Tampa Bay Lightning

Team information

• Inaugural season: 1992
• Home arena: Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida
• Owner: Tampa Bay Sports and Entertainment
• Team colors: Tampa Bay blue, black, and white

Overview

The Tampa Bay Lightning is an American hockey team playing in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Lightning and the Ottawa Senators were part of a two-team league expansion beginning with the 1992–1993 hockey season. The team creation was initiated by a pair of Hall-of-Fame, hockey-playing brothers, Phil and Tony Esposito, and funded largely by Japanese investors. Tampa’s reputation as “the lightning capital of North America” led to the name of Florida’s first NHL franchise. The team made NHL and North American sports history in 1992 when it signed female Canadian goalie Manon Rheuame, the first female to play in any of the major North American professional sports leagues. Debt and accusations of financial mismanagement dogged the team off the ice during some of its earliest years. However, with the exception of some rough patches in its earliest days, it eventually became more successful on the ice. The Lightning reached the playoffs eleven times in their first twenty-seven full seasons. They reached the conference finals five times, winning two of those appearances to advance to the Stanley Cup championship series. They won the 2003–2004 best of seven game series against the Calvary Flames four games to three to win their first Stanley Cup. They won the Stanley Cup for the second time in 2019–20 after beating the Dallas Stars four games to two.

History

After the NHL announced its willingness to introduce new franchises in the late 1980s, two groups pursued a possible Florida team. One group was led by the investors who in 1997 moved the Hartford Whalers south to become the Carolina Hurricanes. The other was organized by Phil and Tony Esposito, Canadian brothers who played in the NHL between the 1960s and 1980s. After an earlier financing plan failed to come to fruition, Phil Esposito arranged financing through a Japanese golf and resort company, Kokusai Green Co. Ltd. This group won the franchise because it was better able to meet the NHL’s financial requirements.

The NHL awarded the franchise for what became the Lightning on December 6, 1990. The Esposito brothers formed the core of the organization’s first management team, with Phil acting as president and general manager and Tony becoming the Lightning’s first scout. Phil, a former Boston Bruin, brought on board several members of the organization. They included former forward Wayne Cashman as an assistant coach and trainer John “Frosty” Forristal as the Lightning’s trainer. A veteran player and experienced coach, Terry Crisp was named as the team’s first head coach.

Canadian-born Chris Kontos created a memorable first game for the Lightning when he scored four goals that were the difference in a 7–3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on October 7, 1992. This strong start continued at home but began to fade as the team went on the road. Its location far to the south meant that all its road trips to division and conference rivals were long and required more travel time than many other franchises, a situation that improved as the league continued to expand and realign. Nevertheless, the team finished in last place.

The Lightning’s second season brought changes, including a league realignment that landed them in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. They also moved to a new arena, a retrofitted baseball stadium that was renamed the Thunderdome. They acquired several veteran players during the year but still failed to make the playoffs and again finished last in the league.

The Lightning reached the playoffs for the first time in the 1995–1996 season, led by outstanding play from Brian Bradley who topped the team with 79 points. They won several games in the first round against the Philadelphia Flyers. This included a game-three overtime win that was seen live by 28,183 fans, an NHL record for single playoff game attendance. The Lightning ultimately lost the series.

The second half of the 1990s was problematic, however. In 1996, the team moved to the Ice Palace, now known as Amelia Arena. The year started with promise that fizzled when goalie Darren Pupa went down with an injury. Bradley suffered a concussion that would cost him many games, and another forward, Jim Cullen, developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The Lightning also made a number of trades that hampered their ability to field a talented team and were believed to have been made solely to improve the team’s financial situation.

Reports circulating that the team was in serious debt were eventually confirmed by the head of the Kokusai Green organization that owned the team. The team’s finances came under scrutiny, and debtors threatened to confiscate the nets and other playing equipment to recover funds they were owed. The team was sold in 1998 to Arthur Williams, a Florida insurance executive, who paid off the team’s debts and provided an infusion of cash.

This along with the acquisition of Vincent Lecavalier in the draft provided new hope for the team. However, the Lightning was still hemorrhaging money, and Williams made the decision to sell it to William Davidson, who had tried to buy it when Williams did. The damage done to the roster during the financial crisis was significant, however. The Lightning went on to post four consecutive seasons with at least 50 losses, an NHL first.

By 2002, however, the team began to improve. The team was led by Lecavalier. With the addition of veteran Dave Andreychuk and the goaltending of Nikolai Khabibulin, the team managed to finish with 90 points for the first time in its career. This was good enough to lead the division and make the playoffs. The Lightning advanced to the conference semi-finals before being eliminated.

The Lightning bettered this in 2003–2004 by finishing with 106 points and second in the league. Backed by three shutouts from Khabibulin, the Lightning beat their first-round opponent, the New York Islanders, three games to two in the best-of-five series. After sweeping the Montreal Canadians in the next round, the Lightning advanced to beat the Philadelphia Flyers in seven games in the conference finals. In the team’s first-ever Stanley Cup final appearance, it faced off against the Calgary Flames. Its victory in seven games brought the team its first Stanley Cup.

The NHL lockout over a dispute with the player’s union cancelled the 2004–2005 season. When the team attempted to defend its title in 2005–2006, it was eliminated in the first round. After missing the playoffs altogether for several more seasons, the Lightning made another run at the Stanley Cup in 2010–2011 but lost the conference final to the eventual champions, the Boston Bruins. The Lightning had another attempt at the Stanley Cup in 2014–2015, when they advanced to the championship round but lost to the Chicago Blackhawks. The team reached the conference finals again in 2017–2018 but fell to the Washington Capitals. In 2018–2019, Lightning fans and much of the hockey world were stunned when the team, which had posted 62 wins and 128 points in the regular season, fell in the first round to the Carolina Blue Jackets. They rose to the top again, however, during the 2019–20 season. After finishing second in the NHL Atlantic Division, the Lightning beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Boston Bruins and the New York Islanders in the postseason. They then beat the Dallas Stars in six games in the Stanley Cup Final, earning the team their second Cup win.

Notable players

Five former members of the Lightning are in the Hockey Hall of Fame: Andreychuk, Dino Ciccarelli, Mark Recchi, Denis Savard, and Martin St. Louis.

Andreychuk served as team captain from 2002–2006. He played the final four of his twenty-six years in the NHL with Tampa between 2001 and 2006. Although he was nearing the end of his career, he made a significant impact on the team during years when it won two division championships, a conference championship and the Stanley Cup.

Ciccarelli, Recchi, and Savard spent the bulk of their playing careers in cities other than Tampa. St. Louis, however, was with the team between 2000 and 2014. During that time, the right winger became the team’s all-time leading scorer, with 365 goals and 588 assists. St. Louis’s assist total is the team’s highest. His jersey was the first to be retired by the team in 2017.

The second retired jersey belonged to Lecavalier, the center who was part of the team from 1998–2013. Lecavalier is the team’s second all-time scoring leader, with 383 goals and 491 assists. His 383 goal mark is the second highest in team history.

The team’s goal-scoring leader is Steve Stamkos, who is still active. In addition to leading his team in goals, Stamkos has been the league’s leading goal scorer twice, in 2010 and 2012. The perennial All-Star center has scored more goals than any other NHL player born during the 1990s. He holds the team record for most goals scored in a season with 60.

The team has had one Vezina Trophy winner for best goaltender in the league. Andrei Vasilevskiy earned that honor in 2017–2018. That same year, he posted the Lightning’s team record for wins, with 44, and shutouts, with 8.

Rheaume, the first female to ever play in a major North American men’s professional sports league, played a single period in an exhibition game in September 1992. She faced nine shots and stopped seven. Even though she never played in a regular season contest, Rheaume inspired countless young women and is credited with sparking the growth of women’s hockey in North America.

Bibliography

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Fialllo, Josh. “National Media Blasts Lightning After Historic Collapse.” Tampa Bay Times, 17 Apr. 2019, www.tampabay.com/blogs/lightning/2019/04/17/national-media-blasts-lightning-after-historic-collapse/. Accessed 24 Mar. 2020.

Jones, Tom. “’I’ll…support the team until it is sold.’” Tampa Bay Times, 13 Sept. 2005, www.tampabay.com/archive/1998/04/30/i-ll-support-the-team-until-it-is-sold/. Accessed 24 Mar. 2020.

Prewitt, Alex. “Lightning Owner Jeff Vinik Discusses How He Turned Around a Struggling Franchise.” Sports Illustrated, 8 May 2018, www.si.com/nhl/2018/05/08/tampa-bay-lightning-jeff-vinik. Accessed 24 Mar. 2020.

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Stainkamp, Michael. “A Brief History: Tampa Bay Lightning.” NHL.com, 28 Aug. 2010, www.nhl.com/news/a-brief-history-tampa-bay-lightning/c-536095. Accessed 24 Mar. 2020.

“Tampa Bay Lightning.” Hockey Reference, 2020, www.hockey-reference.com/teams/TBL/history.html. Accessed 24 Mar. 2020.

“Tampa Bay Lightning Team History.” Sports Team History, 2020, sportsteamhistory.com/tampa-bay-lightning. Accessed 24 Mar. 2020.