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144-743: The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts ) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida . The Lightning compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference . They play their home games at Amalie Arena in Downtown Tampa . The Lightning were founded as an expansion team on December 6, 1990, and began play in
288-419: A centre and two wingers : a left wing and a right wing . Forwards often play together as units or lines , with the same three forwards always playing together. The defencemen usually stay together as a pair generally divided between left and right. Left and right side wingers or defencemen are generally positioned on the side on which they carry their stick. A substitution of an entire unit at once
432-401: A penalty shootout . If the score remains tied after an extra overtime period, the subsequent shootout consists of three players from each team taking penalty shots. After these six total shots, the team with the most goals is awarded the victory. If the score is still tied, the shootout then proceeds to sudden death . Regardless of the number of goals scored by either team during the shootout,
576-575: A Stanley Cup contender, in the first round, the Lightning split the opening two games in Philadelphia before taking game 3 in overtime before a ThunderDome crowd of 28,183. This was the largest crowd for an NHL game, a record that stood until the 2003 Heritage Classic in Edmonton; and it still stands today as the largest crowd at a Stanley Cup playoffs game. An injury to Puppa in that game, however, would see
720-706: A buyer. Although William Davidson , longtime owner of the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA), was thought to be the frontrunner, the buyer turned out to be insurance tycoon and motivational speaker Art Williams , who previously owned the Birmingham Barracudas of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The team was $ 102 million in debt at the time the sale closed. Williams knew very little about hockey, but
864-620: A chance to overtake the Thrashers one final time and once again become division champions for the third time in team history, on April 6, 2007, in the final week of the regular season, the Lightning suffered a loss to the Florida Panthers , the night before the season finale in Atlanta. That same night, the Thrashers defeated the Carolina Hurricanes and subsequently clinched the division. For
1008-405: A chest protector, a goalie mask, and a large jersey. Goaltenders' equipment has continually become larger and larger, leading to fewer goals in each game and many official rule changes. Ice hockey skates are optimized for physical acceleration, speed and manoeuvrability. This includes rapid starts, stops, turns, and changes in skating direction. In addition, they must be rigid and tough to protect
1152-461: A devastating rash of injuries. Puppa developed back trouble that kept him out of all but six games during the season; he would only play a total of 50 games from 1996 until his retirement in 2000 . Bradley also lost time to a series of concussions that would limit him to a total of 49 games from 1996 until his retirement in December 1999. Center John Cullen developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma , and missed
1296-537: A forward. The seventh defenceman may play as a substitute defenceman, spend the game on the bench, or if a team chooses to play four lines then this seventh defenceman may see ice-time on the fourth line as a forward. A professional ice hockey game consists of three periods of twenty minutes, the clock running only when the puck is in play. The teams change ends after each period of play, including overtime. Recreational leagues and children's leagues often play shorter games, generally with three shorter periods of play. If
1440-539: A fourth-round draft pick in 2009 . Jan Hlavac , a regular contributor, was also traded, moving to the Nashville Predators in exchange for a seventh-round pick in 2008 . Defenseman Dan Boyle was re-signed to a six-year contract extension reportedly worth $ 40 million. However, after the trade deadline, the Lightning fared no better than they had throughout the entire season. After the February 26 trade deadline,
1584-450: A franchise cornerstone player for years to come. The Lightning were the worst team on the road in the NHL, winning only 11 games. Another showing of the team's poor play was the difference from the previous season's success in the overtime/shootout periods. In the 2006–07 season, the Lightning had one of the best extra period records, winning 15 games in either overtime or the shootout. However, in
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#17328480184791728-603: A franchise: a St. Petersburg -based group fronted by future Hartford Whalers / Carolina Hurricanes owners Peter Karmanos and Jim Rutherford , and a Tampa-based group fronted by Phil Esposito and his brother Tony , both members of the Hockey Hall of Fame . One of the Esposito group's key backers, the Pritzker family , backed out a few months before the bid, to be replaced by a consortium of Japanese businesses headed by Kokusai Green,
1872-534: A game is tied after regulation, then a 20-minute period of 5-on-5 sudden-death overtime will be added. If the game is still tied after the overtime, another period is added until a team scores, which wins the match. Since 2019, the IIHF World Championships and the gold medal game in the Olympics use the same format, but in a 3-on-3 format. In ice hockey, infractions of the rules lead to a play stoppage whereby
2016-412: A goal scored by the other team. Major penalties assessed for fighting are typically offsetting, meaning neither team is short-handed and the players exit the penalty box upon a stoppage of play following the expiration of their respective penalties. The foul of boarding (defined as "check[ing] an opponent in such a manner that causes the opponent to be thrown violently in the boards") is penalized either by
2160-556: A golf course and resort operator. Although it appeared on paper that the Karmanos/Rutherford group had more financial resources, it only wanted to pay $ 29 million of the $ 50 million expansion fee before starting operations. In contrast, the Esposito/Kokusai Green group was one of the few groups willing to pay the full $ 50 million fee up front. The Esposito group would win the expansion franchise on December 6, 1990, and name
2304-528: A larger blade and a wide, flat shaft. This stick is primarily intended to block shots, but the goaltender may use it to play the puck as well. Ice hockey is a full-contact sport and carries a high risk of injury. Players are moving at speeds around approximately 20–30 mph (30–50 km/h) and much of the game revolves around the physical contact between the players. Skate blades, hockey sticks, shoulder contact, hip contact, and hockey pucks can all potentially cause injuries. Lace bite , an irritation felt on
2448-443: A lower point total at this time of the season, with 40 points. On February 13, 2008, it was announced that Palace Sports & Entertainment had agreed to sell the Lightning to OK Hockey LLC, a group headed by Oren Koules , a producer of the Saw horror movies, and Len Barrie , a former NHL player and real estate developer. The Lightning were active during the trade deadline, similar to
2592-458: A minor or major penalty at the discretion of the referee, based on the violent state of the hit. A minor or major penalty for boarding is often assessed when a player checks an opponent from behind and into the boards. Some varieties of penalty do not require the offending team to play a man short. Concurrent five-minute major penalties in the NHL usually result from fighting. In the case of two players being assessed five-minute fighting majors, both
2736-478: A modern NHL dynasty within that time span. The Lightning also went to the conference finals in 2011. The franchise is owned by Jeffrey Vinik , and the general manager is Julien BriseBois . Jon Cooper has served as head coach since March 2013, and is the longest-tenured active head coach in the NHL. In the late 1980s, the NHL announced it would expand. Two rival groups from the Tampa Bay Area decided to bid for
2880-565: A month, behind Kontos' initial torrid scoring pace and a breakout season by forward Brian Bradley . However, it buckled under the strain of some of the longest road trips in the NHL—their nearest division rival, the Blues, were over 1,000 miles (1,600 km) away—and finished in last place with a record of 23–54–7 for 53 points. This was, at the time, one of the best-ever showings by an NHL expansion team. Bradley's 42 goals gave Tampa Bay fans optimism for
3024-436: A neck protector. Goaltenders use different equipment. With hockey pucks approaching them at speeds of up to 100 mph (160 km/h) they must wear equipment with more protection. Goaltenders wear specialized goalie skates (these skates are built more for movement side to side rather than forwards and backwards), a jock or jill, large leg pads (there are size restrictions in certain leagues), blocking glove, catching glove,
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#17328480184793168-535: A penalty, but was an infraction in the NHL before recent rules changes, is the two-line offside pass . Prior to the 2005–06 NHL season, play was stopped when a pass from inside a team's defending zone crossed the centre line, with a face-off held in the defending zone of the offending team. Now, the centre line is no longer used in the NHL to determine a two-line pass infraction, a change that the IIHF had adopted in 1998. Players are now able to pass to teammates who are more than
3312-409: A player may receive up to nineteen minutes in penalties for one string of plays. This could involve receiving a four-minute double-minor penalty, getting in a fight with an opposing player who retaliates, and then receiving a game misconduct after the fight. In this case, the player is ejected and two teammates must serve the double-minor and major penalties. A penalty shot is awarded to a player when
3456-476: A player who would be a cornerstone of the team for years to come. Williams was widely seen as being in over his head. Early in the 1998–99 season, the Lightning lost ten games in a row, all but ending any chance of making the playoffs. They ended up losing 54 games that year, more than the expansion Nashville Predators . By the spring of 1999, Williams had seen enough. He had not attended a game in some time because "this team broke my heart". He lost $ 20 million in
3600-590: A playoff spot. Unable to make a final push for the playoffs, they were officially eliminated from contention within the first week of April. The Lightning finished the season 34–36–12 for 80 points, fourth in the Southeast Division and 12th in the Eastern Conference. Steven Stamkos scored 51 goals in just his second NHL season, earning himself a share of the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy by finishing tied for
3744-702: A purchase agreement for the team and the leasehold on the St. Pete Times Forum. MacLean is the former president and general manager of the Columbus Blue Jackets and former head coach for both the Blue Jackets and the Florida Panthers. The group announced it planned to keep the team in Tampa, but the deal collapsed during the 2007–08 season. The Lightning struggled to maintain success during the 2007–08 campaign . Although
3888-568: A record of 36–25–16 for 93 points, breaking the 90-point barrier for the first time in team history. They won the division by just one point, giving them home-ice advantage in their first-round match-up with the Capitals. At season's end, coach Tortorella was recognized for his efforts by being named a finalist for the Jack Adams Award , losing out to Jacques Lemaire of the Minnesota Wild . In
4032-522: A record of 46–22–8–6 for 106 points, second-best in the NHL after the Western Conference's Detroit Red Wings—the first 100-point season in franchise history. The Lightning lost only 20 man-games to injury. In the first round of the playoffs, the Lightning ousted the New York Islanders in five games, with Khabibulin posting shutouts in games 1, 3, and 4. In the second round, the Lightning faced
4176-458: A season, with 95 (finishing with 108). The record was previously held by Martin St. Louis, who had set the record in the 2003–04 Stanley Cup-winning year. Lecavalier also broke the franchise's goal-scoring record, finishing with a league-leading 52 goals. The Lightning were busy during the final weeks before the NHL's trade deadline, acquiring wingers Kyle Wanvig , Stephen Baby and defenseman Shane O'Brien . Former first-round pick Nikita Alexeev
4320-415: A shot or pass play. Officials also stop play for puck movement violations, such as using one's hands to pass the puck in the offensive end, but no players are penalized for these offences. The sole exceptions are deliberately falling on or gathering the puck to the body, carrying the puck in the hand, and shooting the puck out of play in one's defensive zone (all penalized two minutes for delay of game). In
4464-616: A significant improvement in goals allowed (from 332 to 251), Savard was long past his prime and Klima's scoring was offset by his defensive lapses. The Lightning finished last in the Atlantic Division in 1993–94 with a record of 30–43–11 for 71 points. Another disappointing season followed in the lockout-shortened 1994–95 season with a record of 17–28–3 for 37 points. In their fourth season, 1995–96 , backed by Bradley's team-leading 79 points, second-year forward Alexander Selivanov 's 31 goals, and Roman Hamrlik 's All-Star year on defense,
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4608-492: A team losing a skater during regulation instead causes the other side to add a skater. Once the penalized team's penalty ends, the penalized skater exits the penalty box and the teams continue at 4-on-4 until the next stoppage of play, at which point the teams return to three skaters per side. International play and several North American professional leagues, including the NHL (in the regular season), now use an overtime period identical to that from 1999–2000 to 2003–04 followed by
4752-409: A tie occurs in tournament play, as well as in the NHL playoffs, North Americans favour sudden death overtime , in which the teams continue to play twenty-minute periods until a goal is scored. Up until the 1999–2000 season, regular-season NHL games were settled with a single five-minute sudden death period with five players (plus a goalie) per side, with both teams awarded one point in the standings in
4896-518: A website with the slogan "Seen Stamkos?" On July 4, 2008, Dan Boyle, despite coming off a recent contract extension, was traded (along with Brad Lukowich ) to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Matt Carle , Ty Wishart , a first-round draft pick in 2009 and a fourth-round pick in 2010 . Boyle was pressured to waive his no-trade clause by Tampa Bay's ownership, who said they would otherwise place him on waivers, where he would likely be claimed by
5040-462: Is a full-contact sport, body checks are allowed so injuries are a common occurrence. Protective equipment is mandatory and is enforced in all competitive situations. This includes a helmet with either a visor or a full face mask, shoulder pads, elbow pads, mouth guard, protective gloves, heavily padded shorts (also known as hockey pants) or a girdle, athletic cup (also known as a jock, for males; and jill, for females), shin pads, skates, and (optionally)
5184-410: Is also a penalty in certain leagues in order to reduce the chance of injury to players. Often the term checking is used to refer to body checking, with its true definition generally only propagated among fans of the game. One of the most important strategies for a team is their forecheck . Forechecking is the act of attacking the opposition in their defensive zone. Forechecking is an important part of
5328-459: Is called a line change . Teams typically employ alternate sets of forward lines and defensive pairings when short-handed or on a power play . The goaltender stands in a, usually blue, semi-circle called the crease in the defensive zone keeping pucks out of the goal. Substitutions are permitted at any time during the game, although during a stoppage of play the home team is permitted the final change. When players are substituted during play, it
5472-418: Is called changing on the fly . An NHL rule added in the 2005–06 season prevents a team from changing their line after they ice the puck. The boards surrounding the ice help keep the puck in play and they can also be used as tools to play the puck. Players are permitted to bodycheck opponents into the boards to stop progress. The referees, linesmen and the outsides of the goal are "in play" and do not stop
5616-422: Is ice hockey. While the general characteristics of the game remain constant, the exact rules depend on the particular code of play being used. The two most important codes are those of the IIHF and the NHL. Both of these codes, and others, originated from Canadian rules of ice hockey of the early 20th century. Ice hockey is played on a hockey rink . During normal play, there are six players on ice skates on
5760-528: Is if a team opts to pull their goalie in exchange for an extra skater during overtime and is subsequently scored upon (an empty net goal), in which case the losing team receives no points for the overtime loss. Since the 2015–16 season, the single five-minute sudden-death overtime session involves three skaters on each side. Since three skaters must always be on the ice in an NHL game, the consequences of penalties are slightly different from those during regulation play; any penalty during overtime that would result in
5904-403: Is the left wing lock , which has two forwards pressure the puck and the left wing and the two defencemen stay at the blueline. Offensive tactics include improving a team's position on the ice by advancing the puck out of one's zone towards the opponent's zone, progressively by gaining lines, first your own blue line, then the red line and finally the opponent's blue line. NHL rules instated for
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6048-457: The dump and chase strategy (i.e. shooting the puck into the offensive zone and then chasing after it). Each team uses their own unique system but the main ones are: 2–1–2 , 1–2–2, and 1–4. The 2–1–2 is the most basic forecheck system where two forwards go in deep and pressure the opposition's defencemen, the third forward stays high and the two defencemen stay at the blueline. The 1–2–2 is a bit more conservative system where one forward pressures
6192-566: The 1992–93 NHL season . The team has won three Stanley Cup championships: in 2004 , 2020 , and 2021 . Since 2015, the Lightning have reached the conference finals six times ( 2015 , 2016 , 2018 , 2020 , 2021 and 2022 ) and have made four appearances in the Stanley Cup Finals, winning in 2020 and 2021 and finishing as runners-up in 2015 and 2022 to the Chicago Blackhawks and Colorado Avalanche , respectively. Additionally,
6336-633: The 2008–09 season in the Czech Republic against the New York Rangers as a part of the NHL's regular season "Premiere" that selects several teams to open the regular season in Europe. Barry Melrose would record his first win as a head coach in over 13 years on October 21, 2008, with a 3–2 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers. However, the Lightning did not get off to a great start as hoped, and Melrose
6480-494: The Boston Bruins of the 1970s, including former linemate Wayne Cashman as an assistant coach and former Bruin trainer John "Frosty" Forristal as the team's trainer. The inaugural team photo has him flanked by Cashman and player Ken Hodge, Jr. , son of his other Bruins' linemate. In 1991, Angus Montagu, 12th Duke of Manchester announced that a company of which he was a director would raise millions of dollars in investments in
6624-641: The Detroit Vipers of the now-defunct International Hockey League . Davidson remained in Detroit, but appointed Tom Wilson as team president to handle day-to-day management of the team. Wilson immediately fired Demers, who despite his best efforts (and fatherly attitude toward Lecavalier) was unable to overcome the damage from the Kokusai Green ownership. Wilson persuaded Ottawa Senators general manager (and former Vipers general manager) Rick Dudley to take over as
6768-662: The Florida Panthers . Martin St. Louis led the team and the NHL with 94 points (his 38 goals were fourth-most after the 41 of tied trio Jarome Iginla, Rick Nash and Ilya Kovalchuk ), and won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player. St. Louis also won the Lester B. Pearson Award for the NHL's most outstanding player as voted by the NHL Players' Association , and tied the Vancouver Canucks ' Marek Malik for
6912-719: The Ligue Internationale de Hockey sur Glace , in Paris , France, the precursor to the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). The sport was played for the first time at the Olympics during the 1920 Summer Games —today it is a mainstay at the Winter Olympics . In 1994, ice hockey was officially recognized as Canada's national winter sport. While women also played during the game's early formative years, it
7056-562: The Montreal Canadiens ; Lecavalier, Richards, and Khabibulin led the team to a four-game sweep of Montreal. Next, they faced the Philadelphia Flyers in the conference finals. After a tightly fought seven-game series in which neither team was able to win consecutive games, Fredrik Modin notched the winning goal of the seventh and deciding game, earning the Eastern Conference championship for the Lightning and their first-ever berth in
7200-511: The NHL Plus/Minus Award . A season of superlatives was capped with one final accolade, as The Sporting News named general manager Jay Feaster as the league's executive of the year for 2003–04. The Lightning had to wait a year to defend their title due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout , but in 2005–06 , they barely made the playoffs with a record of 43–33–6 for 93 points in a conference where six teams notched 100 or more points. They lost to
7344-594: The Stanley Cup Finals. Their opponent in the final round was the Calgary Flames . The final round also went the full seven games, with the deciding game played in the St. Pete Times Forum on June 7, 2004. This time, Ruslan Fedotenko was the game 7 hero, scoring both Lightning goals in a 2–1 victory. Brad Richards, who had 26 points in the postseason, won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of
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#17328480184797488-537: The "Big 3" of Vincent Lecavalier , Martin St. Louis and Brad Richards , along with Vaclav Prospal , had performed up to expectations, they had little consistent play from supporting players. At the start of the All-Star Break on January 25, 2008, the Lightning had a 20–25–5 record, and with 45 points, were in last place in both the Southeast Division and the Eastern Conference. Only the Los Angeles Kings had
7632-457: The 1880s, and professional ice hockey originated around 1900. The Stanley Cup , emblematic of ice hockey club supremacy, was initially commissioned in 1892 as the "Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup" and was first awarded in 1893 to recognise the Canadian amateur champion and later became the championship trophy of the National Hockey League (NHL). In the early 1900s, the Canadian rules were adopted by
7776-485: The 18th and 19th centuries in Britain, Ireland, and elsewhere, primarily bandy , hurling , and shinty . The North American sport of lacrosse , derived from tribal Native American games, was also influential. The former games were brought to North America and several similar winter games using informal rules developed, such as shinny and ice polo, but later were absorbed into a new organized game with codified rules which today
7920-659: The 1930s, hockey was an on-side game, meaning that only backward passes were allowed. Those rules emphasized individual stick-handling to drive the puck forward. With the arrival of offside rules, the forward pass transformed hockey into a true team sport, where individual performance diminished in importance relative to team play, which could now be coordinated over the entire surface of the ice as opposed to merely rearward players. The six players on each team are typically divided into three forwards, two defencemen, and one goaltender. The term skaters typically applies to all players except goaltenders. The forward positions consist of
8064-405: The 1998–99 season alone, as much money in one year as he had estimated he could have reasonably lost in five years. Williams sold the team for $ 115 million—$ 2 million less than he had paid for the team a year earlier—to Detroit Pistons owner William Davidson, who had almost bought the team a year earlier. Along with the sale, the Lightning acquired a new top minor league affiliate; Davidson also owned
8208-416: The 2006 season redefined the offside rule to make the two-line pass legal; a player may pass the puck from behind his own blue line, past both that blue line and the centre red line, to a player on the near side of the opponents' blue line. Offensive tactics are designed ultimately to score a goal by taking a shot. When a player purposely directs the puck towards the opponent's goal, he or she is said to "shoot"
8352-475: The 2007–08 season, they won only three games, losing nine. Vincent Lecavalier suffered a dislocated shoulder as the result of an open-ice hit from Matt Cooke of the Washington Capitals in the game before the season finale in Atlanta. Lecavalier, who planned on having arthroscopic wrist surgery after the season's ending, would undergo surgery to repair his right shoulder as well. Cooke was fined $ 2,500 by
8496-477: The Atlanta Thrashers. In the fallout from the trade, Boyle would call Lightning ownership "liars" for misrepresenting the aforementioned events to the public, while former coach Tortorella later labeled them as "cowboys" and said he had zero respect for them. Frustrated at interference in the team's hockey operations by Barrie and Koules, seven days later, Jay Feaster resigned as general manager, despite having three years remaining on his contract. The Lightning opened
8640-463: The Bruins. After the firing of Melrose, the Lightning went 19–33–14 and would finish the season 24–40–18 with 66 points, their lowest point total since the 2000–01 season. With the second overall pick in the 2009 NHL entry draft , the Lightning selected Swedish defenseman Victor Hedman , who would also be another major part of the franchise for years to come. In the 2009 off-season, the Lightning removed
8784-467: The Lightning a "skating vaudeville show." Even in their first playoff season, the team was awash in red ink and Kokusai Green was looking to sell the team; however its asking price of $ 230 million for the team and the lease with the Ice Palace deterred buyers. A possible sale was further hampered by the team's murky ownership structure; many team officials (including Crisp) did not know who really owned
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#17328480184798928-453: The Lightning a financial nightmare, with a debt equal to 236% of its value, the highest of any major North American sports franchise. 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 would not result in much revenue for 30 years. It was also behind on paying state sales taxes and federal payroll taxes. Finally, in 1998, Kokusai Green found
9072-591: The Lightning against the St. Louis Blues , and stopped seven of nine shots. The Lightning played their first regular season game on October 7, 1992, in Tampa's tiny 11,000-seat Expo Hall at the Florida State Fairgrounds . They surprised the visiting Chicago Blackhawks , winning 7–3 with four goals by little-known Chris Kontos . The team rose to the top of the Campbell Conference 's Norris Division within
9216-465: The Lightning finally qualified for the playoffs, posting a 38–32–12 record for 88 points, ahead of the defending Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils for the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference by a single win. Due to his stellar play in net, Puppa was named a finalist for the Vezina Trophy (losing out to Jim Carey of the Washington Capitals ). Playing the Philadelphia Flyers , a team seen as
9360-561: The Lightning lose the next three games and the series. The Lightning moved into a new arena in downtown Tampa, the Ice Palace (later the St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa Bay Times Forum and now Amalie Arena ) for the 1996–97 season . They had acquired goal-scorer Dino Ciccarelli from the Detroit Red Wings during the 1996 off-season, and he did not disappoint, scoring 35 goals while Chris Gratton notched another 30 goals. The team appeared destined for another playoff appearance, but suffered
9504-416: The Lightning were thought to be very close to respectability. However, they arrived somewhat earlier than expected in 2002–03 . The young team was led by the goaltending of Nikolai Khabibulin and the scoring efforts of Lecavalier, St. Louis, Modin, Richards and Ruslan Fedotenko . Throughout the season, the Lightning battled the Washington Capitals for first place in the Southeast Division. They finished with
9648-468: The Lightning won only five games. Finishing with a 31–42–9 record, with 71 points, they had the highest chance of winning the top overall pick in the 2008 NHL entry draft through the draft lottery, which they eventually won on April 7. They would use their first overall pick to select Steven Stamkos of the Ontario Hockey League 's Sarnia Sting who, like Lecavalier before, was expected to become
9792-462: The Lightning won the Presidents' Trophy in 2019 after they tied the then all-time record for regular season wins in the 2018–19 season, tying the 62 wins of the 1995–96 Detroit Red Wings (later broken by the 2022–23 Boston Bruins ), and won eleven straight playoff series from 2020 to 2022. The team's sustained success in the time period from 2015 to 2022 has led some outlets to regard the Lightning as
9936-514: The Lightning's new general manager; Dudley, in turn, brought Vipers coach Steve Ludzik in as the team's new head coach. Wilson, Dudley and Ludzik had helped make the Vipers one of the premier minor league hockey franchises, having won a Turner Cup in only their third season in Detroit (the team had originally been based in Salt Lake City ). However, as had been the case with Demers, the damage from
10080-447: The Lightning, beginning in 2008–09. The next day, the Lightning officially introduced him as their new head coach. Steven Stamkos was selected first overall by Tampa Bay. On July 29, 2008, he signed an entry-level contract with the Lightning in which he could earn as much as $ 8.55 million in performance bonuses. Leading up to the start of the 2008–09 season , the Lightning centered their promotional efforts around Stamkos, including
10224-542: The Lightning, but his plans were unsuccessful and he was later convicted of wire fraud. The Lightning played their first preseason game in September 1992 against the Minnesota North Stars , and then turned heads later that preseason when Manon Rhéaume became the first woman to play in an NHL game, which also made her the first woman to play in any of the major professional North American sports leagues. She played for
10368-495: The Lightning, this meant having to settle for the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference with a final record of 44–33–5 (93 points). However, the Lightning were eliminated from playoff competition on April 22, after a 3–2 home loss to the New Jersey Devils in game 6 of the conference quarterfinals. Following their playoff exit, on August 7, 2007, Absolute Hockey Enterprises, a group led by Doug MacLean , announced it had signed
10512-716: The NHL for the hit, as Lecavalier did not have possession of the puck at the time. Perhaps the lone bright spot in the season was Lecavalier's winning both the King Clancy Memorial Trophy and the NHL Foundation Player Award for work through his foundation, including a $ 3 million pledge to All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida, for what would become the Vincent Lecavalier Pediatric Cancer and Blood Disorders Center at All Children's Hospital. Head coach John Tortorella
10656-490: The NHL lead in goals with Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby . During the season, the team was sold to Bostonian investment banker Jeffrey Vinik . Following the late-season collapse, Vinik cleaned house, firing both head coach Rick Tocchet and general manager Brian Lawton on April 12, 2010, one day after the season ended. In May 2010, Vinik hired Steve Yzerman away from the Detroit Red Wings front office to be
10800-410: The NHL, a unique penalty applies to the goalies. The goalies now are forbidden to play the puck in the "corners" of the rink near their own net. This will result in a two-minute penalty against the goalie's team. Only in the area in front of the goal line and immediately behind the net (marked by two red lines on either side of the net) can the goalie play the puck. An additional rule that has never been
10944-538: The National Hockey League, a number of leagues have implemented the "four-official system", where an additional referee is added to aid in the calling of penalties normally difficult to assess by one referee. The system is used in every NHL game since 2001, at IIHF World Championships , the Olympics and in many professional and high-level amateur leagues in North America and Europe. Officials are selected by
11088-585: The North Stars in 1988–89 . He was traded to the Boston Bruins on August 21, 1990 in exchange for the draft pick later used to select Dallas star defensive forward and multiple Selke Trophy winner Jere Lehtinen . Hodge's best season was with the Bruins in 1990–91 , when he scored 30 goals and added 29 assists, and was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team . On September 4, 1992, the Bruins traded him to
11232-615: The Ottawa Senators in five games in the first round of the 2006 playoffs . During the off-season, the Lightning traded Fredrik Modin and Fredrik Norrena to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for goaltender Marc Denis in an effort to replace the departing John Grahame , who had signed with the Carolina Hurricanes. However, free agent Johan Holmqvist would eventually receive the majority of playing time and most of
11376-596: The United States, he is the son of former Bruins star Ken Hodge . Hodge was selected by Minnesota in the third round (46th overall) of the 1984 NHL Entry Draft . He then played three seasons with Boston College , beginning his professional career in 1987–88 with the Kalamazoo Wings in the International Hockey League . He played three seasons with Kalamazoo, making his NHL debut with five games with
11520-415: The app determines that a particular impact has the potential to cause brain injury, it will alert the coach who can in turn seek medical attention for the individual. Defensive ice hockey tactics vary from more active to more conservative styles of play. One distinction is between man-to-man oriented defensive systems, and zonal oriented defensive systems, though a lot of teams use a combination between
11664-495: The blossoming of Lecavalier and Brad Richards into NHL stars. Ludzik was replaced in early 2001 by career NHL assistant John Tortorella . The March 5 trade deadline offered another glimmer of hope when the team acquired hold-out goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin from the Phoenix Coyotes for three players and a draft pick. The 2001–02 season , Tortorella's first full year behind the bench, saw some improvement. Martin St. Louis
11808-477: The blue and centre ice red line away. The NHL has taken steps to speed up the game of hockey and create a game of finesse, by reducing the number of illegal hits, fights, and "clutching and grabbing" that occurred in the past. Rules are now more strictly enforced, resulting in more penalties, which provides more protection to the players and facilitates more goals being scored. The governing body for United States' amateur hockey has implemented many new rules to reduce
11952-515: The club's wins. The first half of 2006–07 was inconsistent for the Lightning, maintaining an 18–19–2 record throughout the first few months. January and February were far better months for the team, going 9–4–0 in January and 9–2–2 in February, driving them back into the playoff race. Fourteen games in March were split even, and on March 16, 2007, Vincent Lecavalier broke the franchise record for most points in
12096-452: The event of a tie. With a goal, the winning team would be awarded two points and the losing team none (just as if they had lost in regulation). The total elapsed time from when the puck first drops, is about 2 hours and 20 minutes for a 60-minute game. From the 1999–2000 until the 2003–04 seasons, the National Hockey League decided ties by playing a single five-minute sudden-death overtime period with each team having four skaters per side (plus
12240-411: The final score recorded will award the winning team one more goal than the score at the end of regulation time. In the NHL if a game is decided in overtime or by a shootout the winning team is awarded two points in the standings and the losing team is awarded one point. Ties no longer occur in the NHL. Overtime in the NHL playoffs differs from the regular season. In the playoffs there are no shootouts. If
12384-538: The first round of the playoffs , the Lightning quickly fell two games behind in the series but followed the two losses with four consecutive wins for their first playoff series win in franchise history. However, in the semifinals, they went down in five games to the New Jersey Devils , who went on to win the Stanley Cup. The Lightning's dramatic improvement continued through the 2003–04 regular season , finishing with
12528-442: The first time anyone connected with the Lightning or the NHL even saw Okubo was in the spring of 1998. Esposito was forced into several trades just to keep the team above water. The team's financial situation was a considerable concern to NHL officials; rumors surfaced that the NHL was seriously considering taking control of the team if Okubo failed to find a buyer by the summer of 1998. Forbes wrote an article in late 1997 calling
12672-502: The front of the foot or ankle, is a common ice hockey injury. Compared to athletes who play other sports, ice hockey players are at higher risk of overuse injuries and injuries caused by early sports specialization by teenagers. According to the Hughston Health Alert, prior to the widespread use of helmets and face cages, "Lacerations to the head, scalp, and face are the most frequent types of injury [in hockey]." One of
12816-427: The game , too many players on the ice , boarding , illegal equipment, charging (leaping into an opponent or body-checking him after taking more than two strides), holding, holding the stick (grabbing an opponent's stick), interference, hooking , slashing , kneeing, unsportsmanlike conduct (arguing a penalty call with referee, extremely vulgar or inappropriate verbal comments), "butt-ending" (striking an opponent with
12960-411: The game when the puck or players either bounce into or collide with them. Play can be stopped if the goal is knocked out of position. Play often proceeds for minutes without interruption. After a stoppage, play is restarted with a faceoff . Two players face each other and an official drops the puck to the ice, where the two players attempt to gain control of the puck. Markings (circles) on the ice indicate
13104-406: The game. There are typically two linesmen who are mainly responsible for calling "offside" and " icing " violations, breaking up fights, and conducting faceoffs, and one or two referees , who call goals and all other penalties. Linesmen can report to the referee(s) that a penalty should be assessed against an offending player in some situations. The restrictions on this practice vary depending on
13248-401: The goalie). In the event of a tie, each team would still receive one point in the standings but in the event of a victory the winning team would be awarded two points in the standings and the losing team one point. The idea was to discourage teams from playing for a tie, since previously some teams might have preferred a tie and 1 point to risking a loss and zero points. The exception to this rule
13392-402: The goaltender carries a stick consisting of a long, relatively wide, and slightly curved flat blade, attached to a shaft. The curve itself has a big impact on its performance. A deep curve allows for lifting the puck easier while a shallow curve allows for easier backhand shots. The flex of the stick also impacts the performance. Typically, a less flexible stick is meant for a stronger player since
13536-404: The governing rules. On-ice officials are assisted by off-ice officials who act as goal judges, time keepers, and official scorers. The most widespread system is the "three-man system", which uses one referee and two linesmen. A less commonly used system is the two referee and one linesman system. This system is close to the regular three-man system except for a few procedure changes. Beginning with
13680-465: The head and most types of forceful stick-on-body contact are illegal. A delayed penalty call occurs when an offence is committed by the team that does not have possession of the puck. In this circumstance the team with possession of the puck is allowed to complete the play; that is, play continues until a goal is scored, a player on the opposing team gains control of the puck, or the team in possession commits an infraction or penalty of their own. Because
13824-559: The heads, as well as checks to unsuspecting players. Studies show that ice hockey causes 44.3% of all sports-related traumatic brain injuries among Canadian children. Some teams in the Swiss National League are testing out systems that combine helmet-integrated sensors and analysis software to reveal a player's ongoing brain injury risk during a game. These sensors provide players and coaches with real-time data on head impact strength, frequency, and severity. Furthermore, if
13968-557: The ice at a time, barring any penalties, including a goaltender . It is a full contact game and one of the more physically demanding team sports. The modern sport of ice hockey was developed in Canada, most notably in Montreal , where the first indoor game was played on March 3, 1875. Some characteristics of that game, such as the length of the ice rink and the use of a puck, have been retained to this day. Amateur ice hockey leagues began in
14112-458: The ice per side, one of them being the goaltender. The objective of the game is to score goals by shooting a hard vulcanized rubber disc, the puck , into the opponent's goal net at the opposite end of the rink. The players use their sticks to pass or shoot the puck. With certain restrictions, players may redirect the puck with any part of their body. Players may not hold the puck in their hand and are prohibited from using their hands to pass
14256-452: The ice. Loafing , also known as cherry-picking , is when a player, usually a forward, skates behind an attacking team, instead of playing defence, in an attempt to create an easy scoring chance. Ken Hodge, Jr. Kenneth David Hodge Jr. (born April 13, 1966) is a Canadian born-American former professional ice hockey player for the Minnesota North Stars , Boston Bruins , and Tampa Bay Lightning . Born in Canada and raised in
14400-417: The illegal actions of another player stop a clear scoring opportunity, most commonly when the player is on a breakaway . A penalty shot allows the obstructed player to pick up the puck on the centre red-line and attempt to score on the goalie with no other players on the ice, to compensate for the earlier missed scoring opportunity. A penalty shot is also awarded for a defender other than the goaltender covering
14544-420: The interim status of Rick Tocchet, making him the full-time head coach and signing him to a multi-year contract. The Lightning had an up-and-down beginning to the 2009–10 campaign. Despite an overmatched roster on paper, and a team that struggled in the first two periods of many games, the Lightning remained competitive in the playoff race until March, when they went 5–10–1 for the month and fell eight points out of
14688-422: The knob of the stick), "spearing" (jabbing an opponent with the blade of the stick), or cross-checking . As of the 2005–2006 season, a minor penalty is also assessed for diving , where a player embellishes or simulates an offence. More egregious fouls may be penalized by a four-minute double-minor penalty, particularly those that injure the victimized player. These penalties end either when the time runs out or when
14832-470: The last 12 games of the 1996–97 season; he would eventually be forced to retire in 1999. Decimated by these ailments, the Lightning narrowly missed the playoffs. They would not tally as much as 60 points again for five years. Most of the Lightning's early stars were gone by the 1998–99 season due to free agency and a series of ill-advised trades. Crisp was fired 11 games into the 1997–98 season and replaced by Jacques Demers . Though Demers had presided over
14976-455: 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, which folded along with the IHL in 2001), the Lightning lost 54 games in 1999–2000 and 52 in 2000–01 , becoming the first team in NHL history to post four straight 50-loss seasons. The lone bright spots in those years were
15120-482: The leading causes of head injury is body checking from behind. Due to the danger of delivering a check from behind, many leagues – including the NHL – have made this a major and game misconduct penalty. Another type of check that accounts for many of the player-to-player contact concussions is a check to the head resulting in a misconduct penalty (called "head contact"). In recent years, the NHL has implemented new rules which penalize and suspend players for illegal checks to
15264-492: The league they work for. Amateur hockey leagues use guidelines established by national organizing bodies as a basis for choosing their officiating staffs. In North America, the national organizing bodies Hockey Canada and USA Hockey approve officials according to their experience level as well as their ability to pass rules knowledge and skating ability tests. Hockey Canada has officiating levels I through VI. USA Hockey has officiating levels 1 through 4. Since men's ice hockey
15408-562: The locations for the faceoff and guide the positioning of players. Three major rules of play in ice hockey limit the movement of the puck: offside , icing , and the puck going out of play. Under IIHF rules, each team may carry a maximum of 20 players and two goaltenders on their roster. NHL rules restrict the total number of players per game to 18, plus two goaltenders. In the NHL, the players are usually divided into four lines of three forwards, and into three pairs of defencemen. On occasion, teams may elect to substitute an extra defenceman for
15552-435: The misconduct (a two-and-ten or five-and-ten ). In this case, the team designates another player to serve the minor or major; both players go to the penalty box, but only the designee may not be replaced, and he is released upon the expiration of the two or five minutes, at which point the ten-minute misconduct begins. In addition, game misconducts are assessed for deliberate intent to inflict severe injury on an opponent (at
15696-630: The new general manager on a five-year contract. Yzerman then hired Guy Boucher from the Montreal Canadiens organization to succeed Rick Tocchet as the head coach two weeks later. Yzerman's first off-season with Tampa Bay began with a splash. With the sixth pick of the 2010 NHL entry draft , the Lightning selected forward Brett Connolly despite a history of injuries while playing for the Western Hockey League (WHL)'s Prince George Cougars . On July 1, 2010, veteran blueliner Andrej Meszaros
15840-559: The next season; it would be a team record until the 2006–07 season. The following season saw the Lightning shift to the Eastern Conference 's Atlantic Division , as well as move into the Florida Suncoast Dome (a building originally designed for baseball) in St. Petersburg, which was reconfigured for hockey and renamed the "ThunderDome." The team acquired goaltender Daren Puppa , left wing goal scorer Petr Klima , and veteran forward Denis Savard . While Puppa's play resulted in
15984-417: The number of stick-on-body occurrences, as well as other detrimental and illegal facets of the game ("zero tolerance"). In men's hockey, but not in women's, a player may use his hip or shoulder to hit another player if the player has the puck or is the last to have touched it. This use of the hip and shoulder is called body checking . Not all physical contact is legal—in particular, hits from behind, hits to
16128-442: The officials' discretion), or for a major penalty for a stick infraction or repeated major penalties. The offending player is ejected from the game and must immediately leave the playing surface (he does not sit in the penalty box); meanwhile, if an additional minor or major penalty is assessed, a designated player must serve out of that segment of the penalty in the box (similar to the above-mentioned "two-and-ten"). In some rare cases,
16272-540: The other team scores during the power play. In the case of a goal scored during the first two minutes of a double-minor, the penalty clock is set down to two minutes upon a score, effectively expiring the first minor penalty. Five-minute major penalties are called for especially violent instances of most minor infractions that result in intentional injury to an opponent, or when a minor penalty results in visible injury (such as bleeding), as well as for fighting. Major penalties are always served in full; they do not terminate on
16416-413: The other, the opposing team gets a power play for the remainder of the time); this applies regardless of current pending penalties. In the NHL, a team always has at least three skaters on the ice. Thus, ten-minute misconduct penalties are served in full by the penalized player, but his team may immediately substitute another player on the ice unless a minor or major penalty is assessed in conjunction with
16560-405: The penalty is still assessed to the offending player, but not served. In 2012, this rule was changed by the United States' National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for college level hockey . In college games, the penalty is still enforced even if the team in possession scores. A typical game of hockey is governed by two to four officials on the ice, charged with enforcing the rules of
16704-499: The play is restarted at a faceoff. Some infractions result in a penalty on a player or team. In the simplest case, the offending player is sent to the penalty box and their team must play with one less player on the ice for a designated time. Minor penalties last for two minutes, major penalties last for five minutes, and a double minor penalty is two consecutive penalties of two minutes duration. A single minor penalty may be extended by two minutes for causing visible injury to
16848-411: The player is looking for the right balanced flex that allows the stick to flex easily while still having a strong "whip-back" which sends the puck flying at high speeds. It is quite distinct from sticks in other sports games and most suited to hitting and controlling the flat puck. Its unique shape contributed to the early development of the game. The goaltender carries a stick of a different design, with
16992-461: The players serve five minutes without their team incurring a loss of player (both teams still have a full complement of players on the ice). This differs with two players from opposing sides getting minor penalties, at the same time or at any intersecting moment, resulting from more common infractions. In this case, both teams will have only four skating players (not counting the goaltender) until one or both penalties expire (if one penalty expires before
17136-523: The playoffs; the Lightning had won all 31 contests in which he had scored a goal since the opening of the season. Tortorella won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL's Coach of the Year. Only three years after their last of four consecutive seasons of 50 or more losses, and in only their 12th year of existence, the Lightning became the southernmost team ever to win the Stanley Cup, an accomplishment since surpassed by
17280-564: The previous season. More notable trades included Vaclav Prospal's trade to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for prospect Alexandre Picard and a conditional draft pick. Additionally, former Conn Smythe Trophy winner Brad Richards and goaltender Johan Holmqvist were traded to the Dallas Stars in exchange for goaltender Mike Smith and forwards Jussi Jokinen and Jeff Halpern , as well as
17424-439: The puck carrier and the other two forwards cover the oppositions' wingers, with the two defencemen staying at the blueline. The 1–4 is the most defensive forecheck system, referred to as the neutral zone trap, where one forward applies pressure to the puck carrier around the oppositions' blueline and the other four players stand basically in a line by their blueline in hopes the opposition will skate into one of them. Another strategy
17568-406: The puck carrier in the neutral zone preventing him from entering the offensive zone. Body checking is using one's shoulder or hip to strike an opponent who has the puck or who is the last to have touched it (the last person to have touched the puck is still legally "in possession" of it, although a penalty is generally called if he is checked more than two seconds after his last touch). Body checking
17712-405: The puck in the goal crease, a goaltender intentionally displacing his own goal posts during a breakaway to avoid a goal, a defender intentionally displacing his own goal posts when there is less than two minutes to play in regulation time or at any point during overtime, or a player or coach intentionally throwing a stick or other object at the puck or the puck carrier and the throwing action disrupts
17856-443: The puck to their teammates unless they are in the defensive zone. Players can knock a puck out of the air with their hands to themselves. Players are prohibited from kicking the puck into the opponent's goal, though unintentional redirections off the skate are permitted. Players may not intentionally bat the puck into the net with their hands. Hockey is an off-side game, meaning that forward passes are allowed, unlike in rugby. Before
18000-409: The puck. A deflection is a shot that redirects a shot or a pass towards the goal from another player, by allowing the puck to strike the stick and carom towards the goal. A one-timer is a shot struck directly off a pass, without receiving the pass and shooting in two separate actions. Headmanning the puck , also known as breaking out , is the tactic of rapidly passing to the player farthest down
18144-432: The resurgence of the Detroit Red Wings in the 1980s and helmed a Stanley Cup run with the Montreal Canadiens in 1993, he was unable to change the team's fortunes and the Lightning ended up losing 55 games. That team's .268 winning percentage is still the worst in franchise history. By most accounts, the Lightning's plunge to the bottom of the NHL was due to inattentive ownership by Kokusai Green. Rumors abounded as early as
18288-418: The right side" (of the puck). Another popular concept in ice hockey defensive tactics is that of playing a 200-foot game . An important defensive tactic is checking—attempting to take the puck from an opponent or to remove the opponent from play. Stick checking , sweep checking , and poke checking are legal uses of the stick to obtain possession of the puck. The neutral zone trap is designed to isolate
18432-422: The season, was fired and replaced by his assistant, Jay Feaster . Still the Lightning showed some signs of life, earning more than 60 points for the first time since 1997. Tortorella stripped Lecavalier of the captaincy due to contract negotiations that had made the young center miss the start of the season. With a young core of players led by Vincent Lecavalier, Brad Richards, Martin St. Louis and Fredrik Modin ,
18576-547: The signing of forwards Sean Bergenheim , Dominic Moore and Marc-Antoine Pouliot , along with defensemen Brett Clark , Randy Jones and Pavel Kubina and goaltender Dan Ellis , as well as the re-signing of restricted free agent forward Steve Downie to a two-year, $ 3.7 million deal. Ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates , usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to
18720-544: The skater's feet from contact with other skaters, sticks, pucks, the boards, and the ice itself. Rigidity also improves the overall manoeuvrability of the skate. Blade length, thickness (width), and curvature (rocker/radius) (front to back) and radius of hollow (across the blade width) are quite different from speed or figure skates. Hockey players usually adjust these parameters based on their skill level, position, and body type. The blade width of most skates are about 1 ⁄ 8 inch (3.2 mm) thick. Each player other than
18864-413: The sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey . Two opposing teams use ice hockey sticks to control, advance, and shoot a vulcanized rubber hockey puck into the other team's net. Each goal is worth one point. The team with the highest score after an hour of playing time is declared the winner; ties are broken in overtime or a shootout . In a formal game, each team has six skaters on
19008-407: The team on which the penalty was called cannot control the puck without stopping play, it is impossible for them to score a goal. In these cases, the team in possession of the puck can pull the goalie for an extra attacker without fear of being scored on. It is possible for the controlling team to mishandle the puck into their own net. If a delayed penalty is signalled and the team in possession scores,
19152-438: The team the Lightning, after Tampa Bay's status as the "Lightning Capital of North America". Phil Esposito assigned himself president and general manager, while Tony became chief scout. 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 , was tapped as the first head coach. Phil Esposito also hired former teammates from
19296-493: The team's second season that the Lightning were on the brink of bankruptcy and that the team was part of a money laundering scheme for the yakuza (Japanese crime families). Its scouting operation consisted of Tony Esposito and several satellite dishes. The Internal Revenue Service investigated the team in 1994 and 1995, and nearly threatened to put a tax lien on the franchise for $ 750,000 in back taxes. The situation led longtime NHL broadcaster and writer Stan Fischler to call
19440-521: The team. Kokusai Green's owner, Takashi Okubo, had never met with the Espositos or with NHL officials in person prior to being awarded the Lightning franchise, and never watched his team play during his seven years as owner. Nearly all of Kokusai Green's investment in the team and the Ice Palace came in the form of loans, leaving the team constantly short of cash. At least one prospective buyer pulled out after expressing doubts that Okubo even existed. In fact,
19584-399: The two. Defensive skills involve pass interception , shot blocking , and stick checking (in which an attempt to take away the puck or cut off the puck lane is initiated by the stick of the defensive player). Tactical points of emphasis in ice hockey defensive play are concepts like "managing gaps" (gap control), "boxing out"' (not letting the offensive team go on the inside), and "staying on
19728-498: The victimized player. This is usually when blood is drawn during high sticking. Players may be also assessed personal extended penalties or game expulsions for misconduct in addition to the penalty or penalties their team must serve. The team that has been given a penalty is said to be playing short-handed while the opposing team is on a power play . A two-minute minor penalty is often charged for lesser infractions such as tripping , elbowing , roughing , high-sticking , delay of
19872-479: Was eventually fired by the Lightning with a 5–7–4 record. Rick Tocchet , who had been hired as assistant coach during the previous off-season, was promoted to interim head coach. On March 4, veterans Mark Recchi and Olaf Kolzig were traded by the Tampa Bay Lightning to the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs , respectively. The Lightning acquired top round picks Matt Lashoff and Martins Karsums from
20016-464: Was fired by the Lightning following their worst season since Tortorella was hired. At the time working as an NHL analyst for ESPN , Barry Melrose stated on June 4 during an episode of Pardon the Interruption that he missed coaching and would entertain any NHL coaching offers. He stated, "I miss not having a dog in the fight." On June 23, ESPN reported Melrose had been chosen to be the head coach of
20160-471: Was having a breakout season when he broke his leg in game number 47 and was lost for the remainder of the season. Khabibulin recorded a shut out at the NHL All-Star Game but was not named its MVP , by all accounts due to the game's voting protocol. By mid-February, the Lightning were well out of playoff contention and were sinking under a rash of injuries. Dudley, who had guaranteed a playoff berth before
20304-436: Was not until organizers began to officially remove body checking from female ice hockey beginning in the mid-1980s that it began to gain greater popularity, which by then had spread to Europe and a variety of other countries. The first IIHF Women's World Championship was held in 1990, and women's play was introduced into the Olympics in 1998 . Ice hockey is believed to have evolved from simple stick and ball games played in
20448-595: Was traded on deadline day to the Chicago Blackhawks. Other mid-season additions to the team included Filip Kuba , Luke Richardson and Doug Janik . Veteran Andre Roy , who had won the Stanley Cup with the Lightning in 2004, was claimed off waivers from the Pittsburgh Penguins . Throughout March, the Lightning had been competing with the Atlanta Thrashers for first place in the Southeast Division. With
20592-518: Was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for their second-round pick in 2011 . Later that day, the Lightning signed star winger Martin St. Louis to a four-year, $ 22.5 million contract extension to come into effect on July 1, 2011. On July 19, in another move with the Flyers organization, the Lightning traded defenseman Matt Walker and Tampa Bay's fourth-round pick in 2011 for high-scoring winger Simon Gagne . Other off-season acquisitions included
20736-471: Was very visible and outspoken, and immediately pumped an additional $ 6 million into the team's payroll. He also cleared most of the debt from the Kokusai Green era. After taking control, Williams publicly assured the Espositos that their jobs were safe, only to fire them two games into the 1998–99 season. He then gave Demers complete control of hockey operations as both coach and general manager. The Lightning drafted Vincent Lecavalier first overall in 1998,
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