Tampa Bay Lightning

When Tampa was awarded an NHL franchise in 1991, the team's management brought in star power before they had any players. They hired 1970s Boston Bruins star Phil Esposito as president and general manager, his brother Tony, a legendary goaltender, as chief scout and 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, to stand behind the bench.

A St. Petersburg group was reportedly better-financed and only lost out because the Espositos were the "face" of the Tampa-based group that originally won the team. In an ominous sign of bad things dead set to come, Esposito's American partners backed out, and he had to recruit a consortium of Japanese businesses headed by golf course owner Kokusai Green in order to keep the team.

Esposito initially attempted to recreate the mystique from the powerhouse Bruins of the 70s; he hired former linemate Wayne Cashman as an assistant coach, former Bruin trainer John "Frosty" Forristal as the team's trainer, and the inaugural team photo has him flanked by Cashman and player Ken Hodge, Jr., son of his other Bruins' linemate. The team turned heads in the preseason when Manon Rheaume became the first woman to play in an NHL game of any kind. However, she would never take the ice for a regular season game.

The Lightning first took the ice on October 7, 1992, playing in Tampa's tiny 11,000-seat Expo Hall. They shocked the visiting Chicago Blackhawks 7-3 with four goals by little-known Chris Kontos — a scoring mark as yet unmatched by any Lightning player. The Lightning shot to the top of the Norris Division within a month, behind Kontos' initial torrid scoring pace and a breakout season by forward Brian Bradley, before faltering to finish in last place. Their 53 points in 1992-93, however, was one of the best showings ever by an NHL expansion team, and Bradley's 42 goals gave Tampa Bay fans optimism for the next season.

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The following season saw the Lightning move to the Florida Suncoast Dome in St. Petersburg, which was reconfigured for hockey and renamed "the Thunderdome." The team picked up goaltender Darren Puppa, left-wing goal scorer Petr Klima and aging sniper Denis Savard. While Puppa's play resulted in a significant improvement in goals allowed, Savard and his glory days in, ironically, Chicago, were long past, Klima's scoring was offset by his defensive lapses, and the Lightning finished in last place. Another disappointing season followed in 1994-95. Still, the Lightning appeared to be far ahead of their expansion brethren, the Ottawa Senators. In marked contrast to the Lightning, the Senators showed no sign of respectability in their first four seasons.

From success to complete failure

In their fourth season, 1995-96, with Bradley still leading the team in scoring, second-year Alexander Selivanov scoring 31 goals, and Roman Hamrlik (the team's first-ever draft choice in 1992) having an all-star year on defense, they made the playoffs for the first time, nosing out the defending Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils for the 8th spot in the East. Although they lost their first round series in six games to the Philadelphia Flyers, it still remains a magical season for Lightning fans (and the attendance of 28,183 on April 23 was the most for any NHL game until the Heritage Classic — a game played outdoors in Edmonton in 2003).

The Lightning picked up sniper Dino Ciccarelli from the Detroit Red Wings that off-season, and he would not disappoint, scoring 35 goals (in addition to 30 from Chris Gratton). The team would open 1996-97 in a glittering new arena, the Ice Palace (now the St. Pete Times Forum) and appeared destined for another playoff spot. Then the injury bug bit the Lightning. Puppa developed back trouble that would limit him to total of 50 games from 1996 until retiring midway in the 1999-2000 season. Bradley lost significant time as well due to injury, and played only 49 games in the next three seasons before retiring. Center John Cullen came down with cancer. Cullen survived, but the Lightning would barely miss the playoffs. It would be six years before the Lightning came anywhere near close to contending again.

Most of the Lightning's stars from those first few seasons would be gone by 1998 due to free agency and questionable trades by Esposito, and most of the young guns they picked up would fail to materialize. The Lightning quickly became the laughingstock of the NHL. Crisp was fired eleven games into the 1997-98 season and eventually replaced by Jacques Demers. The Lightning went on to lose 55 (of 82) games in 1997-98, 54 in 1998-99, 58 in 1999-2000 and 53 in 2000-01, becoming the first NHL team to post four straight 50-loss seasons. At the same time, the Senators shoved their way narrowly into the playoffs in 1997 for the first time and have remained a contender ever since.

A major factor in their decline was 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 being used as a money laundering scheme for Japanese crime families (the yakuza). The Internal Revenue Service investigated the team in 1995. Even in their first playoff season, the team was awash in red ink and Kokusai Green wanted to sell. However, even some franchise insiders (including Crisp) didn't know who the owners were, and one of the major partners reportedly didn't even exist. While many of Esposito's trades came out of a desire to find "the missing piece," most came because he was under orders to cut the payroll to make the team more attractive on the market.

Finally, in 1998, after losing more than $100 million in six years, Kokusai Green finally found a buyer in insurance tycoon and motivational speaker Art Williams. Like the Japanese, he knew very little about hockey. However, he was very visible and outspoken, and pumped an additional $6 million into the team's payroll to turn it around. He wasted little time clearing away the considerable debt he'd inherited from Kokusai Green. He publicly assured the Espositos that they were safe, but fired them two games into the 1998-99 season. Demers became general manager as well as coach. Williams was widely seen as being in over his head and was an easy target for his NHL colleagues, who called him "Jed Clampett" because of his thick Southern accent and fundamentalist Christian views (he neither smoked nor drank and frequently used terms like "goldangit" and "dadgummit"). Early in the season, the Lightning lost 10 games in a row that effectively ended their season. Some blame Williams for the slide. He named rookie Vincent Lecavalier as team captain--the first known instance in years that a rookie has had this important task. Also, before the first game in the losing streak, against the New York Rangers, he decided to give a pep talk to the team loaded with college football slang and bizarre catchphrases. The Lightning were shelled 10-2.

However, in Williams' defense, he walked into a very bad situation. As early as 1997-98, Kokusai Green refused to spend another penny on the team. It was frequently late paying vendors and was behind on state and federal taxes during the last few months of its ownership. In late 1997, Forbes called the Lightning the worst-off franchise in any of the major pro sports, with a debt equal to 236 percent of its value. 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 wouldn't result in much revenue for 30 years. [link]

Back to respectability

By the spring of 1999, Williams had seen enough. He hadn't attended a game in some time because "this team broke my heart." He lost $20 million in the 1998-99 season--as much money in one year as he'd estimated he could have reasonably lost in five years. [link]

Tampa Bay's alternate logo; the original Lightning logo with the state of Florida in the background and without the team's name.

Williams sold the team for $115 million--$2 million less than he'd paid for the team a year earlier--to Detroit Pistons owner Bill Davidson, who had also owned the Detroit Vipers of the now-defunct International Hockey League. Davidson had been one of the bidders for the team in 1998, losing to Williams. Davidson appointed Ron Campbell as team president to handle day-to-day management of the team. Campbell fired Demers, who despite his best efforts was unable to overcome the damage from the Kokusai Green ownership. Campbell persuaded Ottawa Senators general manager Rick Dudley to take over hockey operations in Tampa. Dudley brought Vipers coach Steve Ludzik in as the Lightning's new coach. Dudley and Ludzik had helped make the Vipers one of the premier minor league hockey franchises, and they'd won a Turner Cup in only their third season in Detroit (the team had originally been in Salt Lake City). 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, who folded along with the IHL in 2001). He was replaced in early 2001 by career NHL assistant John Tortorella. The 2001-02 season, Tortorella's first full year, saw some improvement. While finishing far out of playoff contention, the Lightning at least showed some signs of life, earning more than 60 points for the first time since 1997.

Two dream seasons — and a Stanley Cup

Entering the 2002-03 season, the Lightning's largely young roster was thought to be a few years away from contention. However, the team arrived considerably earlier than expected. Led by the goaltending of Nikolai Khabibulin and the scoring efforts of Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis and Vaclav Prospal, the Lightning battled the Washington Capitals for first place in the Southeast Division throughout the season. They finished with 93 points, breaking the 90-point barrier for the first time in team history only two years after losing 50 games for the fourth year in a row. They won the Southeast by just one point over the Capitals. That one point made a big difference in their first round matchup with Washington. The Lightning notched their first playoff series win by beating the Capitals in a six-game series, with St. Louis scoring the series-winner in triple overtime. The Lightning could not hold their own against their second-round opponent, the New Jersey Devils, however, losing that series in five games. Nikolai Khabibulin had a 3.0 GAA in that Series before being pulled in Game 5 in favor of John Grahame.

After their breakout season, the Lightning finished the 2003-04 season first in the Eastern Conference with 106 points, second-best in the league. It was the first 100-point season in team history. Remarkably, the Lightning went through the season with only 20 man-games lost to injury. In the first round of the playoffs, the Lightning ousted the New York Islanders, a team many had picked to upset the Southeast Division champs, as the Islanders had given the Lightning much trouble in the past. However, this was not to be so, and with solid play from goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin, the Lightning went on to win the series by a convincing 4-1 margin. In the second round, the Lightning faced the Montreal Canadiens. However, with at times jaw-dropping play from Lecavalier, playoff MVP Brad Richards, and once again, Khabibulin, the Lightning were able to sweep the Canadiens in 4 straight games. They faced the Philadelphia Flyers in the Eastern Conference finals, winning in a back-and-forth seven-game series in which neither team was able to win consecutive games (but in Game 7 winger Fredrik Modin became a serious player against the Flyers in the Lightning's 2-1 win on his game-winner), earning the Lightning their first-ever Eastern Conference championship and their first-ever berth in the Stanley Cup finals. There they defeated the Calgary Flames 4 games to 3 to win their first Stanley Cup on June 7, 2004. Ruslan Fedotenko was the Game 7 hero this time; he scored two goals in that contest. Brad Richards, who had 26 points, won the Conn Smythe Trophy; in all 31 contests in which he had scored a goal since the opening of the season, the Lightning did not lose a single game. Tortorella won the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year. Only three years after losing 50 games, the Lightning became the southernmost team ever to win the Stanley Cup. Martin St. Louis led the team and the NHL with 94 points (and his 38 goals were second-most after the 41 of tied trio Jarome Iginla, Rick Nash and Ilya Kovalchuk), and won the Hart Trophy as the league's most valuable player. St. Louis also won the Lester B. Pearson Award for league's most outstanding player as voted by the NHL Players' Association.

The Lightning had to wait a year to defend their title due to the 2004-05 NHL lockout, but in 2006 they showed little sign of departing from the NHL's elite, although they experienced an early first-round playoff exit (losing to the Ottawa Senators).

Season-by-season record

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

Season	GP	W	L	T	OTL	Pts	GF	GA	PIM	Finish	Playoffs
1992-93	84	23	54	7
53	245	332	1625	6th in Norris	Out of Playoffs
1993-94	84	30	43	11
71	224	251	1579	7th in Atlantic	Out of Playoffs
1994-95¹	48	17	28	3
23	120	144	1040	6th in Atlantic	Out of Playoffs
1995-96	82	38	32	12
88	238	248	1628	5th in Atlantic	Lost Conference Quarterfinal (PHI)
1996-97	82	32	40	10
74	217	247	1686	5th in Atlantic	Out of Playoffs
1997-98	82	17	55	10
44	151	269	1823	7th in Atlantic	Out of Playoffs
1998-99	82	19	54	9
47	179	292	1316	4th in Southeast	Out of Playoffs
1999-00	82	19	47	9	7	54	204	310	1733	4th in Southeast	Out of Playoffs
2000-01	82	24	47	6	5	59	201	280	1404	5th in Southeast	Out of Playoffs
2001-02	82	27	40	11	4	69	178	219	1072	3rd in Southeast	Out of Playoffs
2002-03	82	36	25	16	5	93	219	210	1079	1st in Southeast	Lost Conference Semifinal (NJ)
2003-04	82	46	22	8	6	106	245	192	985	1st in Southeast	Won Stanley Cup (CGY)
2004-05²	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
--
2005-06	82	43	33	0	6	92	252	260	947	2nd in Southeast	Lost Conference Quarterfinal (OTT)

¹ Season was shortened due to the 1994-95 NHL lockout.

² Season was cancelled due to the 2004-05 NHL lockout.

Notable players

Current squad

As of July 11, 2006 [link]

Goaltenders
Number

Player Catches Acquired Place of Birth

1 Sean Burke L 2005 Windsor, Ontario

30 Marc Denis L 2006 Montreal, Quebec

Goaltenders
Number	Player	Catches	Acquired	Place of Birth
1	Sean Burke	L	2005	Windsor, Ontario
30	Marc Denis	L	2006	Montreal, Quebec

Defensemen
Number

Player Shoots Acquired Place of Birth

0 Luke Richardson L 2006 Ottawa, Ontario

2 Filip Kuba L 2006 Ostrava, Czechoslovakia

21 Cory Sarich R 1999 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

22 Dan Boyle R 2001 Ottawa, Ontario

43 Andy Delmore R 2006 Lasalle, Ontario

44 Nolan Pratt L 2001 Fort McMurray, Alberta

54 Paul Ranger L 2002 Whitby, Ontario

Defensemen
Number	Player	Shoots	Acquired	Place of Birth
0	Luke Richardson	L	2006	Ottawa, Ontario
2	Filip Kuba	L	2006	Ostrava, Czechoslovakia
21	Cory Sarich	R	1999	Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
22	Dan Boyle	R	2001	Ottawa, Ontario
43	Andy Delmore	R	2006	Lasalle, Ontario
44	Nolan Pratt	L	2001	Fort McMurray, Alberta
54	Paul Ranger	L	2002	Whitby, Ontario

Forwards
Number

Player Shoots Position Acquired Place of Birth
0 Andreas Karlsson L C 2006 Ludvika, Sweden

4 Vincent Lecavalier - A L C 1998 Ile Bizard, Quebec

15 Nikita Alexeev L LW 2000 Murmansk, USSR

17 Ruslan Fedotenko L LW 2002 Kiev, USSR

18 Rob DiMaio R RW 2005 Calgary, Alberta

19 Brad Richards L C 1998 Murray Harbour, Prince Edward Island

20 Vaclav Prospal L RW 2005 Ceske Budejovice, Czechoslovakia

26 Martin St. Louis L RW 2000 Laval, Quebec

27 Tim Taylor - A L C 2001 Stratford, Ontario

29 Dmitry Afanasenkov R RW 1998 Arkhangelsk, USSR

34 Ryan Craig L C 2002 Abbotsford, British Columbia

76 Evgeny Artyukhin L RW 2001 Moscow, USSR

Forwards
Number	Player	Shoots	Position	Acquired	Place of Birth
0	Andreas Karlsson	L	C	2006	Ludvika, Sweden
4	Vincent Lecavalier - A	L	C	1998	Ile Bizard, Quebec
15	Nikita Alexeev	L	LW	2000	Murmansk, USSR
17	Ruslan Fedotenko	L	LW	2002	Kiev, USSR
18	Rob DiMaio	R	RW	2005	Calgary, Alberta
19	Brad Richards	L	C	1998	Murray Harbour, Prince Edward Island
20	Vaclav Prospal	L	RW	2005	Ceske Budejovice, Czechoslovakia
26	Martin St. Louis	L	RW	2000	Laval, Quebec
27	Tim Taylor - A	L	C	2001	Stratford, Ontario
29	Dmitry Afanasenkov	R	RW	1998	Arkhangelsk, USSR
34	Ryan Craig	L	C	2002	Abbotsford, British Columbia
76	Evgeny Artyukhin	L	RW	2001	Moscow, USSR

None

Team Captains

no captain 1992-95
Paul Ysebaert 1995-97
Paul Ysebaert & Mikael Renberg 1997-98
Rob Zamuner 1998-99
Bill Houlder & Chris Gratton & Vincent Lecavalier 1999-00
Vincent Lecavalier 2000-01
no captain 2001-02
Dave Andreychuk 2002-06
no captain 2006-present

Retired numbers

99 Wayne Gretzky (retired league-wide by the NHL)

1st round 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)

Franchise scoring leaders

These are the top point-scorers in the history of the Lightning. Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season. Note: GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points * = Active with Lightning

Player	POS	GP	G	A	Pts
*Vincent Lecavalier	C	547	181	221	402
*Brad Richards	C	408	107	261	368
*Martin St. Louis	RW	375	136	164	300
Brian Bradley	C	328	111	189	300
Fredrik Modin	LW	445	145	141	286
Chris Gratton	C	404	88	148	236
*Vaclav Prospal	C	242	65	149	214
Pavel Kubina	D	531	65	144	209
Rob Zamuner	LW	475	84	116	200
Roman Hamrlik	D	377	52	133	185
Alexander Selivanov	RW	304	78	77	155

NHL Awards and Trophies

Stanley Cup:

2003-04

Prince of Wales Trophy:

2003-04

Hart Memorial Trophy:

Martin St. Louis: 2003-04

Art Ross Trophy:

Martin St. Louis: 2003-04

Conn Smythe Trophy:

Brad Richards: 2003-04

NHL Plus/Minus Award:

Martin St. Louis: 2003-04 (shared with Marek Malik of the Vancouver Canucks)

Lady Byng Memorial Trophy:

Brad Richards: 2003-04

Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy:

John Cullen: 1998-99

Jack Adams Award:

John Tortorella: 2003-04