Tampa Bay Lightning

Tampa Bay Lightning
founding	December 16, 1991
history	Tampa Bay Lightning since 1992
Stadion	Amalie Arena
Location	Tampa , Florida
Team colors	Blue, white, black
league	National Hockey League
Conference	Eastern Conference
division	Atlantic Division
Head coach	Jon Cooper
Team captain	Steven Stamkos
General manager	Julien BriseBois
owner	Jeff Vinik
Cooperations	Syracuse Crunch ( AHL ) Orlando Solar Bears ( ECHL )
Stanley Cups	2004
Conference title	2003/04 , 2014/15
Division title	2002/03 , 2003/04 , 2017/18 , 2018/19

The Tampa Bay Lightning ( IPA : [ˈtæmpə beɪ ˈlaɪt.nɪŋ] ) are an American ice hockey franchise of the National Hockey League from Tampa , Florida . It was founded on December 16, 1991 and began playing at the beginning of the 1992/93 season . The team colors are blue, white and black.

The Lightning play their home games in the Amalie Arena and are - after the Florida Panthers  - the most southern franchise in the league. After the team was only able to qualify for the playoffs once in the 1990s, they made it to the top of the league at the beginning of the new millennium. At the end of the 2003/04 season they won the Stanley Cup as the first team to emerge from the NHL expansion in the 1990s .

history

Establishing the franchise

In 1992 the NHL decided to include two additional teams in the league: the Ottawa Senators and the Tampa Bay Lightning from Florida . Led by NHL legend Phil Esposito , Tampa Bay lobbied intensely for the space for an expansion team and was eventually awarded the contract. Phil Esposito was named president of the franchise and Terry Crisp , who had won the Stanley Cup with the Calgary Flames a few years earlier , was hired as coach. On October 7, 1992, the Bolts played their first NHL game and won against the Chicago Blackhawks 7-3. Chris Kontos scored four goals in that game. This is a record for goals scored per game that no Tampa player has ever broken. But the team finished the season with 23 wins and 54 defeats as the last of its division.

For the next season, the Lightning moved from the small Expo Hall to the larger Thunderdome in St. Petersburg, which had previously also competed with Tampa for the franchise. In the first game in the new stadium against the Florida Panthers , a record attendance of 27,227 was achieved. Tampa Bay finished last in the Atlantic Division with a 30-43-11 record. In the 1994/95 season only 48 games were played in the NHL because of a lockout and Tampa finished the season as sixth in the Atlantic Division.

First upswing, sporting and financial problems

The team, led by Brian Bradley , Alexander Seliwanow and Roman Hamrlík , which Tampa signed as the first pick in the draft in 1992, moved into the playoffs for the first time in the club's history in the 1995/96 season. The first round series against the Philadelphia Flyers was lost, but the Bolts set a new NHL indoor attendance record with 28,183 viewers in the Thunderdome. That record was broken at the 2003 NHL Heritage Classic in Edmonton .

Over the next few years, the team continued to appear in the media because of its owners, the Kokusai Green, a consortium of Japanese managers. It was thought that the head of this consortium, Takashi Okubo, did not show up in Tampa until 1998 and did not seem to have any interest in ice hockey. There were also rumors that the team was being used for money laundering by the Japanese yakuza .

In the 1996/97 season, the team moved to a real ice hockey stadium: The Ice Palace in Tampa was opened. However, many stars left the team as free agents , goalie Daren Puppa seriously injured his groin and management was unable to find an equivalent replacement for these team supports. From 1997/98 to 1999/00 three seasons followed, each with over 50 lost games per season. This made Tampa the first team in NHL history to lose more than 50 games in three consecutive years. In the 1998 NHL Entry Draft , the Bolts selected the talent Vincent Lecavalier in first place and Brad Richards in 65th place of the third draft round. Likewise, the team was sold to Art Williams by its owners in 1998 because the franchise had amassed more than $ 100 million in losses in six years. Williams was only brief owner of the franchise, which he sold to Detroit Pistons owner Bill Davidson in 1999 .

In the 2000/01 season, the Lightning continued to lose most of their games. Only Fredrik Modin , Richards and Lecavalier scored more than 20 goals. Tampa finished the season again from bottom of the division. On March 5, 2001 goalkeeper Nikolai Chabibulin was signed by the Phoenix Coyotes . With him came defender Stanislav Neckář in exchange for striker Mike Johnson and defender Paul Mara . Although Chabibulin only played two games, the team had a solid goalkeeper again after a long time with this change. At the end of the season, coach Steve Ludzik , who previously looked after the Detroit Vipers, was replaced by John Tortorella .

Way to the Stanley Cup

In 2002 , Tampa missed the playoffs for the sixth time in a row despite finishing third in its division. This third place was possible because Tampa had a secure backing in the gate in Khabibulin and the team made significant progress under the new coach.

The 2002/03 season started Tampa with seven games without loss in the season. Led by Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis , who made his breakthrough this season, Tampa won the Southeast Division by one point over the Washington Capitals . The Bolts managed to finish the regular season with over 90 points for the first time this season. In round one of the playoffs there was a clash with the Capitals. Tampa eventually won this highly competitive playoff series in 6 games and reached the second round for the first time. There they were eliminated after five games against the New Jersey Devils , who won the Stanley Cup at the end of the playoffs .

In the following season , Martin St. Louis was named the NHL's best scorer and MVP with 91 scorer points , head coach John Tortorella was named coach of the year and Tampa Bay was named the best team in the Eastern Conference and the second best in the Eastern Conference with 106 points League. In round one of the playoffs the Bolts defeated the New York Islanders 4-1, in round two the Montreal Canadiens with a 4-0 sweep . They met the Philadelphia Flyers in the conference finals . A close playoff series developed, which was only decided in the seventh game. Tampa won 2-1 in front of their own audience thanks to Chabibulin, who was able to save 31 shots, and reached the Stanley Cup final. The opponent there were the Calgary Flames . After five games, the series was 3-2 for Calgary. Martin St. Louis scored the winning goal in the second overtime of the sixth game and forced a decisive seventh game in Tampa Bay. In front of their own crowd, Calgary was beaten 2-1 thanks to two goals from Ruslan Fedotenko and the Tampa Bay Lightning won their first Stanley Cup. Brad Richards was named playoff MVP with the Conn Smythe Trophy and set a new record by scoring nine goals in overtime.

In the 2004/05 season , the Bolts could not defend their title, as the entire season was canceled due to a player strike and lockouts .

Sporty descent after the lockout

In the 2005/06 season , the reigning Stanley Cup winner reached the playoffs with 92 points, where he later lost to the Ottawa Senators in five games. In particular, top performers such as Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier struggled with average performances, only Brad Richards was able to convince with 90 points and received a nomination for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy after the season . After head coach Tortorella publicly criticized the goalkeeper duo around John Grahame and Sean Burke several times during the season, both left the club in the summer break of 2006 and were replaced by Johan Holmqvist and Marc Denis . The subsequent 2006/07 season was mainly characterized by the outstanding performance of attacker Lecavalier for the Lightning; he set new franchise records with 52 goals and 108 scorer points and was awarded the Maurice Richard Trophy as top scorer in the main round. The team struggled with mixed results during the first half of the season before stabilizing in January 2007 and ending the regular season in second place in the Southeast Division behind the Atlanta Thrashers . In the first round of playoffs, the team met the New Jersey Devils , who were defeated in six games.

In the following year , the Lightning denied a sportingly disappointing season and was one of the worst teams in the league for much of the season. Shortly before the end of the transfer deadline, an attempt was made to set new impulses for the rest of the season with profound personnel changes. Brad Richards, Johan Holmqvist, Václav Prospal and Jan Hlaváč left the club, a new goalkeeper Mike Smith and four attackers Jussi Jokinen , Alexandre Picard and Jeff Halpern were signed . Nevertheless, the Bolts did not succeed in improving the sporting situation, so they ended the season with only 71 points and missed the playoffs as the worst-placed team. This gave us the chance to win the Draft Lottery for the 2008 NHL Entry Draft and initiated the Seen Stamkos? in Tampa, as Steve Stamkos was considered the greatest talent in the draft. In fact, the club got the opportunity to be the first team to select a draft pick during the draft and secured the rights to Stamkos.

Stamkos in his first season for the Lightning (2009).

After head coach Tortorella was sacked due to the team's poor performance, Barry Melrose was announced as his successor in June 2008. Furthermore, Dan Boyle and Brad Lukowich were transferred to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Matt Carle and Ty Wishart . Boyle, whose contract in Tampa had only been extended for six years a few months earlier, then publicly complained about the actions of the Lightning, since he had previously been forced to use his non-trade clause (ie a clause that a possible barter within the League prevented) to give up. Tortorella also complained as a result of the lack of professionalism in the Lightning's management, which had arisen in the course of the acquisition of the franchise by the OK Hockey group of Len Barrie and Oren Koules and the unclear competencies at the club's management level. After General Manager Jay Feaster left the club due to interference by Barrie and Koules in sporting decisions, Brian Lawton took over his position. In the further course of the summer break, Andrej Meszaros of the Ottawa Senators and Olaf Kölzig , who should act as a substitute goalkeeper behind Smith, were signed up. Shortly before the start of the 2008/09 season , Lecavalier was appointed the new team captain. After a bad start to the season with only five wins from the first 11 games, Melrose was dismissed and replaced by the previous assistant coach Rick Tocchet . Tocchet was also unable to stabilize the team, so that at the end of the main round, with 66 points, they did even worse than last year. Despite the sporting misery, Tocchet was promoted to head coach and received a multi-year contract with the Lightning. The 2009 NHL Entry Draft secured the transfer rights to the Swedish defender Victor Hedman and signed Antero Niittymäki , Alex Tanguay and Mattias Öhlund some players with a lot of experience in the top division of North America. In the 2009/10 season , the team was much more stable than in previous years and was in the playoff ranks until February 2010, before losing the chance of making it into the playoffs with eleven defeats in the following month.

Rebuilding under Steve Yzerman

Finally, in the summer of 2010, there was a profound personnel restructuring within the club; Both Tocchet and Lawton were laid off by new owner Jeffrey Vinnik, who acquired the franchise in February 2010. Subsequently, with Steve Yzerman, a prominent successor to the position of General Manager was engaged , who in turn made Guy Boucher the new head coach of the Lightning. There were also some changes in terms of the team during the summer break. While Antero Niittymäki , Alex Tanguay , Kurtis Foster and Matt Walker left the club, Simon Gagné , Pavel Kubina , Dominic Moore and Dan Ellis were signed . In the 2010/11 season , the Lightning were able to convince over long stretches and in particular the offensive forces around St. Louis and Stamkos played a key role in the successful results of the team. After the All-Star Game in St. Louis and Stamkos for Team Lidstrom took part, the club presented the new logo and related kits for the in January 2011 2011/12 season before. Logo and jerseys are now primarily made up of blue and white, black disappears on both the home jersey and in the logo. To make the changes during the season and not, as usual, during the summer break, those responsible justified the fact that at this point (during the season) the attention of the fans is fixed on the team. The team finished the main round with 103 points, making it into the playoffs for the first time in four years. There you could turn a 1: 3 deficit in the series against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round and then met the Washington Capitals , which you defeated in four games. In the Eastern Conference final, they lost seven games to the Boston Bruins .

In June 2013 Vincent Lecavalier leaves the Lightning after 13 years.

In the summer of 2011 there were two significant departures with Smith and Gagne, while with the exception of goalkeeper Mathieu Garon there were hardly any significant signings. In the 2011/12 season , the team did not manage to build on the previous year's performance. Although Stamkos set a new club record with 60 goals and won the Maurice Richard Trophy as top scorer in the NHL for the second time , the Lightning missed the playoffs with 84 points. The following season began due to the lockout in January, with the team after a good start showed increasingly weaker performances and finally fell from the playoff ranks. As a result, head coach Boucher was fired in March 2013 and replaced by Jon Cooper , who previously coached the Syracuse Crunch farm team in the American Hockey League . After the goalkeeper duo around Garon and Anders Lindbäck could not convince in the course of the season, Ben Bishop was acquired from the Ottawa Senators shortly before the end of the transfer deadline ( trade deadline ) , who received Cory Conacher in return . At the end of the season they missed the playoffs again with 40 points, while attacker St. Louis received the Art Ross Trophy with 60 points as the player with the highest points of the past season. In June 2013, the management decided to buy-out the contract with long-time captain Lecavalier and justified this step by saying that it would give them more leeway with regard to the salary cap . The 2013/14 season started successfully for the Lightning and one again benefited from the strong offensive performance of Stamkos, before he broke his shin in the game against the Boston Bruins in November 2013 and was canceled until March 2014. Shortly after his return, St. Louis, who had previously expressed a wish to move to Yzerman, was transferred to the New York Rangers in exchange for Ryan Callahan . Then Stamkos was appointed the new team captain and was able to move into the playoffs with 101 points at the end of the season. There they underwent the Montreal Canadiens in the first round after four games.

In the summer break of 2014, the contracts of Callahan, Bishop, Ondřej Palát , Andrej Šustr and Tyler Johnson were extended, while another actor, Ryan Malone, was paid out early. Furthermore, with Evgeni Nabokov , Anton Strålman and Brian Boyle, three experienced players were engaged for the squad depth. In the pre-season, some of the hopeful talents such as Wladislaw Namestnikow , Cedric Paquette , Jonathan Drouin were able to recommend themselves and were in the NHL squad of the Lightning at the beginning of the 2014/15 season . Over the course of the season, the team impressed with their strong playful appearances and stood out in particular for their balanced storm series, with young games such as Johnson, Palat and Nikita Kutscherow establishing themselves as top performers. At the end of the season, the Lightning recorded a total of 108 points and met in the first round of the playoffs on the Detroit Red Wings , which could be beaten in seven games. Then they won six games against the Montreal Canadiens and met the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference final. With four wins from seven games they then moved into the Stanley Cup final for the first time since 2004, where they met the Chicago Blackhawks , which they lost 2: 4 in the series. In June 2015, Yzerman was named General Manager of the Year by the NHL. In terms of the team, there were hardly any changes during the summer break as Yzerman expressed his satisfaction with the existing squad and made the intended contract extension with Stamkos a top priority.

On the last day of the 2018/19 season , after a 6-3 win against the Boston Bruins, the Detroit Red Wings set the record for the 1995/96 season with the 62nd win in the regular season . After this outstanding main round, however, the team suffered a historic defeat in the first round of the 2019 playoffs with a 4-0 defeat against Columbus Blue Jackets .

Venues

Thunderdome, 1993–1996 home of the Lightning

Amalie Arena,
current venue

The Lightning have played their home games since 1996 in the Amalie Arena , a multifunctional arena with a capacity of 19,500 . Until 2002 it was called the Ice Palace. In 2002 the St. Petersburg Times bought the naming rights to the arena, these were valid until 2014. The company pays 25.2 million US dollars for the entire duration of 12 years. Since September 2014, the venue has been named after the mineral oil company Amalie Oil Company.

The first year the club played in the Expo Hall , which had a capacity of 10,425 for ice hockey events. For the 1993/94 season they switched to the Thunderdome . It was clear from the start that this could only be a temporary solution. The stadium, which was built for baseball and football, offered well over 25,000 spectators at ice hockey events, but the conditions were not ideal. In 1996 they could finally move to the Ice Palace and find their long-sought home there.

Farm teams

The Lightning, like all other NHL teams, also include teams in lower-class leagues , so-called farm teams . In the case of the Lightning, this has been the Syracuse Crunch in the American Hockey League since 2012 . The farm teams are often used in the NHL to prepare the young players and rookies for the NHL games. Like the other clubs, the Lightning draw their offspring through the NHL Entry Draft , through which the most promising young players enter the league every year.

The Tampa Bay Lightning Farm Teams Since 1992:

Period team league 1992 / 93-1995 / 96 Atlanta Knights IHL 1994 / 95-1995 / 96 Nashville Knights ECHL 1996 / 97-1997 / 98 Adirondack Red Wings AHL 1997 / 98-1998 / 99 Chesapeake Icebreakers ECHL 1998/99 Cleveland Lumberjacks IHL 1999/00 Toledo Storm ECHL 1999 / 00–2000 / 01 Detroit Vipers IHL

Period team league 2000/01 Johnstown Chiefs ECHL 2001/02–2002/03 Springfield Falcons AHL 2001/02–2004/05 Pensacola Ice Pilots ECHL 2003/04 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL 2003/04 Hershey Bears AHL 2005 / 06–2006 / 07 Springfield Falcons AHL 2005 / 06–2006 / 07 Johnstown Chiefs ECHL

Period team league 2007/08 Mississippi Sea Wolves ECHL 2007 / 08–2011 / 12 Norfolk Admirals AHL 2008/09 Augusta Lynx ECHL 2009/10 Colorado Eagles CHL 2010 / 11–2014 / 15 Florida Everblades ECHL since 2012/13 Syracuse crunch AHL 2016 / 17–2017 / 18 Kalamazoo Wings ECHL since 2018/19 Orlando Solar Bears ECHL

Achievements and honors

Sporting successes

Stanley Cups
2003/04
Presidents' Trophies
2018/19
Conference Championships	season
Prince of Wales Trophy	2003/04 , 2014/15
Division Championships	season
Southeast Division	2002/03 , 2003/04
Atlantic Division	2017/18 , 2018/19

The Tampa Bay Lightning celebrated their greatest triumph to date at the end of the 2003/04 season as the first team in the NHL expansion of the 1990s to win the prestigious Stanley Cup . Linked to this was the first win of the Prince of Wales Trophy .

There are also four division titles from 2002/03 and 2003/04 as well as 2017/18 and 2018/19. They also won the first Presidents' Trophy in 2018/19 .

NHL Awards and All-Star Team Nominations

Award	Surname	season
Art Ross Trophy	Martin St. Louis Martin St. Louis Nikita Kutscherow	2003/04 2012/13 2018/19
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy	John Cullen	1998/99
Conn Smythe Trophy	Brad Richards	2003/04
Hart Memorial Trophy	Martin St. Louis	2003/04
Jack Adams Award	John Tortorella	2003/04
James Norris Memorial Trophy	Victor Hedman	2017/18
King Clancy Memorial Trophy	Vincent Lecavalier	2007/08
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy	Brad Richards Martin St. Louis Martin St. Louis Martin St. Louis	2003/04 2009/10 2010/11 2012/13
Lester B. Pearson Award	Martin St. Louis	2003/04
Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy	Vincent Lecavalier Steven Stamkos * Steven Stamkos	2006/07 2009/10 2011/12
NHL Plus / Minus Award	Martin St. Louis ** Nikita Kutscherow ****	2003/04 2014/15
NHL Foundation Player Award	Vincent Lecavalier ***	2007/08
NHL General Manager of the Year Award	Steve Yzerman	2014/15
All-rookie team	Brad Richards Tyler Johnson Ondřej Palát	2000/01 2013/14 2013/14
First All-Star Team	Martin St. Louis Nikita Kutscherow Victor Hedman	2003/04 2017/18 2017/18
Second all-star team	Dan Boyle Vincent Lecavalier Martin St. Louis Martin St. Louis Steven Stamkos Martin St. Louis Steven Stamkos Martin St. Louis Ben Bishop Victor Hedman Nikita Kutscherow	2006/07 2006/07 2006/07 2009/10 2010/11 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2015/16 2016/17 2016/17

* together with Sidney Crosby
** together with Marek Malík
*** together with Trevor Linden
**** together with Max Pacioretty

Since the franchise was founded , a Tampa Bay Lightning player or coach has won one of the individual NHL awards 17 times . In addition, one player made it into one of the All-Star teams nine times and another into the All-Rookie team .

At the 1996 NHL Awards , Tampa Bay Lightning players and coaches were shortlisted for trophies for the first time. Goalkeeper Daren Puppa was nominated for the Vezina Trophy , while coach Terry Crisp was nominated for the Jack Adams Award . In 1999, John Cullen became the first player to win a trophy when he was awarded the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy . After the 2003/04 season , in which the team was able to win the Stanley Cup, numerous individual awards for the players followed. Martin St. Louis received four trophies and Brad Richards received two awards. The top scorer so far has been Vincent Lecavalier in the 2006/07 season with 52 goals and Steven Stamkos in the 2009/10 and 2011/12 seasons with 51 and 60 goals respectively.

Brad Richards managed to be elected in the 2000/01 season as the only one in the NHL All-Rookie Team . After Martin St. Louis was elected to the NHL First All-Star Team in 2004, three players made it into the Second All-Star Team after the 2006/07 season . St. Louis managed to be re-elected to the Second All-Star Team in 2009/10 , 2010/11 and 2012/13 .

NHL All-Star Game Nominations

year Surname 1993 Brian Bradley 1994 Brian Bradley 1996 Roman Hamrlík 1997 Dino Ciccarelli 1999 Wendel Clark 2000 Petr Svoboda 2001 Fredrik Modin 2002 Nikolai Chabibulin Brad Richards ** 2003 Nikolai Chabibulin Vincent Lecavalier Martin St. Louis Alexander Switow ** 2004 Martin St. Louis Pavel Kubina 2007 Vincent Lecavalier Martin St. Louis Paul Ranger ** 2008 Vincent Lecavalier Martin St. Louis Mike Lundin **

year Surname 2009 Vincent Lecavalier Martin St. Louis Steven Stamkos ** 2011 Steven Stamkos Martin St. Louis 2012 Steven Stamkos 2015 Steven Stamkos Tyler Johnson * Jonathan Drouin ** 2016 Ben Bishop Steven Stamkos 2017 Nikita Kucherov Victor Hedman 2018 Andrei Wassilewski Victor Hedman * Brayden Point Nikita Kutscherow Steven Stamkos Jon Cooper *** 2019 Andrei Wassilewski Nikita Kutscherow Steven Stamkos Jon Cooper *** * Cancellation due to injury ** Participation in the YoungStars Game or the Skills Competition *** Participation as a trainer

In the first years of the Lightning's existence, it was common for each team to have at least one player in the All-Star Game. Brian Bradley represented Florida in the first two games. In 1997 , Dino Ciccarelli was the first Lightning player to score a point with a template for Mario Lemieux . For the 1999 All-Star Game , Tampa Bay hosted the game. Fredrik Modin reach 2,001 four templates. The first goal scorer from the ranks of the Lightning was Martin St. Louis in his second participation in 2007 .

Season statistics

Abbreviations: GP = games, W = wins, L = defeats, T = draws, OTL = defeats after overtime or shootout , Pts = points, GF = goals scored, GA = goals conceded

season	GP	W.	L.	T	OTL	Pts	GF	GA	space	Playoffs
1992/93	84	23	54	7th	-	53	245	332	6th, Norris	not qualified
1993/94	84	30th	43	11	-	71	224	251	7th, Atlantic	not qualified
1994/95 1	48	17th	28	3	-	37	120	144	6th, Atlantic	not qualified
1995/96	82	38	32	12	-	88	238	248	5th, Atlantic	Conference quarter-finals lost, 2-4 ( Philadelphia )
1996/97	82	32	40	10	-	74	217	247	6th, Atlantic	not qualified
1997/98	82	17th	55	10	-	44	151	269	7th, Atlantic	not qualified
1998/99	82	19th	54	9	-	47	179	292	4th, Southeast	not qualified
1999/00	82	19th	47	9	7th	54	204	310	4th, Southeast	not qualified
2000/01	82	24	47	6th	5	59	201	280	5th, Southeast	not qualified
2001/02	82	27	40	11	4th	69	178	219	3rd, Southeast	not qualified
2002/03	82	36	25th	16	5	93	219	210	1st, Southeast	Conference quarter-finals win, 2-2 ( Washington ) Conference semi-finals defeat, 4-1 ( New Jersey )
2003/04	82	46	22nd	8th	6th	106	245	192	1st, Southeast	Conference quarter-finals win, 4-1 ( NY Islanders ) conference semi-finals, 4-0 ( Montréal ) conference finals, 4-3 ( Philadelphia ) Stanley Cup finals , 4-3 ( Calgary )
2004/05 2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2005/06	82	43	33	-	6th	92	252	260	2nd, Southeast	Conference quarterfinals lost, 4-1 ( Ottawa )
2006/07	82	44	33	-	5	93	253	261	2nd, Southeast	Conference quarter-finals lost, 2-4 ( New Jersey )
2007/08	82	31	42	-	9	71	223	267	5th, Southeast	not qualified
2008/09	82	24	40	-	18th	66	210	279	5th, Southeast	not qualified
2009/10	82	34	36	-	12	80	217	260	3rd, Southeast	not qualified
2010/11	82	46	25th	-	11	103	247	240	2nd, Southeast	Conference quarter-finals win, 4: 3 ( Pittsburgh ) Conference semi-finals win, 4: 0 ( Washington ) Conference final defeat, 4: 4 ( Boston )
2011/12	82	38	36	-	8th	84	235	281	3rd, Southeast	not qualified
2012/13 3	48	18th	26th	-	4th	40	148	150	4th, Southeast	not qualified
2013/14	82	46	27	-	9	101	239	215	2nd, Atlantic	Conference quarter-finals lost, 4-0 ( Montréal )
2014/15	82	50	24	-	8th	108	262	211	2nd, Atlantic	Conference quarter-finals win, 4: 3 ( Detroit ) conference semi-finals, 4: 2 ( Montréal ) conference finals, 3: 3 ( NY Rangers ) defeat in Stanley Cup final, 4: 2 ( Chicago )
2015/16	82	46	31	-	5	97	227	201	2nd, Atlantic	Conference quarter-finals win, 4-1 ( Detroit ) Conference semi-finals win, Conference finals 4-1 ( NY Islanders ) Conference finals lost, 4-1 ( Pittsburgh )
2016/17	82	42	30th	-	10	92	230	224	5th, Atlantic	not qualified
2017/18	82	54	23	-	5	113	290	234	1st, Atlantic	Conference quarter-finals win, 4-1 ( New Jersey ) conference semi-finals win, Conference-finals 4-1 ( Boston ) loss conference finals, 4-1 ( Washington )
2018/19	82	62	16	-	4th	128	319	221	1st, Atlantic	Conference quarterfinals lost, 4-0 ( Columbus )
total	2068	906	909	112	141	2063	5773	6298		11 playoff appearances 1 Stanley Cup win 24 series: 14 wins, 10 losses 137 games: 73 wins, 64 losses

¹ season shortened due to the NHL lockout in 1994/95

² season because of the NHL lockout 2004/05 failed

³ season shortened due to the 2012/13 NHL lockout

Franchise records

Selected player records of the franchise over the entire career as well as over individual seasons are listed below.

Career

Vincent Lecavalier is the most successful goalscorer in his team's history.

	Surname	number
Most games	Vincent Lecavalier	1037 (in 13 seasons)
Most consecutive games	Martin St. Louis	499 (November 17, 2005 to December 6, 2011)
Most goals	Steven Stamkos *	393
Most templates	Martin St. Louis	588
Most of the points	Martin St. Louis	953 (365 goals + 588 assists)
Most penalty minutes	Chris Gratton	828
Most shutouts	Andrei Wassilewski *	18th

* active player of the Lightning; Status: after the 2018/19 season

season

Brad Richards was the most successful rookie in the Tampa Bay Lightning jersey until 2018.

	Surname	number	season
Most goals	Steven Stamkos	60	2011/12
Most templates	Nikita Kucherov	87	2018/19
Most of the points	Nikita Kucherov	128 (41 goals + 87 assists)	2018/19
Most points as a rookie	Yanni Gourde	64 (25 goals + 39 assists)	2017/18
Most points as a defender	Victor Hedman	72 (16 goals + 56 assists)	2016/17
Most penalty minutes	Zenon Konopka	265	2009/10
Most wins as a goalkeeper	Andrei Wassilewski	44	2017/18

Trainer

Abbreviations: GC = games, W = wins, L = defeats, T = draws, OTL = defeats after
overtime , Pts = points, Win% = win rate

Surname	season	Regular season							Playoffs
		GC	W.	L.	T	OTL	Pts	Win%	GC	W.	L.
Terry Crisp	1992 / 93–1997 / 98 *	391	142	204	45	-	329	.421	6th	2	4th
Rick paterson	1997/98 *	6th	0	6th	0	-	0	.000	-	-	-
Jacques Demers	1997/98 * -1998/99	147	34	96	17th	-	85	.289	-	-	-
Steve Ludzik	1999 / 00–2000 / 01	121	31	67	14th	9	85	.351	-	-	-
John Tortorella	2000/01/2007/08	535	239	222	36	38	552	.516	45	24	21st
Barry Melrose	2008/09 *	16	5	7th	-	4th	14th	.438	-	-	-
Rick Tocchet	2008/09 * –2009 / 10	148	53	69	-	26th	132	.446	-	-	-
Guy Boucher	2010 / 11–2012 / 13 *	195	97	78	-	20th	214	.549	18th	11	7th
Jon Cooper	since 2012/13 *	508	305	159	-	44	654	.644	68	36	32

* Change during the current season; ** Interim trainer

For almost six years, management gave the first coach, Terry Crisp , time to form a new team in Tampa. Crisp had already worked as an assistant coach in the NHL in the 1970s and, after many years in the youth field, took over the Calgary Flames in 1987 . There he won the Stanley Cup in 1989 .

With his successors Jacques Demers and Steve Ludzik , the club management was not so patient. Only the fifth coach, John Tortorella , managed to form a team that could even win the Stanley Cup . Under his leadership, the team was able to end three seasons in a row with at least 43 wins, especially since Tortorella is the only Lightning coach to date to have reached the mark of 40 wins in one season. After a disappointing 2007-08 season that ended the Lightning in last place, Tortorella was sacked.

He was followed by Barry Melrose , who returned to the coaching business after 13 years of abstinence, but had to vacate his post after 16 games this season. His previous assistant, Rick Tocchet, was initially employed for him on an interim basis and later as a full head coach. Despite a significant increase in the season result in the 2009/10 season , he did not succeed in the first playoff qualification since the Tortorella era. After the season he was released and replaced on June 10, 2010 by Guy Boucher , who had previously successfully looked after the Hamilton Bulldogs in the American Hockey League .

General manager

Surname	season
Phil Esposito	1992 / 93-1997 / 98
Jacques Demers	1998/99
Rick Dudley	1999 / 00–2001 / 02
Jay Feaster	2002 / 03–2007 / 08
Brian Lawton	2008 / 09–2009 / 10
Steve Yzerman	2010 / 11–2017 / 18
Julien BriseBois	since 2018/19

With Phil Esposito , the team management hired an NHL legend as their first general manager. In the mid-1980s he held this position with the New York Rangers . He handed this position over to Jacques Demers in 1998 , whom he had brought on as a coach a year earlier. Demers brought the former judge Jay Feaster into his team, especially for legal issues . Demers only stayed for a year. As a successor, the club hired Rick Dudley, the general manager of the Ottawa Senators .

There was a disagreement between Dudley and Feaster because Dudley wanted to give up Vincent Lecavalier and Feaster did not support this. To the surprise of many, the management decided against Dudley and made Feaster, who had no ice hockey background, the new general manager. Feaster took on more management tasks and took Bill Barber as an ice hockey specialist . They rebuilt the team and were able to win the Stanley Cup in 2004 with the more physical style of play. After the end of the 2007/08 season , in which the team could not qualify for the playoffs, Feaster made his position available. The position remained vacant for the time being, and Vice President, Ice Hockey Business, Brian Lawton , took over from Feaster in late June 2008, before being officially named General Manager four months later.

After the 2009/10 season , the Lightning Lawton were on leave. As the new general manager, they hired Hall of Fame member Steve Yzerman , who had only led the Canadian national team as general manager to win gold at the Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver in February 2010 . Yzerman then looked after the team for eight years, during which the Lightning established themselves among the best NHL teams, before handing over the office to his previous assistant Julien BriseBois in September 2018 .

player

Squad for the 2019/20 season

As of December 26, 2019

No.	Nat.	player	Item	Date of birth	in org. since	place of birth
35		Curtis McElhinney	G	May 23, 1983	2019	London , Ontario , Canada
88		Andrei Wassilewski	G	July 25, 1994	2014	Tyumen , Russia
4th		Zach Bogosian	D.	July 15, 1990	2020	Massena , New York , USA
81		Erik Černák	D.	May 28, 1997	2017	Košice , Slovakia
55		Braydon Coburn	D.	February 27, 1985	2015	Calgary , Alberta , Canada
77		Victor Hedman	D.	18th December 1990	2009	Örnsköldsvik , Sweden
27		Ryan McDonagh -  A	D.	June 13, 1989	2018	Saint Paul , Minnesota , USA
44		Jan Rutta	D.	July 29, 1990	2019	Písek , Czechoslovakia
2		Luke Schenn	D.	0November 2nd 1989	2019	Saskatoon , Saskatchewan , Canada
98		Mikhail Sergachev	D.	June 25, 1998	2017	Nizhnekamsk , Russia
22nd		Kevin Shattenkirk	D.	January 29, 1989	2019	New Rochelle , New York , USA
71		Anthony Cirelli	C.	July 15, 1997	2016	Etobicoke , Ontario , Canada
20th		Blake Coleman	C.	November 28, 1991	2020	Plano , Texas , USA
		Barclay Goodrow	RW	February 26, 1993	2020	Toronto , Ontario , Canada
37		Yanni Gourde	C.	December 15, 1991	2014	Saint-Narcisse , Quebec , Canada
9		Tyler Johnson	C.	July 29, 1990	2011	Spokane , Washington , USA
7th		Mathieu Joseph	RW	0February 9, 1997	2016	Laval , Quebec , Canada
17th		Alexander Killorn	C.	September 14, 1989	2012	Halifax , Nova Scotia , Canada
86		Nikita Kucherov	RW	17th June 1993	2013	Maykop , Russia
14th		Patrick Maroon	LW	April 23, 1988	2019	St. Louis , Missouri , USA
18th		Ondřej Palát -  A	LW	March 28, 1991	2011	Frýdek-Místek , Czechoslovakia
13		Cédric Paquette	C.	August 13, 1993	2013	Gaspé , Québec , Canada
21st		Brayden Point	C.	March 13, 1996	2016	Calgary , Alberta , Canada
91		Steven Stamkos -  C.	C.	0February 7, 1990	2008	Unionville , Ontario , Canada
23		Carter Verhaeghe	C.	August 14, 1995	2017	Toronto , Ontario , Canada

Team captains

year Surname 1992-1995 no captain 1995-1997 Paul Ysebaert 1997-1998 Mikael Renberg 1998-1999 Rob Zamuner 1999-2000 Bill Houlder Chris Gratton Vincent Lecavalier

year Surname 2000-2001 Vincent Lecavalier 2001-2002 no captain 2002-2006 Dave Andreychuk 2006-2008 Tim Taylor 2008-2013 Vincent Lecavalier 2013-2014 Martin St. Louis since 2014 Steven Stamkos

In the history of the Lightning there have been ten different players who have held the office of team captain.

In the first three years of its existence, Tampa Bay refrained from officially assigning the office of team captain. It was not until the 1995/96 season that the team named Paul Ysebaert as a captain. Frequent changes followed after two years. The Swede Mikael Renberg was his successor and the first and so far only European to hold this office. After Rob Zamuner , three players shared office in one season. The veteran Dave Andreychuk was then again captain for several seasons and led his team to the Stanley Cup. The new captain Vincent Lecavalier wore the "C" on his chest in the past. After Lecavalier's trade to Philadelphia at the beginning of the 2013-14 season, Martin St. Louis held the captaincy.

Wayne Gretzky, wearer of the famous number 99 jersey

Members of the Hockey Hall of Fame

→ Main article : List of members of the Hockey Hall of Fame

So far, five Tampa Bay Lightning players have been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame located in Toronto, Canada . Striker Denis Savard played for the Bolts in the National Hockey League from 1993 to 1995 and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on November 13, 2000. Winger Dino Ciccarelli went on the ice for the Lightning from 1996 and 1998 and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on November 8, 2010. This was followed in 2017 by Dave Andreychuk , who was active in Tampa from 2001 to 2006 and won the Stanley Cup with the team, and Mark Recchi , who played for the Lightning in the 2008/09 season. The fifth and so far last Lightning player was Martin St. Louis in 2018, who also won the Stanley Cup with the team.

Surname	Recording date	position
Denis Savard	November 13, 2000	player
Dino Ciccarelli	November 8, 2010	player
Dave Andreychuk	November 13, 2017	player
Mark Recchi	November 13, 2017	player
Martin St. Louis	November 12, 2018	player

Blocked jersey numbers

→ Main article : List of blocked National Hockey League jersey numbers

So far in their franchise history, the Tampa Bay Lightning have officially banned two jersey numbers, Martin St. Louis' 26 and Vincent Lecavalier's 4 . St. Louis played for the Lightning for 13 years, winning the Stanley Cup in 2004 and holding the records for most assists and scorer points. He was officially honored on January 13, 2017. On February 10, 2018, he was followed by Vincent Lecavalier, who led the team as captain for five years, played the most games and scored the most goals.

In addition, Wayne Gretzky's 99 is no longer officially awarded throughout the league.

No.	Surname	Blocking date
4th	Vincent Lecavalier	February 10, 2018
26th	Martin St. Louis	January 13, 2017
99	Wayne Gretzky	February 6, 2000 (league-wide)

First-round voting rights

NHL Entry Draft

Surname year Draft position Roman Hamrlík 1992 1. Chris Gratton 1993 3. Jason Wiemer 1994 8th. Daymond Langkow 1995 5. Mario Larocque 1996 16. Paul Mara 1997 7th Vincent Lecavalier 1998 1. Nikita Alexeyev 2000 8th. Alexander Switov 2001 3. Andy Rogers 2004 30th Vladimír Mihálik 2005 30th Riku Helenius 2006 15th

Surname year Draft position Steven Stamkos 2008 1. Victor Hedman 2009 2. Carter Ashton 29 Brett Connolly 2010 6th Vladislav Namestnikov 2011 27. Slater Koekkoek 2012 10. Andrei Wassilewski 19th Jonathan Drouin 2013 3. Anthony DeAngelo 2014 19th Brett Howden 2016 27. Callan Foote 2017 14th Nolan Foote 2019 27.

Since 1992, the Tampa Bay Lightning had 24 draft rights in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft , including 13 in the top ten of each year.

Twice, in 2009 and 2012 , the team from the US state of Florida was able to select two players in the first round. In the Entry Drafts 1999 , 2002 , 2003 and 2007 , the Lightning had no right to vote in the first round, as they had given them in transfer deals before the event.

In the first draft in franchise history, the Bolts had the first right to vote and chose Roman Hamrlík as the first overall pick . In 1998, Vincent Lecavalier was selected as a later leader. Even Brad Richards , the same year selected in the third round, became a top player of the NHL. As the best scorer in the franchise, Lecavalier, together with Martin St. Louis and Brad Richards, led the previously unsuccessful Lightning 2004 to win the Stanley Cup . The two Russians Nikita Alexejew and Alexander Switow as well as the first round pick from 2004, Andy Rogers , could never live up to their draft position. In 2008, Steven Stamkos was selected as a talent who was already one of the best players in the NHL in 2010. Also in 2009, the Lightning had selected a talented player, the Swede Victor Hedman , who quickly fought for a regular place in the franchise's NHL squad.

NHL Supplemental Draft

Surname	year	Draft position
Cory Cross	1992	1.
Brent Peterson	1993	3.
François Bouchard	1994	8th.

In the NHL Supplemental Draft held from 1986 to 1994 , the Bolts had a total of three voting rights from 1992 to 1994.

At the Supplemental Draft in 1992 , the Lightning selected the defender Cory Cross as the first overall , who subsequently established himself as a regular in Tampa. A year later at the Supplemental Draft in 1993 , the franchise was entitled to vote in third position and secured the rights to winger Brent Peterson , who was also on the ice for the Lightning in the NHL. In the 1994 Supplemental Draft , the Bolts decided on an offensive defender and selected François Bouchard . The Canadian was denied the leap into the NHL. All three players were active in the German Ice Hockey League during their careers .

Franchise top point collector

The ten best points collectors in the history of the franchise by the end of the 2018/19 regular season and the 2019 playoffs .

Abbreviations: Pos = position, GP = games, G = goals, A = assists, Pts = points, P / G = points per game

Regular season Surname Item season GP G A. Pts P / G Martin St. Louis RW 2000/01/2013/14 972 365 588 953 0.98 Vincent Lecavalier C. 1998 / 99–2012 / 13 1037 383 491 874 0.84 Steven Stamkos C. since 2008/09 746 393 373 766 1.03 Brad Richards C. 2000/01/2007/08 552 150 339 489 0.89 Nikita Kucherov RW since 2013/14 447 188 274 462 1.03 Victor Hedman D. since 2009/10 696 94 324 418 0.60 Václav Prospal LW 2001/02–2002/03 468 127 244 371 0.79 2005 / 06–2008 / 09 Tyler Johnson C. since 2012/13 469 139 169 308 0.66 Brian Bradley C. 1992 / 93-1997 / 98 328 111 189 300 0.91 Ondřej Palace LW since 2012/13 427 93 194 287 0.67

Playoffs Surname Item GP G A. Pts P / G Martin St. Louis C. 63 33 35 68 1.08 Nikita Kucherov RW 65 29 32 61 0.94 Steven Stamkos C. 70 23 30th 53 0.76 Vincent Lecavalier C. 63 24 28 52 0.82 Tyler Johnson C. 68 24 27 51 0.75 Victor Hedman D. 84 7th 41 48 0.57 Brad Richards C. 45 18th 29 47 1.04 Ondřej Palace LW 67 21st 21st 42 0.63 Alexander Killorn C. 68 21st 20th 41 0.60 Dan Boyle D. 45 3 19th 22nd 0.49

Web links

Commons : Tampa Bay Lightning  - collection of images, videos, and audio files

• Official website (English).
• Tampa Bay Lightning on hockey-reference.com

Individual evidence

1. ↑ tampabay.com Lakes Stamkos? Not so much ( Memento of the original from February 18, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
2. ↑ nhl.com As expected, Lightning select Stamkos at No. 1
3. ↑ reuters.com Tampa Bay Lightning hire Melrose as coach
4. ↑ espn.go.com Lightning's Boyle waives no-trade clause, going to Sharks
5. ↑ tampabay.com Bickering Tampa Bay Lightning owners Oren Koules and Len Barrie on track for a messy divorce ( Memento of the original from February 18, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
6. ↑ sports.yahoo.com Tortorella calls new Tampa owners 'cowboys,' rips old franchise
7. ↑ cbc.ca Lightning GM Jay Feaster resigns
8. ↑ thehockeynews.com Tampa Bay Lightning name Vincent Lecavalier captain before training camp
9. ↑ espn.go.com Tocchet to take over as interim coach after Melrose gets fired
10. ↑ lightning.nhl.com Lightning Name Rick Tocchet Head Coach
11. ↑ tampabay.com Hedge-fund manager Jeff Vinik buys Tampa Bay Lightning ( Memento of the original from February 18, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
12. ↑ espn.go.com Time to bolt: Lightning fire coach, GM
13. ↑ lightning.nhl.com, roster changes
14. ↑ lightning.nhl.com: Lightning Unveil New Logo, Jersey Systems Along with Vision and Brand Aspiration
15. ↑ lightning.nhl.com: New Lightning Logo, Jersey, Vision
16. ↑ tampabay.com Tampa Bay Lightning Fire coach Guy Boucher
17. ↑ usatoday.com Lightning name Jon Cooper as coach
18. ↑ tampabay.com Lindback hasn't taken needed big step
19. ↑ sports.yahoo.com Lightning deal Conacher to Senators for Bishop
20. ↑ lightning.nhl.com Lightning To Use Compliance Buyout on Vincent Lecavalier
21. ↑ tampabay.com Lightning's Stamkos cleared to play Thursday against Sabers
22. ↑ nhl.com St. Louis, Lightning discuss future with team
23. ↑ espn.go.com Rangers acquire Martin St. Louis
24. ↑ cbc.ca Steven Stamkos becomes 10th captain in Lightning history
25. ↑ rawcharge.com Lightning make grand training camp cuts, bringing Syracuse Crunch roster into focus
26. ↑ cbssports.com Lightning find value where other teams are afraid to go
27. ↑ nhl.com Lightning's Yzerman voted GM of the Year
28. ↑ tbo.com Stamkos' contract No. 1 priority this offseason for bolts
29. ↑ kicker.de Unstoppable: Tampa Bay Lightning sets NHL record
30. ↑ andrewsstarpage.com, NHL Arena Naming Rights ( Memento of November 7, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
31. ↑ tampabay.com: Tampa Bay Times Forum has a new name: Amalie Arena Article from September 3, 2014
32. ↑ Tampa Bay Lightning: Lightning Enter Into Affiliation Agreement with ECHL's Florida Everblades
33. ↑ azhockey.com, list the farm team of the Tampa Bay Lightning
34. ^ Hockeydb.com, Tampa Bay Lightning Draft History