Bringing Lord Stanley Back to the Bay and the Ride it has Been

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The Long Road Back

The story starts in 2004, about a decade after the NHL brought a professional team to Tampa Bay, when on June 7th the Bolts captured the Stanley Cup in game seven over the Calgary Flames. The first time a Florida team had ever earned the title of league champs up until recently. The rest of the 2000’s were filled with battles against the Devils and Canes eventually causing the Lightning to slide into single digit pick territory.

The season before “Captain” arrived saw a record be set by the boys playing in Tampa, a NHL-Worst 31 win season (Remember this for later). Way before the lottery system existed, Tampa was awarded the first pick for being last place in which we saw Canadian super star Steven Stamkos get selected over Drew Doughty (2-Time Cup Winner) and Zach Bogosian (Sound familiar? 1-Time Cup Winner).

The year after not much changed for the Lightning and they skated themselves into the 2nd overall pick for the 2009 NHL Draft. The tall, Swedish born defenseman drawing comparisons to the Chris Pronger and ranked as the top international pick, Victor Hedman, was selected by Tampa Bay the pick after John Tavares (As many Cups as you, zero).

The foundation has now been built with the 1-2 pick in back to back years giving the Bolts a young Canadian Super-star paired with the large, attacking defensemen. The years to come for the Bolts would prove to be a roller coaster ride of emotions as the head office worked to build back what existed in2004 and make improvements on lessons learned.

“The Montreal series last year stung,” Cooper said. “But that pales in comparison to what this feels like. This is going to leave a scar, no doubt.”

“The pilot light’s been lit to get back here,” Cooper said. “I’ll be looking forward to September.”

Joe Smith, Tampa Bay Times

Calling it a collapse would be an understatement. Calling it an embarrassment is perhaps more fitting. Regardless of how you look at it, though, the Lightning — once discussed as potentially becoming one of the greatest NHL teams ever — is out of the playoffs after just four games.

Josh Fiallo, Tampa Bay Times

After the heartache and humiliation from being swept by the Blue Jackets, the Lightning won the Stanley Cup in remarkably convincing fashion. You won’t see many teams win it all without facing elimination, but the Lightning did just that during this run.

James O’Brien, NHL on NBC Sports

“We’ve been knocking at the door for so many years,” coach Jon Cooper said. “And now to be able to do it, back to back, and it kind of cements this group as … well, they’re special.”

Eduardo Encina, Tampa Bay Times

The Lightning’s legacy will be one of redemption and resilience. Their season started with them playing in arenas so desolate they could hear their skate blades on ice. They endured strict coronavirus protocols, were isolated in their hotels on the road and played every game with a huge bull’s-eye on their backs.

Eduardo Encina, Tampa Bay Times

A team built on skill reinvented itself with grit. When it bought in on being a better defensive team, it became championship caliber. And in the playoffs, games are decided by how many goals a team prevents, not how many it can score.

Tampa Bay Times

The Bolts won their third Stanley Cup on July 7th, 2021 in which they captured back-to-back titles putting themselves into a selective club of only 7 other NHL teams, the back to back title club.

It has been 10,500 days since the Bolts played their first game and over 6,000 days since they won their first Stanley Cup.

4,800 days ago the Lightning set a NHL Record with a league low in wins just three years after winning a Stanley Cup and got the first pick in the draft.

2,200 days ago we all sat in front of our televisions or at a bar watching our hearts break as Chicago won the series 4-2 and hoisted the cup at their home rink in front of our Bolts

800 days ago the Lightning tied a NHL Record with a league high in wins and then proceeded to get swept in the first round.

282 days ago the Lightning won the Stanley Cup in an empty stadium during the middle of a national pandemic.

And now back to today, the Bolts are back-to-back champs. Stamkos and Hedman have fulfilled career long promises and cemented their legacy in Tampa to sit alongside 26 and 4. Kucherov, who has gone from a 7th round pick to a 1st line All-NHL player posting postseason and regular season point records, now has himself two Stanley Cups to build his case around NHL Greats. Coach Cooper, who was facing a city filled with doubt in 2019 now sits as the King of the Bay in 2021. The head office gets to take a lot of credit and “I told you sos”, with years of trades and transactions to build a roster, a team, a family that has perfected the game of hockey in these post covid years.