortorella was fired by the Lightning following their worst season since Tortorella was hired At the time working as an NHL analyst for ESPN Barry Melrose stated on June 4 during an episode of Pardon the Interruption that he missed coaching and would entertain any NHL coaching offers He stated I miss not having a dog in the fight 24 On June 23 ESPN reported Melrose had been chosen to be the head coach of the Lightning beginning in 2008 09 The next day the Lightning officially introduced him as their new head coach Steven Stamkos was drafted first overall by the Lightning in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft On July 4 2008 Dan Boyle despite coming off a recent contract extension was traded along with Brad Lukowich to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Matt Carle Ty Wishart a first round draft pick in 2009 and a fourth round pick in 2010 Boyle was pressured to waive his no trade clause by Tampa Bay s ownership who said they would otherwise place him on waivers where he would likely be claimed by the Atlanta Thrashers In the fallout from the trade Boyle would call Lightning ownership liars 25 for misrepresenting the aforementioned events to the public while former coach Tortorella later labeled them as cowboys and said he had zero respect for them 26 Frustrated at interference in the team s hockey operations by Barrie and Koules seven days later Jay Feaster resigned as general manager despite having three years remaining on his contract The Lightning opened the 2008 09 season in the Czech Republic against the New York Rangers as a part of the NHL s regular season Premiere that selects several teams to open the regular season in Europe Barry Melrose would record his first win as a head coach in over 13 years on October 21 2008 with a 3 2 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers However the Lightning did not get off to a great start as hoped and Melrose was eventually fired by the Lightning with a 5 7 4 record Rick Tocchet who had been hired as assistant coach during the previous off season was promoted to interim head coach Martin St Louis with the Lightning during the 2009 10 season He signed a four year extension with the team in the 2010 off season On March 4 veterans Mark Recchi and Olaf Kolzig were traded by the Tampa Bay Lightning to the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs respectively The Lightning acquired top round picks Matt Lashoff and Martins Karsums from the Bruins After the firing of Melrose the Lightning went 19 33 14 and would finish the season 24 40 18 with 66 points their lowest point total since the 2000 01 season With the second overall pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft the Lightning selected Swedish defenseman Victor Hedman who would also be another major part of the franchise for years to come In the 2009 off season the Lightning removed the interim status of Rick Tocchet making him the full time head coach and signing him to a multi year contract 27 The Lightning had an up and down beginning to the 2009 10 campaign Despite an overmatched roster on paper and a team that struggled in the first two periods of many games the Lightning remained competitive in the playoff race until March when they went 5 10 1 for the month and fell eight points out of a playoff spot Unable to make a final push for the playoffs they were officially eliminated from contention within the first week of April The Lightning finished the season 34 36 12 for 80 points fourth in the Southeast Division and 12th in the Eastern Conference Steven Stamkos scored 51 goals in just his second NHL season earning himself a share of the Maurice Rocket Richard Trophy by finishing tied for the NHL lead in goals with Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby 28 During the season the team was sold to Bostonian investment banker Jeffrey Vinik Following the late season collapse Vinik cleaned house firing both head coach Rick Tocchet and GM Brian Lawton on April 12 2010 one day after the season ended 29 Arrival of Steve Yzerman Edit In May 2010 Vinik hired Steve Yzerman away from the Detroit Red Wings front office to be the new GM on a five year contract Yzerman then hired Guy Boucher from the Montreal Canadiens organization to succeed Tocchet as the head coach two weeks later Yzerman s first off season with Tampa Bay began with a splash With the sixth pick of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft the Lightning selected forward Brett Connolly despite a history of injuries while playing for the Western Hockey League WHL s Prince George Cougars On July 1 2010 veteran blueliner Andrej Meszaros was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for their second round pick in 2011 Later that day the Lightning signed star winger Martin St Louis to a four year 22 5 million contract extension to come into effect on July 1 2011 On July 19 in another move with the Flyers organization the Lightning traded defenseman Matt Walker and Tampa Bay s fourth round pick in 2011 for high scoring winger Simon Gagne Other off season acquisitions included the signing of forwards Sean Bergenheim Dominic Moore and Marc Antoine Pouliot along with defensemen Brett Clark Randy Jones and Pavel Kubina and goaltender Dan Ellis as well as the re signing of restricted free agent forward Steve Downie to a two year 3 7 million deal With starting goaltender Mike Smith injured the Lightning called up Cedrick Desjardins who played with a 950 save percentage and a 1 00 goals against average GAA in two games The team then acquired veteran Dwayne Roloson from the New York Islanders for further coverage in net 30 The Lightning compiled a 46 25 11 record with 103 points in the 2010 11 season matching a franchise record for wins in a season After holding the first place in the Southeast Division for several months they fell to second after a poor performance in March However their record was solid enough for second in the Southeast Division and fifth in the Eastern Conference and they returned to the playoffs for the first time since the 2006 07 season Scoring 31 goals and assisting on 68 Martin St Louis finished second in the NHL in points Lecavalier scores the game winning goal in Game 2 of the 2011 Eastern Conference semi finals The team went on to sweep the Washington Capitals in the series In the playoffs Tampa Bay played the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Conference Quarterfinals After losing Game 4 at home in the second overtime period they fell behind in the series one game to three However the Lightning went on to win the next three games including a 1 0 Game 7 win on the road taking their first playoff series since winning the Stanley Cup in 2004 In the Conference Semifinals the Lightning swept the top seeded Washington Capitals Tampa Bay played the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference Finals In Game 4 of the series the Lightning trailed 3 0 at the end of the first period When Dwayne Roloson was pulled for Mike Smith the Bruins failed to score again and the Lightning tied the game in the second period by scoring three goals in 3 58 going on to win the game 5 3 and tying the series at two games apiece The series went the full seven games though the Lightning were eliminated by a single goal as the game was lost 0 1 The Lightning finished the 2011 12 season with a 38 36 8 record With only 84 points they fell short of reaching the playoffs ending the season third in the Southeast Division and tenth in the Eastern Conference Individually Steven Stamkos scored a franchise record 60 goals He won the Maurice Rocket Richard Trophy for the second time in his career Stamkos was also second in the NHL in points with 97 and was a finalist for both the Hart Memorial Trophy and the Ted Lindsay Award As with the 1994 95 NHL lockout the 2012 13 NHL lockout resulted in a 48 game season Nearing the end of an 18 26 4 season for 40 points in which the Lightning ended fourth in the Southeast and 14th in the East GM Steve Yzerman looked to their highly successful American Hockey League AHL affiliate the Syracuse Crunch On March 25 2013 head coach Guy Boucher was dismissed for following a 7 16 1 record 31 The Lightning announced Jon Cooper would become the eighth head coach in franchise history 32 Martin St Louis won his second Art Ross Trophy with 60 points in the shortened season as Stamkos finished runner up 57 On June 27 2013 the team announced that they would exercise one of their two compliance buyouts on captain Vincent Lecavalier as permitted by the collective agreement This move made Lecavalier an unrestricted free agent beginning July 5 of that year The team stated the move was made not because of Lecavalier s play on the ice but because of how his contract affected the team s salary cap which would have been more than 7 million per year until its expiration after the 2019 20 season 33 34 35 Stamkos Hedman era 2013 present Edit After acquiring goaltender Ben Bishop from the Ottawa Senators in a trade the previous season the Lightning started the 2013 14 season with an above average performance On November 11 2013 going into the day tied for most goals during the regular season Steven Stamkos suffered a broken right tibia after crashing into one of the goalposts during play against the Boston Bruins He would miss 45 games and was not cleared to play again until March 5 2014 36 Ryan Callahan during his first month with the Lightning Callahan was acquired by the team in a trade that sent Martin St Louis to the New York Rangers In January GM Steve Yzerman who also served as the general manager for Canada s team at the 2014 Winter Olympics elected not to name Lightning captain Martin St Louis to Canada s roster instead choosing the still injured Stamkos After Stamkos was not medically cleared to play in Sochi in early February Yzerman ultimately named St Louis to Team Canada as an injury replacement In late February it was reported St Louis had requested a trade from Yzerman the month prior 37 St Louis who had a no move clause in his contract with Tampa Bay reportedly consented to only being traded to the New York Rangers On March 5 2014 St Louis was sent to New York along with a conditional 2015 second round pick in exchange for New York captain Ryan Callahan a 2015 first round draft pick a conditional 2014 second round pick and a 2015 conditional seventh round pick The deal came subsequently after Stamkos had been cleared to return to the Lightning s active roster St Louis cited his decision based on his family and thanked Lightning fans for their support during his tenure with the franchise but would not specify any further about the reasons leading to his request 38 On March 6 2014 Steven Stamkos was named Tampa Bay s 10th captain in his first game back after recovering from a tibia injury 39 On April 7 2014 the team announced it had signed GM Steve Yzerman to a four year contract extension 40 Finishing the season with 101 points the Lightning placed second in the Atlantic Division qualifying for the playoffs for the first time since 2011 However Tampa Bay was eliminated in the first round losing to the Montreal Canadiens in a four game sweep 41 On June 25 2014 the Lightning agreed to terms with Ryan Callahan signing him to a six year 34 8 million contract extension 42 The same day the Lightning used its remaining compliance buyout on forward Ryan Malone after his on ice performance had declined from injuries seasons prior in addition to his off ice troubles that included a DUI arrest before the end of the season 43 Second Stanley Cup Finals appearance Edit Finishing the 2014 15 season with 108 points the Lightning placed second in the Atlantic Division and qualified for the playoffs for the second straight season scoring the most goals out of any team in the NHL Tampa Bay eliminated the Detroit Red Wings in seven games in the first round of the playoffs before facing Montreal in the second round The Lightning won the first three games of the series and had a chance to sweep the Canadiens however Montreal responded with wins in Games 4 and 5 to extend the series to a sixth game Tampa Bay won the sixth game of the series to eliminate the Canadiens and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2011 facing the New York Rangers A viewing party outside Amalie Arena for Game 6 of the 2015 Stanley Cup Finals In the Eastern Conference Finals the Lightning and the Rangers split the first two games of the series in New York with the Lightning winning Game 2 of the series thanks to a Tyler Johnson hat trick The series then shifted to Tampa where the Lightning had a come from behind overtime victory in Game 3 but lost Game 4 to even the series at two games apiece During Game 5 in New York goaltender Ben Bishop recorded his second shutout of the playoffs in a 2 0 victory but the Rangers responded in Game 6 by scoring seven goals to tie the series at three games apiece In Game 7 Bishop recorded his third shutout of the playoffs in another 2 0 victory against the Rangers to lead the Lightning to their first appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals since 2004 The Lightning not only became the first team to defeat the Rangers in a Game 7 at Madison Square Garden but they also became the first team to successfully defeat three Original Six teams in the first three rounds of the playoffs 44 The Lightning would face the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Finals making it the first time a finalist faced four Original Six teams in the playoffs since the four round format was introduced in 1980 45 After losing Game 1 at home the Lightning built a two games to one series lead though the Blackhawks would win the following three games to win the Stanley Cup in six games at the United Center in Chicago 46 This made Tampa Bay the first team to beat three of the Original Six teams in the playoffs since the Pittsburgh Penguins completed the feat in 1992 However they became the first team to lose the Stanley Cup Finals despite beating three Original Six teams 47 Conference Finals and continuing contention Edit The Lightning had a slow start to the 2015 16 season The season was filled with controversy for the team starting off with the contractual questions regarding captain Steven Stamkos and with the former third overall pick Jonathan Drouin publicly requesting a trade and being suspended from the organization The Lightning picked up their play at the beginning of 2016 and set the franchise record to nine consecutive wins on March 5 2016 when Alex Killorn scored with 42 5 seconds remaining in overtime to propel the Lightning to a 4 3 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes at Amalie Arena On March 26 2016 the Lightning announced cornerstone defenseman Anton Stralman had suffered a fractured leg in their game against the New York Islanders at home Stamkos was out of the lineup for the team s game on April 2 against the New Jersey Devils in Tampa GM Steve Yzerman announced after the game that the captain would miss one to three months due to a blood clot in his arm Due to unfortunate circumstances the team had no other option but to bring Drouin back to the team The Lightning ended up finishing second in the Atlantic Division and would once again face the third seeded Detroit Red Wings in the first round of the playoffs Nikita Kucherov emerged as the Lightning s leading point scorer during the 2015 16 season The Lightning defeated the Red Wings in five games after winning 1 0 at Amalie Arena Next up the Islanders who had recently defeated the Panthers to win their first playoff series since the 1992 93 season would face the Lightning In Game 1 the Islanders defeated the Bolts 5 3 The Lightning would eventually answer back by winning four consecutive games in the series to defeat the Isles in five games in large part due to back to back road overtime victories with goals scored by Brian Boyle and Jason Garrison The Lightning were set to play against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Finals In Game 1 at Consol Energy Center star goaltender Ben Bishop would be added to the list of devastating injuries for the team as he left on a stretcher and did not return for the remainder of the series Stralman would eventually return in Game 2 A back and forth series would eventually lead to a Game 7 showdown in Pittsburgh Lightning captain Steven Stamkos surprisingly took warmups and was in the Lightning lineup after a long absence from blood clot surgery However it was not enough to go back to back in the Stanley Cup Finals as the Lightning would fall 2 1 against the Penguins who went on to defeat the San Jose Sharks and win the Stanley Cup With the Lightning under the spotlight in the 2016 off season Drouin rescinded his trade request Steve Yzerman would then announce on June 29 the team re signed Stamkos to an eight year cap friendly deal He would then sign star defenseman Victor Hedman to an eight year contract on July 1 along with a seven year deal for Alex Killorn and a three year deal for former first round pick goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy The Lightning narrowly missed the playoffs in the 2016 17 season Finishing with 94 points they were beaten to the second wildcard by the Toronto Maple Leafs with 95 points The 2016 17 season for the Lightning was a host of injuries mainly their captain Steven Stamkos Stamkos went down in the 17th game against the Detroit Red Wings It was revealed he suffered from a torn left meniscus which put him out for the rest of the season During the season they traded goaltender Ben Bishop to the Los Angeles Kings center Brian Boyle to the Toronto Maple Leafs and forward Valtteri Filppula to the Philadelphia Flyers However there were positive signs as winger Nikita Kucherov emerged with 40 goals and goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy stepped up after Bishop left The Lightning also showcased their young talent with rookie Brayden Point and promising AHL call ups Yanni Gourde and Jake Dotchin The Lightning bounced back with this talent in the last third of the season but it was not enough as they missed the playoffs by one point In the off season the Lightning made a deal with the Montreal Canadiens to send Jonathan Drouin to their franchise in exchange for defensive prospect Mikhail Sergachev and a second round pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft They also signed defenseman Dan Girardi for two years and winger Chris Kunitz to a one year deal Victor Hedman won the James Norris Memorial Trophy in 2017 18 In the 2017 18 season Steven Stamkos returned from injury scoring 20 points in the first 10 games and assisting on nine of Nikita Kucherov s 11 48 The Lightning finished the 2017 18 season with a record of 54 23 5 finishing with 113 points The Lightning won their first Atlantic Division title and first division title since the 2003 04 season as well as securing the top seed in the Eastern Conference for the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs Andrei Vasilevskiy was nominated for the Vezina Trophy Nikita Kucherov scored 100 points during the regular season finishing third overall in the league Steve Yzerman was once again nominated for the NHL General Manager of the Year Award During the playoffs the Lightning eliminated the New Jersey Devils in the first round and the Boston Bruins in the second round both in five games However they were defeated in the Eastern Conference Finals by the eventual Stanley Cup champions the Washington Capitals in seven games Record breaking season marred by playoff failure Edit On September 11 2018 it was announced that Steve Yzerman would be resigning from his position as general manager and Julien BriseBois would be currently taking his place 49 50 During the 2018 19 season the Lightning clinched their first Presidents Trophy and second consecutive division title after a 4 1 win over the Arizona Coyotes Winning their final regular season game against the Boston Bruins the Lightning finished with 62 wins tying the NHL record set by the 1995 96 Detroit Red Wings for most wins in a season 51 Nikita Kucherov became the second player in Lightning franchise history after Martin St Louis to win the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league s most valuable player and the Art Ross Trophy as the league s leading point scorer setting a new franchise record of 128 points Andrei Vasilevskiy became the first player in franchise history to win the Vezina Trophy as the league s best goaltender However in the first round of the playoffs they were swept in four games by the Columbus Blue Jackets in that team s first ever playoff series victory 52 becoming the first Presidents Trophy winner to be swept in the first round of the playoffs 53 The series is widely regarded as one of the biggest upsets in league history Jeremy Roenick of NBC Sports described Tampa s elimination as one of the biggest letdowns in history while the Tampa Bay Times described it as the disappointment that all others are measured against 54 Back to back Stanley Cup championships and three straight Finals appearances Edit Following their earlier than expected exit from the playoffs several players left the Lightning Left winger J T Miller was traded to the Vancouver Canucks Backup goaltender Louis Domingue was dealt to the New Jersey Devils for a conditional seventh round draft pick in 2021 Defenseman Anton Stralman signed a three year contract with the Florida Panthers Right winger Ryan Callahan s career was effectively ended when he was diagnosed with a degenerative back disease 55 The Lightning signed defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk to a one year contract after his contract with the New York Rangers was bought out Left winger Patrick Maroon who was coming off a Stanley Cup championship with the St Louis Blues was also signed to a one year deal The Lightning re signed centers Cedric Paquette and Brayden Point to two and three year contracts respectively Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy s contract was extended by eight years The Lightning began the season with a 17 13 4 record after 34 games After this point they won 23 of their next 26 games including two separate win streaks of at least ten games the second of which eventually set a new franchise record of eleven consecutive wins They lost captain Steven Stamkos to injury once again as he underwent surgery to repair a core muscle in March He was expected to miss 6 8 weeks as a result which at the time was expected to keep him out for the remainder of the regular season and the start of the playoffs 56 57 Andrei Vasilevskiy backstopped the Lightning to back to back Stanley Cup championships winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2021 Tampa Bay had only played 70 games when the NHL suspended the season on March 12 2020 due to concerns over the COVID 19 pandemic 58 It was not until late May that the league decided to cancel the remainder of the regular season At the time the Lightning had a record of 43 21 6 and were second in their conference To finish the season the league expanded the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs to include 24 teams In July it was announced that the playoffs would begin August 1 and would take place in the Canadian cities of Toronto as the Eastern Conference hub and Edmonton for the Western Conference By virtue of having one of the top four highest point percentages at the time the season was suspended the Lightning not only qualified for the playoffs but would first compete in a single round robin opening round group with the Boston Bruins Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers to determine seeding 59 Winning two out of three games the Lightning earned the second seed in the East Following the round robin the Lightning drew the Columbus Blue Jackets again in the first round The first game of the series ultimately became the fourth longest NHL game in history as the game winning goal was scored by Brayden Point at the 10 27 mark of the fifth overtime period Point also scored in overtime for a second time in game five eliminating Columbus 60 In the second round the Lightning faced the Boston Bruins After losing the first game of this series the Lightning rallied to win the next four with Victor Hedman s double overtime goal in game 5 sealing the series victory for Tampa Bay 61 After advancing the remainder of the Lightning s playoff run took place in Edmonton which had been planned as the site of both of the Conference Finals and the Stanley Cup Finals In the Eastern Conference Finals the Lightning took on the New York Islanders The Islanders extended the Lightning to six games but Tampa Bay would once again prevail in overtime to win the series with the game winning goal this time being scored by Anthony Cirelli The win earned the Lightning the Prince of Wales Trophy for the third time in their history and their first trip to the Stanley Cup Finals since 2015 62 In the 2020 Stanley Cup Finals the Lightning met the Dallas Stars The teams split the first two games of the series In game three Steven Stamkos returned to the lineup having missed the entire playoff run to that point after suffering an injury prior to the start of the playoffs unrelated to an injury he sustained during the regular season 63 He scored a goal on what was his only shot on goal of the series as he did not take to the ice again following the end of the first period Tampa Bay did however win both game three and four to take a 3 1 series lead Dallas stayed alive in the series by winning game five in double overtime but the Lightning closed them out with a 2 0 win in game six to win their second Stanley Cup championship and first since 2004 Victor Hedman was named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as the MVP of the playoffs having recorded 22 points on 10 goals and 12 assists Nikita Kucherov set a new franchise record for points in a single playoff season with 34 and also became the franchise leader for playoff goals assists and points The team set a league record with over 221 minutes played in overtime periods alone 64 They also became the first team in league history to have three series winning goals in overtime 65 Andrei Vasilevskiy surpassed both former Lightning goalies Ben Bishop and Nikolai Khabibulin to become the franchise leader in playoff games played and playoff games won The victory led to a new tradition for Tampa Bay sports teams boat parades The 2020 Lightning held a parade of boats on the Hillsborough River rather than a traditional victory parade through the streets of the city mainly to comply with COVID 19 regulations but subsequent championship teams in Tampa have held similar parades even with those restrictions lifted 66 67 68 Due to COVID 19 the league moved the Lightning to the Central Division where they would compete with the Blackhawks Blue Jackets Hurricanes Panthers Predators Red Wings and Stars for the 2020 21 season 69 The Lightning would only play against teams in the Central Division with limited attendance to start the season The team once again played in a shortened season playing 56 games in total Nikita Kucherov would miss the entire regular season with a hip surgery he had in December 2020 70 During the season the Lightning acquired defenseman David Savard through a multi team trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Detroit Red Wings 71 The Lightning would also acquire defenseman Fredrik Claesson in another trade with the San Jose Sharks 72 The Lightning finished the season with a 36 17 3 record and would finish 3rd in the Central Division Entering the playoffs the Lightning would face against the Florida Panthers in the first round making this the first time the state rivals would meet each other in the playoffs The Lightning would win the series 4 2 with the last game continuing a playoff series clinching shutout streak that had carried over from the 2020 Stanley Cup Finals against Dallas In the second round the Lightning would face the Carolina Hurricanes In the third game of the series Brayden Point would score the first goal in a playoff goal scoring streak that would last for 9 games coming in second to Reggie Leach with 10 games in a single playoff year 73 The Hurricanes would win game 3 in overtime however the Lightning would win the next two games to win the series 4 1 For the second consecutive year the Lightning would again face the New York Islanders before heading to the Stanley Cup Finals Due to the lack of conferences for this season this series would not be called the 2021 Eastern Conference Finals but instead it would be known as the 2021 Stanley Cup Semifinals The Islanders would once again take the Lightning to an extended series having won game 6 in overtime to force the series to 7 games However the Lightning would clinch the series in game 7 with a single shorthanded goal scored by Yanni Gourde The win would earn the Lightning their second consecutive Prince of Wales Trophy and a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals In the 2021 Stanley Cup Finals the Lightning went up against the Montreal Canadiens In the first three games the Lightning would prevail a notable highlight being the diving goal Blake Coleman would score with 1 1 seconds left in the second period in the second game in the series 74 The Canadiens however would force a game 5 and prevent a sweep winning game 4 in overtime The Lightning however would win the Stanley Cup in game 5 with a single goal scored by Ross Colton in the second period The game would also see the Lightning win in their own arena the second time in team history and the first time since the Chicago Blackhawks won the Cup in 2015 Andrei Vasilevskiy won the Conn Smythe Trophy with 5 shutouts during the playoffs 4 of which were series clinching shutouts Patrick Maroon would win his third consecutive Stanley Cup one with the St Louis Blues and two with the Lightning Maroon later slipped and dropped the Stanley Cup and severely dented the trophy s bowl during a celebration at Julian B Lane Park following the team s victory parade on July 11 Maroon cited the strong thunderstorm during the outdoor celebration as the reason and the Cup was quickly repaired with no further issues 75 On February 26 2022 the Lightning played their first outdoor game in franchise history against the host Nashville Predators in the 2022 NHL Stadium Series at Nissan Stadium The Lightning would win the game against the Predators with a score of 3 2 with Steven Stamkos receiving first star On April 14 2022 the Lightning clinched a playoff berth after a 4 3 overtime win against the Anaheim Ducks In the 2022 playoffs the Lightning defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in seven games in the First Round and swept their in state rivals in the Second Round On June 11 2022 the Lightning clinched their third straight Stanley Cup Finals berth after a 2 1 win against the New York Rangers in game six of the Eastern Conference Finals However in the 2022 Finals they came up short for a third consecutive Stanley Cup title in game six against the Colorado Avalanche on June 26 76 In the following season the Lightning finished in 3rd place in the Atlantic Division and once again played the Maple Leafs in the First Round of the 2023 playoffs However this time the Leafs would avenge their loss and eliminated the Lightning 4 2 Radio and television EditThe Lightning s flagship radio outlet is WHPT which replaced WFLA as of the 2022 23 NHL season 77 Dave Mishkin serves as play by play announcer joined by Phil Esposito as color commentator for home games Greg Lenelli is the pregame and intermission host The Lightning television broadcasts can be seen on Bally Sports Sun From 1995 to 2020 the television play by play announcer was Rick Peckham He announced that he would be retiring following the 2019 20 season His final game for the Lightning was game five of their First Round series during the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs in which the Lightning won in overtime to win the series 78 Dave Randorf was named as his replacement prior to the 2020 21 season 79 The color commentator is Brian Engblom The studio host is Paul Kennedy Caley Chelios daughter of Hall of Fame defenseman Chris Chelios is the in arena host and Lightning reporter Former Lightning player Dave Andreychuk and former color commentator Bobby The Chief Taylor assist with the television pregame and postgame broadcasts On December 10 2014 long time color commentator Bobby The Chief Taylor announced he would be retiring from the broadcast booth at the end of the 2014 15 season Taylor had served as the team s color commentator since the 1993 94 season which was the team s second year of existence Taylor cited that he desired to be home with his wife Jan more Taylor said The road was starting to get a little stale and I ve been traveling since I was 15 and that s a long time However Taylor announced that he was not completely stepping away from the team broadcasts He has continued to serve as a studio analyst during the games on Fox Sports Sun for both home and away games 80 On August 11 2015 Fox Sports Sun the regional television home of the Lightning announced Brian Engblom as Taylor s replacement on color commentary for the 2015 16 season Prior to joining Sun Sports Engblom served as the inside the glass analyst on both NBC and NBC Sports Network as well as the network s coverage of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi Russia Engblom has served as an analyst on NHL Live and also served as color analyst for Winnipeg Jets games on TSN in Canada Prior to being an announcer Engblom played at the University of Wisconsin and was Montreal s third pick 22nd overall in the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft He won three Stanley Cups with the Canadiens from 1977 to 1979 81 Team colors and mascot EditSince 2010 the Lightning colors have been blue black and white Their logo has been a stylized lightning bolt This is the origin of one nickname for the team the Bolts 82 Logo and jerseys Edit The primary left and alternate logos right used by the team from 1992 to 2007 The team was named the Lightning in reference to the Tampa Bay Area being the lightning capital of North America The original Lightning jerseys featured simple stripes on the sleeves and tail and contrasting shoulders black shoulders over a white jersey and white shoulders over the black with the alternate logo a lightning bolt over the outline of the state of Florida The underarm gussets included a feature referred to as victory stripes a group of thin stripes alternating in the team s colors black silver blue on white or white blue silver on black For the 1996 97 season the Lightning added a third jersey primarily blue with a sublimated wave and rain design on the front and back lightning bolts down the sleeves a silver gray shoulder yoke and black gussets The third jersey was retired after the 1998 99 season In their first two seasons the Lightning used a stylized block font for player names with gaps in the upper loops of letters such as A B D and R The numbers were standard block numbers with drop shadows The fonts were vertical in 1992 93 and italicized in 1993 94 The following season the name font changed to a block font vertically arched while the number font changed to a painted style resembling the letters Tampa Bay in the logo This style was also used on the blue alternate in 1998 99 replacing an electrified number font used from 1996 to 1998 In 2001 02 the old fonts were replaced with traditional block letters and numbers which have been used ever since They also darkened their shades of blue that season from a royal blue to a speed Indy blue As with all NHL teams for the 2007 08 season the Lightning debuted in new Reebok Rbk Edge jerseys Also like several other NHL teams the Lightning updated their team logo The Lightning unveiled their new logo on August 25 2007 The logo was similar to the inaugural one but with a more modern look The new logo also kept the same theme as the previous one but with the words Tampa Bay across the top now appearing with tall capital initials and the word Lightning no longer appearing on the bottom of the logo In 2007 the Lightning adopted a new primary logo which was used until 2011 The Edge jerseys use the same template adopted by the Ottawa Senators and Pittsburgh Penguins Unlike those teams the Lightning s elbow panels remain the base color of the jersey and an additional blue panel is added near the cuff of the sleeve The Edge uniforms retain the underarm gusset victory stripes of their predecessors The Lightning then debuted a new alternate or third jersey in the 2008 09 season The jersey features a dominant electric blue color with black and silver accents at the end of the sleeves The logo is removed and in its place emblazoned across the front of the jersey descending to the lower left of the jersey is the word BOLTS utilizing a layout similar to that of the Ottawa Senators third jersey The numbers are featured on the back and sleeves only using white lettering 83 It was reported on January 23 2011 that the Lightning had filed paperwork with the NHL to change their logo and colors beginning with the 2011 12 season 84 The new logo as well as the new home and away jerseys were unveiled by the team at a press conference at the St Pete Times Forum on January 31 2011 85 The Lightning began to integrate the new logo onto center ice and even distributed free T shirts with the simplified logo on February 4 2011 while still using the old Lightning logo and uniforms 86 The current uniforms are made in a traditional hockey sweater design Initially the colors that were to be used were simply blue and white but by popular demand black was later added as a trim color on the numbers The victory stripes were also eliminated Despite the introduction of the new uniforms the previous third jersey was retained with the new simplified logo replacing the old logo in the shoulders prior to the 2012 13 season For the 2014 15 season the Lightning announced that a new black third sweater will replace the existing BOLTS sweaters The new sweaters were unveiled on September 27 2014 It retained the BOLTS wordmark while adding white accents in a similar manner as the Los Angeles Kings sweaters The secondary roundel logo also replaced the primary logo on the sleeves while the metro name was enscripted on the collar The Lightning made some minor tweaks to their current uniform set following the NHL s move to Adidas as its uniform provider in the 2017 18 season The most notable change is the removal of the TAMPA BAY wordmark on the white away sweaters A third sweater was not used during all of 2017 18 and much of the 2018 19 season On February 7 2019 the Lightning unveiled a new black uniform lacking any blue and white elements and featuring sublimated black and grey patterns on the sleeves socks and back numbers For the 2020 21 season the Lightning released a Reverse Retro uniform using the design they wore from 2001 to 2007 Unlike the originals blue served as the base color while black was relegated to trim color Their 2022 23 Reverse Retro uniform used the design of the third jersey from 1996 to 1999 but with a white base 87 For the 2022 NHL Stadium Series the Lightning unveiled a white uniform with a stylized blue stripe shaped like a thunderbolt at the bottom An updated rendition of the BOLTS wordmark was stitched in front and numbers featured pointed accents In game personalities Edit Greg Wolf has been the Lightning s in game host since the 2006 07 season Retired United States Air Force Technical Sergeant Sonya Bryson Kirksey sings the Canadian and American national anthems at most home games She started singing the US national anthem for the team in 2013 and the Canadian anthem in 2020 She is accompanied on game nights by organist Krystof Srebrakowski ThunderBug Edit The Lightning mascot is a lightning bug named ThunderBug who performs at games and makes appearances in the community 88 Lightning Girls Edit Until the 2019 20 season 89 an official dance team known as the Lightning Girls performed at all home games and community events The Tampa Bay Lightning Girls were a group of dancers who performed in the stands 90 Season by season record EditThis is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by the Lightning For the full season by season history see List of Tampa Bay Lightning seasonsNote GP Games played W Wins L Losses T Ties OTL Overtime Losses Pts Points GF Goals for GA Goals against Season GP W L OTL Pts GF GA Finish Playoffs2018 19 82 62 16 4 128 325 222 1st Atlantic Lost in First Round 0 4 Blue Jackets 2019 20 70 43 21 6 92 245 195 2nd Atlantic Stanley Cup champions 4 2 Stars 2020 21 56 36 17 3 75 181 147 3rd Central Stanley Cup champions 4 1 Canadiens 2021 22 82 51 23 8 110 287 233 3rd Atlantic Lost in Stanley Cup Finals 2 4 Avalanche 2022 23 82 46 30 6 98 283 254 3rd Atlantic Lost in First Round 2 4 Maple Leafs Players EditCurrent roster Edit viewtalkedit Updated April 21 2023 91 92 No Nat Player Pos S G Age Acquired Birthplace41 Pierre Edouard Bellemare C L 38 2021 Le Blanc Mesnil France24 Zach Bogosian D R 32 2021 Massena New York81 Erik Cernak D R 25 2017 Kosice Slovakia71 Anthony Cirelli C L 25 2015 Woodbridge Ontario28 Ian Cole D D 34 2022 Ann Arbor Michigan79 Ross Colton C L 26 2016 Robbinsville New Jersey1 Brian Elliott G L 38 2021 Newmarket Ontario23 Mikey Eyssimont LW L 26 2023 Littleton Colorado7 Haydn Fleury D L 26 2022 Carlyle Saskatchewan38 Brandon Hagel LW L 24 2022 Saskatoon Saskatchewan77 Victor Hedman A D L 32 2009 Ornskoldsvik Sweden84 Tanner Jeannot LW L 25 2023 Oxbow Saskatchewan17 Alex Killorn A C L 33 2007 Halifax Nova Scotia86 Nikita Kucherov RW L 29 2011 Maykop Russia14 Patrick Maroon LW L 35 2019 St Louis Missouri20 Nick Paul LW L 28 2022 Mississauga Ontario48 Nick Perbix D R 24 2017 Elk River Minnesota10 Corey Perry RW R 37 2021 Peterborough Ontario21 Brayden Point C R 27 2014 Calgary Alberta43 Darren Raddysh D R 27 2021 Caledon Ontario98 Mikhail Sergachev D L 24 2017 Nizhnekamsk Russia91 Steven Stamkos C C RW R 33 2008 Markham Ontario88 Andrei Vasilevskiy G L 28 2012 Tyumen RussiaRetired numbers Edit Tampa Bay Lightning retired numbers No Player Position Career Date of retirement4 Vincent Lecavalier C 1998 2013 February 10 2018 93 26 Martin St Louis RW 2000 2014 January 13 2017 94 The NHL retired Wayne Gretzky s No 99 for all its member teams at the 2000 NHL All Star Game 95 Team captains Edit Named to the position in 2014 Steven Stamkos is the current captain of the Lightning Paul Ysebaert 1995 1997 Mikael Renberg 1997 1998 Rob Zamuner 1998 1999 Bill Houlder 1999 Chris Gratton 1999 2000 Vincent Lecavalier 2000 2001 Dave Andreychuk 2002 2006 Tim Taylor 2006 2008 Vincent Lecavalier 2008 2013 Martin St Louis 2013 2014 Steven Stamkos 2014 presentHonored members Edit See also List of Tampa Bay Lightning award winners Tampa Bay Lightning Hall of Famers PlayersName Position Career InductedDave Andreychuk LW 2001 2006 2017Dino Ciccarelli RW 1996 1998 2010Mark Recchi RW 2008 2009 2017Denis Savard C 1993 1995 2000Martin St Louis RW 2000 2014 2018NHL All Star team 2003 04 first team Martin St Louis 2017 18 first team Victor Hedman Nikita Kucherov 2018 19 first team Nikita Kucherov Andrei Vasilevskiy 2020 21 first team Andrei Vasilevskiy 2006 07 second team Martin St Louis Vincent Lecavalier Dan Boyle 2009 10 second team Martin St Louis 2010 11 second team Martin St Louis Steven Stamkos 2011 12 second team Steven Stamkos 2012 13 second team Martin St Louis 2015 16 second team Ben Bishop 2016 17 second team Victor Hedman Nikita Kucherov 2018 19 second team Victor Hedman 2019 20 second team Victor Hedman Nikita Kucherov 2020 21 second team Victor Hedman 2021 22 second team Victor HedmanNHL All Rookie Team Brad Richards 2000 01 Tyler Johnson 2013 14 Ondrej Palat 2013 14 Anthony Cirelli 2018 19All Star Game Ben Bishop G 2016 Brian Bradley C 1993 1994 Dino Ciccarelli RW 1997 Wendel Clark LW 1999 Jon Cooper HC 2018 2019 Roman Hamrlik D 1996 Victor Hedman D 2017 2018 2020 2022 Tyler Johnson C 2015 Nikolai Khabibulin G 2002 2003 Pavel Kubina D 2004 Nikita Kucherov RW 2017 2018 2019 2023 Vincent Lecavalier C 2003 2007 2008 captain 2009 Fredrik Modin LW 2001 Brayden Point C 2018 Martin St Louis RW 2003 2004 2007 2008 2009 2011 alternate captain Steven Stamkos C 2011 2012 2015 2016 2018 captain 2019 2022 Petr Svoboda D 2000 Andrei Vasilevskiy G 2018 2019 2020 2022 2023 NHL YoungStars Game Brad Richards C 2002 Alexander Svitov C 2003 Paul Ranger D 2007 Mike Lundin D 2008 Steven Stamkos C 2009NHL All Star Skills Competition Rookie Jonathan Drouin LW 2015First round draft picks Edit See also List of Tampa Bay Lightning draft picks 1992 Roman Hamrlik 1st overall 1993 Chris Gratton 3rd overall 1994 Jason Wiemer 8th overall 1995 Daymond Langkow 5th overall 1996 Mario Larocque 16th overall 1997 Paul Mara 7th overall 1998 Vincent Lecavalier 1st overall 1999 None 2000 Nikita Alexeev 8th overall 2001 Alexander Svitov 3rd overall 2002 None 2003 None 2004 Andy Rogers 30th overall 2005 Vladimir Mihalik 30th overall 2006 Riku Helenius 15th overall 2007 None 2008 Steven Stamkos 1st overall 2009 Victor Hedman 2nd overall Carter Ashton 29th overall 2010 Brett Connolly 6th overall 2011 Vladislav Namestnikov 27th overall 2012 Slater Koekkoek 10th overall Andrei Vasilevskiy 19th overall 2013 Jonathan Drouin 3rd overall 2014 Anthony DeAngelo 19th overall 2015 None 2016 Brett Howden 27th overall 2017 Cal Foote 14th overall 2018 None 2019 Nolan Foote 27th overall 2020 None 2021 None 2022 Isaac Howard 31st overall Franchise scoring leaders Edit These are the top ten point scorers in franchise history Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season 96 current Lightning playerNote Pos Position GP Games Played G Goals A Assists Pts Points P G Points per game Recording 652 points with the Lightning Victor Hedman is the Lightning s all time leading scorer amongst defencemen Points Player Pos GP G A Pts P GSteven Stamkos C 1 003 515 541 1 056 1 05Martin St Louis RW 972 365 588 953 98Vincent Lecavalier C 1 037 383 491 874 84Nikita Kucherov RW 644 276 453 729 1 13Victor Hedman D 974 143 509 652 67Brad Richards C 552 150 339 489 89Alex Killorn LW 805 198 268 466 58Brayden Point C 499 218 245 463 93Ondrej Palat LW 628 143 280 423 67Vaclav Prospal C 468 127 244 371 79 Goals Player Pos GSteven Stamkos C 515Vincent Lecavalier C 383Martin St Louis RW 365Nikita Kucherov RW 276Brayden Point C 218Alex Killorn LW 198Tyler Johnson C 161Brad Richards C 150Fredrik Modin LW 145Ondrej Palat LW 143 Assists Player Pos AMartin St Louis RW 588Steven Stamkos C 541Victor Hedman D 509Vincent Lecavalier C 491Nikita Kucherov RW 453Brad Richards C 339Ondrej Palat LW 280Alex Killorn LW 268Brayden Point C 245Vaclav Prospal C 244 Franchise playoff scoring leaders Edit These are the top ten playoff point scorers in franchise playoff history Figures are updated after each completed NHL season current Lightning playerNote Pos Position GP Games Played G Goals A Assists Pts Points P G Points per game current Lightning player Points Player Pos GP G A Pts P GNikita Kucherov RW 142 53 107 160 1 13Victor Hedman D 160 22 88 110 69Steven Stamkos C 123 45 50 95 77Ondrej Palat LW 138 48 66 94 68Brayden Point C 82 40 42 82 1 00Alex Killorn C 140 37 40 77 55Martin St Louis RW 63 33 35 68 1 07Tyler Johnson C 116 32 33 65 56Vincent Lecavalier C 63 24 28 52 82Brad Richards C 45 18 29 47 1 04 Goals Player Pos GNikita Kucherov RW 53Ondrej Palat LW 48Steven Stamkos C 45Brayden Point LW 40Alex Killorn C 37Martin St Louis RW 33Tyler Johnson C 32Vincent Lecavalier C 24Victor Hedman D 22Brad Richards C 18 Assists Player Pos ANikita Kucherov RW 107Victor Hedman D 88Steven Stamkos C 50Ondrej Palat C 46Brayden Point D 42Alex Killorn C 40Martin St Louis RW 35Tyler Johnson C 33Brad Richards C 29Vincent Lecavalier C 28NHL awards and trophies EditMain article List of Tampa Bay Lightning award winners Stanley Cup 2003 04 2019 20 2020 21Presidents Trophy 2018 19Prince of Wales Trophy 2003 04 2014 15 2019 20 2020 21 2021 22Art Ross Trophy Martin St Louis 2003 04 2012 13 Nikita Kucherov 2018 19Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy John Cullen 1998 99Conn Smythe Trophy Brad Richards 2003 04 Victor Hedman 2019 20 Andrei Vasilevskiy 2020 21Foster Hewitt Memorial Award Rick Peckham 2020 97 Hart Memorial Trophy Martin St Louis 2003 04 Nikita Kucherov 2018 19Jack Adams Award John Tortorella 2003 04James Norris Memorial Trophy Victor Hedman 2017 18King Clancy Memorial Trophy Vincent Lecavalier 2007 08Lady Byng Memorial Trophy Brad Richards 2003 04 Martin St Louis 2009 10 2010 11 2012 13Lester B Pearson Award Ted Lindsay Award Martin St Louis 2003 04 Nikita Kucherov 2018 19Maurice Rocket Richard Trophy Vincent Lecavalier 2006 07 Steven Stamkos 2009 10 2011 12NHL Foundation Player Award Vincent Lecavalier 2007 08Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award Steve Yzerman 2014 15NHL Plus Minus Award Martin St Louis 2003 04Vezina Trophy Andrei Vasilevskiy 2018 19Franchise records EditIndividual Edit Most goals in a season Steven Stamkos 60 2011 12 Most assists in a season Nikita Kucherov 87 2018 19 Most points in a season Nikita Kucherov 128 2018 19 Most goals in a season defenseman Dan Boyle 2006 07 Victor Hedman 2021 22 20 Most assists in a season defenseman Victor Hedman 65 2021 22 Most points in a season defenseman Victor Hedman 85 2021 22 Most penalty minutes in a season Zenon Konopka 265 2009 10 Most goals in a season rookie Yanni Gourde 25 2017 18 Most assists in a season rookie Brad Richards 41 2000 01 Most points in a season rookie Yanni Gourde 64 2017 18 Most wins in a season Andrei Vasilevskiy 44 2017 18 Most shutouts in a season Andrei Vasilevskiy 8 2017 18 Team Edit Largest home playoff attendance 28 183 ThunderDome now Tropicana Field 1995 96 Largest home regular season attendance 27 227 ThunderDome 1993 94 98 Most points in a season 128 2018 19 Most wins in a season 62 2018 19 Most home wins in a season 32 2014 15 and 2018 19 Most road wins in a season 30 2018 19 Most wins in a row 11 2019 20 See also EditList of Stanley Cup champions List of National Hockey League awardsNotes Edit Though the Lightning won the Prince of Wales Trophy and advanced into the Stanley Cup Finals in 2021 this does not count as a conference championship Due to restrictions brought on by the COVID 19 pandemic the 2020 21 NHL season saw a realignment of teams into new divisions without any conferences References Edit Lightning Unveil New Logo Jersey Systems Along with Vision and Brand Aspiration TampaBayLightning com NHL Enterprises L P January 31 2011 Retrieved September 29 2017 Smith Chris Tampa Bay Lightning Jersey History TampaBayLightning com NHL Enterprises L P Retrieved January 29 2018 Tampa Bay Sports And Entertainment LLC Closes on Purchase of Tampa Bay Lightning TampaBayLightning com NHL Enterprises L P March 3 2010 Retrieved September 29 2017 Tampa Bay Lightning owner expands business portfolio with Vinik Sports Group SportBusiness February 25 2020 Retrieved January 9 2021 Stein Gil 1997 Power Plays An Inside Look at the Big Business of the National Hockey League pp 86 92 A franchise is born 25 years ago NHL com December 6 2015 Retrieved May 27 2019 Basse Craig August 1 2002 Notorious duke tied to Lightning dies Tampabay com Retrieved May 20 2022 Part 1 Manon Rheaume shatters hockey s gender barrier National Hockey League Manon Rheaume www whockey com Buckley Tim October 10 1993 Lightning s spark It was on the bench Tampa Bay Times p 6C Retrieved April 7 2018 a b c Duhatschek Eric et al 2001 Hockey Chronicles New York City Checkmark Books ISBN 0 8160 4697 2 a b c d Fischler Stan 1999 Cracked Ice An Insider s Look at the NHL Lincolnwood Illinois Masters Press ISBN 1 57028 219 6 Sandomir Richard April 6 1998 A Soap Opera on Ice The New York Times Retrieved January 27 2008 Lightning Highlights LCS Hockey Team Reports Tampa Bay Lightning www lcshockey com Davidson has deal to buy Lightning Lightning winger St Louis out with broken leg CBC News January 24 2002 Vote deadline may have cost Khabibulin the MVP award CNN Raising the Cup presents Game 7 2004 Stanley Cup Final NHL com August 16 2011 Retrieved June 25 2019 Tampa Bay Lightning News Lightning Acquire Conditional Draft Pick AHL All Star Defenseman From Philadelphia 25 February 2008 Archived from the original on December 27 2008 Tampa Bay Lightning News Lightning Acquire Goaltender Mike Smith Center Jeff Halpern Left Wing Jussi Jokinen amp fourth Round Pick From Dallas 26 February 2008 Archived from the original on December 27 2008 Tampa Bay Lightning News Lightning Acquire Seventh Round Pick In 2008 From Nashville In Exchange For Jan Hlavac 26 February 2008 Lightning re sign D Boyle to six year extension Espn com February 26 2008 Lightning hire Barry Melrose as coach Sarasota Herald Tribune Associated Press Retrieved February 23 2019 Tampa Bay Lightning Tampa Bay Times Tortorella calls new Tampa owners cowboys rips old franchise Lightning award Tocchet full time coaching job May 11 2009 Steven Stamkos empty net goal gives him 51 and a share of the Rocket Richard Trophy Damian Cristodero St Petersburg Times April 12 2010 Retrieved April 12 2010 Damian Cristodero April 12 2010 It s official Tampa Bay Lightning fires coach Rick Tocchet and GM Brian Lawton St Petersburg Times Retrieved April 12 2010 Smith Joe January 2 2011 Tampa Bay Lightning gets goalie Dwayne Roloson from New York Islanders for minor league defenseman St Petersburg Times Retrieved May 31 2011 Lightning Release Guy Boucher of Coaching Duties Tampa Bay Lightning March 24 2013 Retrieved March 25 2013 Lightning name Jon Cooper as head coach Tampa Bay Lightning March 25 2013 Retrieved March 25 2013 Lightning To Use Compliance Buyout on Vincent Lecavalier Tampa Bay Lightning June 27 2013 Retrieved June 27 2013 Analysis of Lecavalier Compliance Buyout Tampa Bay Lightning June 27 2013 Retrieved June 27 2013 Damian Cristodero June 27 2013 Lightning plans Lecavalier buyout Tampa Bay Times Retrieved June 27 2013 Cristodero Damian Lightning s Stamkos cleared to play Thursday against Sabres Tampa Bay Times Retrieved March 6 2014 St Louis Lightning discuss future with team National Hockey League February 26 2014 Retrieved March 6 2014 Tampa Bay FOX 13 March 5 2014 Exclusive Interview Martin St Louis FOX myfoxtampabay Retrieved March 6 2014 Steven Stamkos back named captain ESPN Associated Press March 6 2014 Retrieved March 6 2014 Halford Mike April 7 2014 Lightning sign GM Yzerman to four year extension NBC Sports Pro Hockey Talk Retrieved November 19 2014 Max Pacioretty lifts Habs to 2nd round in sweep of Lightning ESPN Associated Press April 22 2014 Retrieved April 23 2014 LeBrun Pierre June 25 2014 Ryan Callahan signs 6 year deal ESPN Retrieved June 25 2014 Stubits Brian June 25 2014 Lightning use second compliance buyout on Ryan Malone ESPN Retrieved June 25 2014 Lightning beat up on Original Six to reach Cup finals Reuters May 30 2015 Retrieved May 31 2015 Gretz Adam May 31 2015 The Tampa Bay Lightning s playoff journey through the Original Six CBS Sports Retrieved May 31 2015 Lightning strikes again Hockey reference May 30 2015 Retrieved September 6 2020 Beacham Greg June 16 2015 Tampa Bay Falls Just Short Loses the Cup in Game 6 Shutout ABC News Associated Press Campbell Ken Stamkos transformation into Kucherov s set up man has Lightning looking scarier than ever The Hockey News The Hockey News Retrieved November 21 2017 AP Source Steve Yzerman stepping down as Lightning GM USA Today Retrieved September 11 2018 Smith Joe Steve Yzerman stepping down as Lightning general manager The Athletic Retrieved September 11 2018 Nearhos Diana C April 6 2019 Lightning ties NHL wins record with No 62 Tampa Bay Times Retrieved April 8 2019 Merz Craig April 16 2019 Blue Jackets sweep Lightning in Game 4 for first playoff series victory NHL com Archived from the original on April 17 2019 Retrieved April 2 2023 Nearhos Diana C April 16 2019 Lightning s Jon Cooper For six days in April Columbus was the better team Tampa Bay Times Retrieved May 11 2019 Quest for the Cup Blue Jackets and Isles advance NBC Sports April 16 2019 Retrieved April 17 2019 Former Rangers captain Ryan Callahan diagnosed with degenerative back disease CBS Sports June 20 2019 Retrieved September 29 2020 Lightning Captain Steven Stamkos to Miss 6 8 Weeks After Surgery Sports Illustrated February 29 2020 Retrieved September 29 2020 Lightning Captain Steven Stamkos to have surgery NHL February 29 2020 Retrieved September 29 2020 NHL statement on coronavirus NHL com September 29 2020 Retrieved March 12 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifiers schedule NHL com September 29 2020 Retrieved July 10 2020 Lightning eliminate Blue Jackets with overtime win in Game 5 Sportsnet ca September 29 2020 Retrieved August 19 2020 James O Brien September 29 2020 Lightning eliminate Bruins after Game 5 goes to double overtime nbcsports com Retrieved August 31 2020 Arun Srinivasan September 29 2020 Lightning eliminate Islanders in OT will face Stars in Stanley Cup Final yahoo com Retrieved September 17 2020 Steven Stamkos set to return in Game 3 NHL September 23 2020 Retrieved September 29 2020 PR NHL September 29 2020 The TBLightning finished the postseason with a 7 2 record in overtime games playing a League record 221 14 overtime minutes in the 2020 postseason equivalent to nearly four extra regulation games Tweet via Twitter PR NHL September 29 2020 The TBLightning won three series in OT and got clinching goals from NHL goals leader BraydenPoint19 in both the First Round and StanleyCup Final Tweet via Twitter Lightning City of Tampa to host boat parade fan rally NHL com Retrieved July 16 2021 Brady completes Lombardi pass as Bucs party ESPN com February 10 2021 Retrieved July 16 2021 2021 Stanley Cup Celebration Events Retrieved July 16 2021 2021 NHL season Division realignment coronavirus protocols Stanley Cup Playoffs dates CBSSports com Retrieved July 13 2021 Insight into Kucherov s injury and his playoff readiness NHL com Retrieved July 13 2021 Savard acquired by Lightning in trade with Blue Jackets Red Wings NHL com Retrieved July 13 2021 Sharks trade Fredrik Claesson acquire NCAA goalie from Lightning The Mercury News April 12 2021 Retrieved July 13 2021 Point falls short of playoff goal streak record for Lightning NHL com Retrieved July 14 2021 Coleman goal in Game 2 of Final ranks among greatest in Lightning history NHL com Retrieved July 13 2021 So that s what happened Lightning s Pat Maroon admits to dropping the Stanley Cup wtsp com July 14 2021 Retrieved July 16 2021 Gulitti Tom June 26 2022 Avalanche edge Lightning in Game 6 win Cup for first time since 2001 NHL com NHL Enterprises L P Retrieved June 26 2022 Staff BSM September 14 2022 Tampa Bay Lightning Moving to 102 5 The Bone Barrett Sports Media Retrieved September 14 2022 Faiello Mari August 19 2020 Lightning gift broadcaster Rick Peckham with a thrilling final game Tampa Bay Times Retrieved September 29 2020 Lightning hire veteran play by play announcer Dave Randorf Press release Tampa Bay Lightning January 7 2021 Retrieved January 7 2021 Erlendsson Erik December 10 2014 Bolts TV analyst Bobby The Chief Taylor in final season Tampa Tribune Retrieved December 10 2014 Smith Joe August 11 2015 Bolts name The Chief s successor Brian Engblom to take over as color analyst Tampa Bay Times Retrieved August 11 2015 Burns Bryan November 30 2017 How Phil Esposito named the Tampa Bay Lightning NHL com Archived from the original on March 19 2019 Retrieved March 19 2019 Lightning Unveil Third Jerseys vs Devils Archived from the original on December 27 2008 Damian Cristodero January 23 2011 Tampa Bay Lightning s new uniforms sound as if they will include a simple classic design St Petersburg Times Retrieved January 23 2011 Lightning Unveil New Logo Jersey Systems Along with Vision and Brand Aspiration National Hockey League January 31 2011 Retrieved January 31 2011 A couple of Tampa Bay Lightning records could fall tonight at Times Forum against the Capitals St Petersburg Times February 4 2011 Retrieved June 24 2012 Lightning s Reverse Retro jersey a blast from the past Tampa Bay Times Retrieved October 21 2022 ThunderBug Tampa Bay Lightning Lightning announce new brand ambassador team the Bolts Blue Crew TampaBayLightning com Tampa Bay Lightning August 23 2019 Retrieved January 20 2020 Tampa Bay Lightning Girls Lightning Girls May 29 2013 Archived from the original on May 29 2013 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link Tampa Bay Lightning Roster National Hockey League Retrieved April 21 2023 Tampa Bay Lightning Hockey Transactions The Sports Network Retrieved April 21 2023 Smith Joe February 10 2018 Lightning retires Vinny Lecavalier s No 4 Tampa Bay Times Retrieved February 12 2018 Lightning to retire Martin St Louis No 26 this season National Hockey League October 6 2016 Retrieved November 3 2016 Perfect setting Gretzky s number retired before All Star Game CNN Sports Illustrated Associated Press February 6 2000 Archived from the original on November 12 2013 Retrieved June 9 2014 List of all the Tampa Bay Lightning Career Leaders Hockey Reference com Rick Peckham named Foster Hewitt Memorial Award recipient nhl com June 30 2020 Retrieved July 1 2020 Kreiser John April 23 2017 Lightning made NHL history at Thunderdome NHL com Retrieved December 19 2019 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tampa Bay Lightning Official website Portals Ice hockey Florida Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tampa Bay Lightning amp oldid 1152580364, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.