32 NHL Cities in 32 Days: Tampa Bay Lightning

Alexis Bazydola
May 27, 2020
6 min read

The Location: Tampa, Florida

Originally known as the Ice Palace, the Tampa Bay Lightning call Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida home. Seating just over 19,000 for a home hockey game, the Lightning have been the main tenants of the facility since it opened in 1996. The arena has also hosted various sporting events including NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball tournament games and the NCAA Men’s Frozen Four. Many entertainers have hosted concerts at the venue as well including Elton John, Post Malone, Phil Collins, Queen, Michael Bublé and many more.

Team History

Beginning in the late 1980s, two groups began to put together bids to establish an expansion franchise in the Tampa Bay area. One group, headed by Phil and Tony Esposito, was victorious and awarded the bid in 1990. They named the team the Lightning after Tampa Bay being known as the “Lightning Capital of North America.” Phil appointed himself president and general manager while Tony became the chief scout. Terry Crisp was brought on as the head coach.

The Lightning opened their inaugural season in October 1992. While they started the season off hot, they fell in the standings as they began to take long road trips. They would finish last in the league with a record of 23-54-7. The next few seasons the Lightning still struggled to find their footing in the league. Finally, in the 1995-96 season, the Lightning secured their first playoff berth. They would face the Philadelphia Flyers and eventually lose the series in six games.

With a new arena and new players on the team including Dino Ciccarelli and Chris Gratton, the team was ready to make another playoff run. Unfortunately, injuries plagued the team and the Lightning did not qualify for the playoffs. More injuries and roster changes caused the Lightning to continue to struggle in to the 2000s.

During their first few years as a franchise, money was also inconsistent for the team. The owner, Kokusai Green, was never around and never met with his management team. Many doubted his existence. The team was consistently short on cash and was put up for sale. Esposito was forced to make many trades just to keep the Lightning afloat financially. In 1998, the team was bought by Art Williams. Although it seemed that Williams wanted to keep some of the same structure in place on the management side, he fired the Espositos two games in to the 98-99 season. He gave head coach Jacques Demers full control of the GM and coaching role. 1998 also brought Vincent Lecavalier to the team through the draft.

After another less than stellar season and still declining revenue, Williams sold the team to the NBA’s Detroit Pistons owner William Davidson in 1999. Tom Wilson was appointed team president and Demers was dismissed. Rick Dudley was hired as the new general manager and Steve Ludzik was brought in as head coach. The team was still in such bad shape from when Kokusai Green owned the team that it posted back to back 50+ loss seasons in 1999-00 and 2000-01. Ludzik was replaced by John Tortorella in early 2001.

The 2001-02 season began to see improvements for the Lightning. After acquiring Nikolai Khabibulin in the previous season and Martin St. Louis having a breakout season before bowing out to injury, the Lightning were able to finish the season with 60 points for the first time since 1997. For the first time in team history, they broke the 90-point barrier in 2003 finishing with a record of 36-25-16. They also capture the Southeast Division title. They faced the Washington Capitals in the first round and won in six games. They then went on to face the New Jersey Devils but lost the series in five games.

The Lightning continued to improve in the 2003-04 season and finished with 106 points. In the first round of the playoffs they bested the New York Islanders in five games. Then they went on to sweep the Montreal Canadiens. Finally, they eliminated the Philadelphia Flyers in the Eastern Conference Finals to advance to their first ever Stanley Cup Finals. They would face the Calgary Flames and push the series to seven games. They would hoist their first Cup as a franchise. The season also included other awards including Tortorella being awarded the Jack Adams Trophy and Martin St. Louis winning the Hart Memorial Trophy and the Lester B. Pearson award.

After a lockout cancelled the 2004-05 season, the Lightning barely made the playoffs in 05-06. They were eliminated in the first round by the Ottawa Senators. The next few years the Lightning struggled competitively and were not able to make much playoff traction. In February 2008, the team was sold to OK Hockey LLC. With another disappointing season ending in 2008, the Lightning were awarded the first overall draft pick and selected Steven Stamkos. Tortorella was also fired during the offseason and Barry Melrose was announced as his replacement. Jay Feaster also resigned as general manager.

Melrose did not get off to a great start with the team and was fired. Rick Tocchet was promoted to the interim head coach. They still did not finish the season strong and were able to select Victor Hedman second overall at the 2009 NHL Draft. Midseason in 2009-10, the team was sold again to Jeffrey Vinik. Following another abysmal season, Vinik cleaned house and fired Tocchet and GM Brian Lawton. Steve Yzerman was hired as the new general manager and Guy Boucher as the new head coach.

In the 2010 draft the Lightning selected Brett Connolly. Roster changes were abundant during this offseason as the team looked to rebuild. For the first time since the 06-07 season, the Lightning returned to the playoffs in 2011. They eliminated the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round in seven games. They then went on and swept the Washington Capitals. They were matched up with the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference Finals but were eliminated in seven games.

The Lightning fell in to old patterns again when they finished the shortened 12-13 season with a 18-26-4 record. Boucher was dismissed in March 2013. Jon Cooper was announced as the new head coach. During the 2013 offseason, the team also bought out Lecavalier in order to reduce salary cap space. In 2014 behind a 101-point season, the Lightning qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2011. They were swept in the first round by the Montreal Canadiens.

In 2014-15, the Lightning returned to the Eastern Conference Finals after eliminating the Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Canadiens. They would face the New York Rangers and won the series in seven games sending them to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 2004. They faced the Chicago Blackhawks in the Finals but lost the series in six games.

Despite a dramatic 2015-16 season filled with injuries and contract disputes, the Lightning would still clinch a playoff spot. They faced the Detroit Red Wings in the first round and defeated them in five games. They would then face the New York Islanders and defeat them in five games. The Lightning returned to the Eastern Conference Finals yet again and faced the Pittsburgh Penguins. They pushed the series to seven games but were eliminated.

More injuries and roster moves in 2016-17 saw the Lightning just barely miss the playoffs by one point. The team was able to bounce back in 17-18 and win their division title. They returned to the Eastern Conference Finals yet again, but were eliminated by the Washington Capitals in seven games. In September 2018, Yzerman announced his resignation with Julien BriseBois taking over his duties. The 2018-19 season saw the Lightning named the Presidents’ Trophy winners but they were swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Columbus Blue Jackets. At the current season’s pause, the Lightning sits at 4th in the league with 92 points.

Fanbase & Traditions

The Tampa Bay Lightning have a regular National Anthem singer in Sonya Bryson-Kirksey who is accompanied by organist Krystof Srebrakowski. Another notable presence at Lightning games is their mascot ThunderBug. He is a lightning bug and is known to help lead the pregame ritual by accompanying the song “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC with his bass drum. The drum is to simulate that of a thunderclap. He also utilizes his drum throughout the game to help lead the fans in cheers.