Well what do you know? It looks like I was wrong: there is a Stanley Cup champion this year after all and in spite of the winners being a team that I care very little for – and in spite of having some politics shoved in my face – I'm still grateful that we got to see some playoff hockey this year. Yes, Lord Stanley's Cup has gone to the Tampa Bay Lightning and as per tradition I'm going to give my take on what a best-of roster would look like for this franchise. But first, a brief history.
Thanks to the efforts of Hall of Famers Tony and Phil Esposito , the Lightning were founded in 1992, along with the Ottawa Senators. Despite an impressive inaugural season start – by the end of month 1 they were first in their division – Tampa Bay ended up finishing last in the league with 53 points. At the time however this was one of the best first season performances for an expansion franchise, especially one that had to contend with road trips as long as Tampa Bay's. This team's first few years were mediocre, as is often the case with new teams, but it was held together by some talented players like the high-scoring centre Brian Bradley and solid goaltender Darren Puppa. In their first ten seasons, the Lightning made the playoffs only once, losing to the Philadelphia Flyers in the opening round of 1996.
The late 1990's were a dark time for hockey in Tampa, whose team finished dead last in the NHL two years in a row thanks to some lousy trades and crippling injuries. Things weren't much better off-ice either in what I can only describe as one of the most bizarre NHL owner stories I've ever heard. The Lightning were originally owned by a Japanese group called Kokusai Green who were rumoured to be involved in the yakuza and using the struggling hockey club as a money laundering channel (the club was losing tons of money throughout the 1990's). Ownership was not very involved, to say the least, neglecting to support the team's operations, pay taxes, or even publicly reveal themselves as the Lightning's owners – Kokusai Green's owner Takashi Okubo never once met with NHL officials until 1998 nor did he ever attend an NHL game. The franchise was also heavily in debt too, moreso than any other major North American sports club at the time. The Lightning were sold to a new owner in 1998 who didn't know much about hockey, lost a bunch of money on this struggling team, and then promptly sold it in 1999. The third owner, William Davidson, had experience with sports teams and brought in a new GM who in turn brought in a new coach and some talented minor leaguers. But even this wasn't enough to revitalize the Lightning, who in 2001 became the first team to ever lose 50 games four years in a row.
But slowly Tampa Bay had managed to assemble some real talent. 1998 saw the drafting of future stars Vincent Lecavalier and Brad Richards. Martin St. Louis was signed in 2000, all-star goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin was acquired in 2001, and in that same year John Tortorella became head coach. The team's performance showed steady improvement in the early 2000's. In 2002-03 Tampa Bay finished 24 points better than the previous season, returned to the playoffs for the first time in seven years, and even won their opening round against the Washington Capitals only to be eliminated by the eventual Cup champions New Jersey Devils. Undaunted, the Lightning struck again the following year with their first ever 100-point season as well as their first ever Stanley Cup victory against the Calgary Flames. It was the perfect capstone to a season that saw Martin St. Louis leading the league in scoring and Tortorella winning the Jack Adams Award for best coach.
For the next couple years the Lightning were a competitive club but by 2007-08 much of the core that made up the 2004 team was either gone or in decline and thus a rebuild was needed. A new GM and new coaches were brought in but things didn't improve until 2010 when former Red Wings legend Steve Yzerman was made GM. After a flurry of acquisitions the Lightning hit the ground running in 2010-11, setting a new team record for wins and returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2007, losing to the Boston Bruins in the third round.
The following two seasons saw mediocre performance from the team who failed to make the playoffs. But the they returned to postseason contention in 2014 and since then Tampa Bay has been one of the dominant teams in the NHL, missing the playoffs only once and reaching the Eastern Conference finals (or better) four times.
Over twenty-eight seasons the Tampa Bay Lightning have made the playoffs twelve times, winning two Stanley Cups from three finals appearances. They've also won one President's Trophy and four division championships. Today I'm putting together what I think are the best players that have ever called Tampa Bay home. As always, only these players' achievements in Tampa Bay will be considered and I've only included players – apart from goaltenders – who played 240 games or more. Let's get into this.
Forwards
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| L-R: Stamkos, Lecavalier, Modin |
|
Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
|
Vaclav Prospal (2001-03, 2005-08, 2008-09) |
Steven Stamkos (2008-present) |
Martin St. Louis (2000-14) |
|
Ondrej Palat (2013-present) |
Vincent Lecavalier (1998-2013) |
Nikita Kucherov (2013-present) |
|
Alex Killorn (2013-present) |
Brad Richards (2000-08) |
Ryan Malone (2008-14) |
|
Fredrik Modin (1999-2006) |
Brayden Point (2016-present) |
John Tucker (1992-96) |
The top line is always reserved for a team's highest scorers so for left wing we've got Vaclav Prospal who had five seasons of at least 50 points, including two of at least 70. On the right wing there's the franchise's leading point scorer Martin St. Louis, a six-time 30 goals scorer and eleven-time 60 point scorer. And for centre I chose Steven Stamkos – yes, think he's better than Vincent Lecavalier – who twice led the NHL in goals. On the second line Ondrej Palat provides some solid passing as well as good defensive awareness (never a negative +/- season). Next to him is Lecavalier (5x30 goals and 8x60 points) and the high-scoring playmaker Nikita Kucherov who now has two 100 point seasons under his belt. The third line has some special teams ability from Alex Killorn, deft passing from Brad Richards (4x70 points), and a bit of toughness from Ryan Malone. And rounding out the fourth line is Fredrik Modin's defensive play, Brayden Point's goal-scoring ability, and John Tucker's capable passing. (Note: I had a hard time coming up with four worthy right wingers so I cheated: Ryan Malone is really a left winger.)
Honourable mentions: Brian Bradley, Tyler Johnson
Defencemen
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| L-R: Hedman, Boyle |
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Victor Hedman (2009-present) |
Dan Boyle (2002-08) |
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Pavel Kubina (1997-2006, 2010-12) |
Roman Hamrlik (1992-97) |
|
Jassen Cullimore (1998-2004) |
Cory Sarich (1999-2007) |
For the first defensive pairing I've chosen two Lightning defencemen who have the most notable offensive output. They are Victor Hedman (5x40 assists, 4x +20) and Dan Boyle (3x50 points). The second pair is made up of Tampa's old school blueliners. The first is the dependable rearguard Pavel Kubina who was able to occasionally chip in with some offence, while the second is the team's first ever draft pick Roman Hamrlik who used his grit and powerplay prowess to great effect in the 1990's. Jassen Cullimore and Cory Sarich make up the third pair with their solid stay-at-home defensive play that helped win the 2004 Stanley Cup.
Honourable mention: Anton Stralman
Goaltenders
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| Khabibulin |
|
Nikolai Khabibulin (2001-04) |
|
Andrei Vasilevsky (2014-present) |
This pick might upset some for sure but I believe that Nikolai Khabibulin is still the greatest goalie Tampa Bay has ever had (I also selected him as the backup for my all-time Winnipeg Jets team). Sure, Vasilevsky is an excellent stickhandler and has more shutouts and wins. Sure, the two have a similar save percentages and have both won a Stanley Cup. But I'm giving the edge to the “Bulin Wall” because his performance made the difference to a team that wasn't quite as dominant as today's Lightning. There's also the fact that he totally ruled the playoffs and spent more games and minutes (on average) per season between the pipes. Vasilevsky may have what it takes to be the best Tampa's ever seen but as of now Nikolai Khabibulin is still number one in my opinion.
Honourable mentions: Ben Bishop, Darren Puppa
