THE NEXT CHAPTER
Photo Illustration by
Fearless or foolish? You be the judge
There are plenty of questions about this year’s team. Here are three things we’ll bank on.
TAMPA — For the first time in a long time, casual Lightning fans might need a roster to familiarize themselves with several new faces.
What might be more jarring is watching a Lightning team without the likes of Steven Stamkos and Mikhail Sergachev, two fan favorites who were fixtures on Tampa Bay’s Stanley Cup run teams.
But after consecutive first-round playoff exits, this offseason was one of transition. The organization’s front office had to make some hard roster choices
in order to — in their eyes — make the Lightning a tougher postseason out now, while trying to ensure that the team keeps competing for Cups for the foreseeable future.
They had to get better defensively, and the addition of Jake Guentzel and return of Ryan McDonagh address that. Much of the star core remains. Still, there are many questions about how a team with more new players — and returning ones in different roles — will mesh in 2024-25.
Here we attempt to address some of those questions with three bold predictions for the upcoming season.
LUIS SANTANA | Times
The Lightning brought on Jake Guentzel after declining to negotiate with Stamkos, but they’re still trying to find the right pieces to a power play that led the league.
Nikita Kucherov scores 50 goals
It’s easy to forget how much Kucherov carried the Lightning offense through the first half of last season, scoring 28 of his career-high 44 goals in his first 40 games. He took it upon himself to shoot more, and he was shooting from everywhere. Part of that was because the Lightning’s early-season mentality seemed to be that they had to outscore opponents without safety valve Andrei Vasilevskiy in net for nearly the first two months.
But from that point on, Kucherov focused more on setting up his teammates as he went on to become the fifth player in league history to record 100 assists in a season. He cut down on his shooting; just 41.8 of his career-high 307 shots on goal came in the final 42 games of the regular season.
Conor Geekie makes a major impact
The Lightning like what they’ve seen in Geekie in the preseason, and regardless of whether he’s on the opening night roster, it’s only a matter of time before he’s with the NHL team to stay.
There’s no question that he could probably benefit from some more seasoning in the AHL, but Geekie already brings the kind of well-rounded game that makes the Lightning a better team.
If the Lightning learned anything from last season it’s that an injection of youth into the lineup can provide a spark. And there’s no player more prepared to do that than Geekie. And it’s not because of what he can be — a top-six centerman with size who can skate and score, possess the puck, play in the dirty areas and play strong defense. But it’s what he is now, a hungry 20-year-old willing to do whatever
zero doubt that
Power play will be a work in progress
You just don’t easily replace a player like Stamkos, and unfortunately for the Lightning, they’ll go into the season still uncertain about how to re-invent the power play without him.
The power play was the Lightning’s greatest strength last season, and its 28.6% success rate was the best in the league. Stamkos’ 19 power-play goals were tied for third most in the league. Over the past seven seasons, Stamkos’ 103 power-play goals trail only Leon Draisaitl’s 130. Opponents knew Stamkos’ patented one-timer from the left circle was coming, but still couldn’t stop it.
In the preseason, the Lightning experimented with several looks. Once Stamkos’ departure became official, assistant coach Jeff Halpern was in the lab and talking to
Right wing Nikita Kucherov had an unforgettable 2023-24 season with a career-high 44 goals. Who’s to say he won’t top that?
Kucherov becoming more of a distributor also correlated with the
it takes to make an impact.
A lot of prospects struggle to fit in when they get to the NHL, being relegated to bottom-six lines because they’re so used to scoring in the AHL rather than playing complementary checking-line roles. But you only need look to Mitchell Chaffee’s success to see how a player can find a home in the NHL by doing the little things well.
Geekie was an accomplished scorer in juniors — 49 goals and 108 points in his final season — and he plays with a lot of confidence; he’s not afraid to put the game on his stick. The Lightning embrace that kind of swagger. And Geekie has shown that he can add toughness and snarl that the Lightning could use more of. There’s a lot to be excited about when it comes to his future.
Contact Eduardo A. Encina at eencina@tampabay.com. Follow @EddieintheYard.
strong second half as they solidified their way into a
players to prepare them for different roles. Nikita Kucherov and Brandon Hagel worked together for two months, swapping between the left and right circle. And as one of the team’s only heavy right-shot options, defenseman Darren Raddysh spent the summer working on his slap shot from the left circle.
A lot of work has gone into trying to find the right solution, but the short preseason slate of games don’t offer enough time to experiment, and practice reps don’t replicate the feel.
And again: Replacing a legend doesn’t happen overnight.
So don’t be surprised if the Lightning are still showing a bunch of different looks early in the season. One of the reasons the power play was so good was because of the comfort that came with years of playing together. It will take time.
playoff spot (Vasilevskiy’s return to form also was a major factor, as well as better defensive play).
Kucherov is one of the smartest players in the game and knew that becoming more of a scoring threat early in the season would eventually open up more opportunities for his teammates, and it did. His shot is underrated, often overshadowed by his playmaking skills, but he might need to shoot more again this season to compensate for the loss of Stamkos and to give Guentzel time to find his comfort level with new teammates.
There will be no hesitation from Kucherov. He knows what to give when the Lightning need it most, and they’ll need him to become more of a scoring threat, especially on the power play with Stamkos’ one-timer no longer something defenses have to account for.
There’s no reason to think 50 goals is too lofty.
EDUARDO A. ENCINA
LUIS SANTANA | Times (2023)
There’s
the Lightning will miss Steven Stamkos’ onetimer as he moves on from Tampa and settles in with the Predators.
Lightning’s
DIRK SHADD | Times
LUIS SANTANA | Times
Conor Geekie may be less seasoned at 20 years old, but he has the physicality and personality to fit into the Lightning lineup right away.
JOHN ROMANO Columnist
TAMPA
Makeovers aren’t just for losers. Turns out, even mini dynasties need some freshening up.
So it is for the Lightning. Across the past 10 seasons, there’s not a team in the NHL with more victories than Tampa Bay. No franchise has won more conference titles, and only the Penguins have won as many Stanley Cups. This is what passes for dominance in the salary-cap era.
And yet, while they have been the envy of the league, the Lightning also have been a team in decline. They have not been so bold as to admit that out loud, but their maneuvers in the offseason seem to confirm it.
This was not the typical hand-wringing over trying to keep the gang together in the face of rising salaries. This was a purposeful departure from the formula that had worked so well since this run began with a Stanley Cup final loss to Chicago 10 years ago.
“It’s the reality of our industry,” general manager Julien BriseBois said. “There’s turnover.”
That has been evident for several years. Because of salary-cap restraints, the Lightning already had waved goodbye to a half-dozen or more key contributors to the back-to-back Stanley Cup winners in 2020 and 2021. The core group was the same, but the depth and the identity wavered.
Rather than continue down that slope, the Lightning have adjusted.
Instead of being a diminished team, they have chosen to be a different team.
Steven Stamkos, the face of the franchise and one of
No future in hanging on to the past
the greatest athletes that Tampa Bay has known, is gone. Mikhail Sergachev, the one-time heir apparent to Victor Hedman on the
Fleury, Austin Watson. All gone. Of the 24 skaters with the most ice time last season, nearly half are no longer around.
“The last two years, we’ve had two first-round exits. That’s not where we want to be,” said forward Anthony Cirelli. “We’re a team that’s always been in the fight, always had a chance to win since I’ve been here. Sometimes, change is good. Bringing in new voices and personalities.”
There is a cost to winning in the NHL today and it goes beyond payroll expenditures. Prior to the Lightning, only three franchises had won multiple Stanley Cups in the salary-cap era. The subsequent falloffs were all dramatic:
• Chicago won Cups in 2010, 2013 and 2015. They have not won a playoff series since and have missed the postseason six of the last seven years.
• The Kings won Cups in 2012 and 2014. They have not won a playoff series since.
• The Penguins won Cups in 2009, 2016 and 2017. They have not won a playoff series in the last six years.
That’s the legacy the Lightning are trying to avoid, and it won’t be easy. Teams that win multiple Stanley Cups obviously are loaded with talent. And when contracts expire, you can either overpay to keep players or contemplate a different type of roster.
Diminishing returns?
To paraphrase Lightning GM Julien BriseBois, the NHL’s salary cap is the great equalizer. Teams that have enormous success eventually have enormous payrolls. If you hang on to your stars, you end up robbing your depth. And if you trade too many draft picks in the buildup to a Cup run, you have little support from the minors. In an attempt to keep their window of opportunity open longer, the Lightning parted ways with Steven Stamkos and Mikhail Sergachev in the offseason. Time will tell if they fare better than the other teams that have won multiple titles during the salary-cap era.
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
The golden age: Pittsburgh won back-to-back Stanley Cup titles in 2015-16 and 2016-17 while going 32-17 in the postseason.
The reckoning: Penguins won in the first round in 201819 and have since lost five consecutive playoff series. Their postseason record since 2019 is 12-21, and they missed the playoffs each of the last two seasons.
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
The golden age: From 2008-09 to 2014-15, Chicago reached the conference finals five times and won three Stanley Cups. The Blackhawks were 73-44 in the postseason.
The reckoning: Over the past nine seasons, the Blackhawks have failed to get past the first round. They are 7-13 in the playoffs and have missed the postseason six times.
LOS ANGELES KINGS
The golden age: In a three-year span from 2011-12 to 2013-14, the Kings reached the conference finals every season and won two Stanley Cups. They were 41-23 in the postseason.
The reckoning: Los Angeles has not won a playoff series in the last 10 years. The Kings have missed the postseason five times and lost in the first round five times. They are 7-20 in the playoffs.
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
The golden age: Between 2014-15 and 2021-22, the Lightning won four Eastern Conference titles and two Stanley Cups. They went 70-42 in six postseasons. The reckoning: Tampa Bay has been bounced out of the playoffs in the first round in consecutive seasons. The Lightning are 3-8 in that span.
the ice.
The Blackhawks held on to Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Corey Crawford, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook until they were in their mid-30s, and the team slid into obscurity. Ditto for the Penguins with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang.
“Teams that have success, their players price themselves out … (and) tend to go to teams that are on the way up,” BriseBois said. “It kind of recalibrates the league a little bit, the strengths of each team, the balance of power, if you will, within the league.”
The Lightning were threatening to go down a similar road of hopelessly clinging to the past. After four consecutive seasons with a top-10 defense, they slipped to No. 14 in 2022-23
and lost in the first round to Toronto. They fell to No. 22 last season and lost to Florida in the first round. They needed to get better at keeping pucks out of their own net and being a harder team to play in 5-on-5 situations. Sergachev is clearly a skilled player, but part of his appeal is the offensive production he brings as a defenseman. By trading him to Utah, the Lightning got a defense-first player in J.J. Moser and cleared enough money from the salary cap to be able to afford shutdown defenseman Ryan McDonagh, too.
Parting ways with Stamkos was more difficult, but acquiring Jake Guentzel for that spot gives the Lightning a younger skater with a greater capacity to play effectively on both ends of
None of this guarantees the Lightning can stave off further decline, but it’s a smarter play than hoping to recapture old glories with a team that is older and a roster that is thinner.
“It’s a fine line. You’ve got to have some belief in your core and the things you’ve been preaching and whatnot,” said McDonagh. “But at the same time, there’s ways to tweak things. It’s like anything else in life. If it’s not working, you need to make some changes.
“We’ve had a few big changes here, and now it’s our job as players to change the result and change the ending.”
Contact John Romano at jromano@tampabay.com. Follow @Romano_TBTimes.
Lightning blue line, is gone. Anthony Duclair, Tanner Jeannot, Alex Barre-Boulet, Matt Dumba, Calvin de Haan, Tyler Motte, Haydn
Times
GM Julien BriseBois had a busy offseason while trying to make the Lightning more formidable on defense and 5-on-5 situations.
NEW LOOK, SAME RECIPE
Steven Stamkos is gone. So is Mikhail Sergachev. Can the Lightning reclaim the Stanley Cup with fresh faces in the mix?
TAMPA
Victor Hedman is used to having Steven Stamkos by his side, both on and off the ice.
The two are best friends who grew up together in Tampa, going from hyped teenagers to grown men, husbands and fathers. They were the foundation of two of the Lightning’s Stanley Cup-winning teams.
Hedman and Stamkos had a pregame routine of throwing a football with assistant trainer Mike Poirier, as a way to loosen up before hitting the ice. They did it for years. Hedman still does, but Stamkos is absent, adjusting to a new life in a new uniform in a new city with the Nashville Predators.
“On game days, you notice it for sure,” Hedman said. “We’ve got our training room where we go in during intermissions for a few minutes. It was me, (Nikita Kucherov) and Stammer in the middle. So now in that middle table, there’s no one there.
“It’s obviously a little bit weird getting acclimated to. But that’s the reality we’re in. The guys in this room are the guys who are going to get it done. And I’m super confident that we have the team to do some real damage this year. ... We can’t forget about the past, but we’ve got to move on. And I think we’ve done a good job of that.”
The Lightning are still on solid footing; the organiza-
tion’s foundation is still strong. But this is the most transitional season this team has seen on the ice in years. General manager Julien BriseBois takes his responsibility seriously to ensure that the Lightning are a contender now and for years down the road. He has made some difficult, and unpopular, decisions to pave the way for deeper playoff runs after two straight first-round exits.
LUIS SANTANA | Times (2022)
Victor Hedman, back, and Steven Stamkos have been joined at the hip for most of their NHL careers. That changes this season.
EDUARDO A. ENCINA Lightning
LUIS SANTANA | Times
Brayden Point, left, and Nikita Kucherov know what it takes to win a Cup. Could they be even better with Jake Guentzel joining the Lightning’s top line?
The flat salary cap forced by the pandemic hurt a lot of teams, but the Lightning were able to remain a contender despite having most of their payroll tied up in a handful of star players. But now, Stamkos, the franchise’s captain for more than a decade — its all-time leading scorer in goals and points, and perhaps the best professional athlete ambassador this area has ever known — is gone. To free up cap space, the Lightning dealt the popular Mikhail Sergachev — a player tracked to be their No. 1 defenseman of the future — to Utah following an injury-plagued season.
Down the road, the moves, albeit shrewd, might go down as among BriseBois’ most savvy if the Lightning are able to get back to where they used to be — raising the Stanley Cup — with a much different group in a league that might be more competitive than ever.
Jake Guentzel was brought in on a seven-year deal (at $9 million average annual value). The Lightning replaced Stamkos with a player who is five years younger and potentially will be an upgrade in 5-on-5 play staking the top line with Brayden Point and the league’s reigning scoring champ in Kucherov.
The Sergachev trade netted 24-yearold defenseman J.J. Moser, who is two years younger than his predecessor and can play on both sides. And the Lightning also gained the best prospect they’ve had in years — thanks to deadline deals that depleted their draft pick inventory — in 20-year-old wunderkind Conor Geekie.
Before those moves, the Lightning brought back Ryan McDonagh to solidify the defensemen corps. Inside the locker room, Hedman takes more of the leadership reins as the team’s new captain, a deserving role for the man who was Stamkos’ top lieutenant as a respected voice among the players.
“They’re all hard,” BriseBois said of losing players like Stamkos and Sergachev. “At the same time, we’re really about making the most of today. We have a really good team, we have the makeup of a really good team again this year. If we go goaltending, top four, down the middle, we are one of the top winners in the league. ...
“We need to make sure that we do everything we can to make the most of this season’s opportunity, and that’s where our focus is right now.”
Getting defensive again
The biggest criticism of last year’s Lightning team was its 5-on-5 play, particularly on defense. The power play was the league’s best, and the penalty kill was a top-five unit, so they leaned on special teams too much. In the playoffs, games are won at even strength, and the Lightning simply weren’t good enough there, espe-
LUIS SANTANA |
New Lightning center Jake Guentzel (59) says he’s “not trying to do too much, just try to play my game like I’ve done my whole career.”
cially with keeping pucks out of their own net. In 5-on-5 play, the Lightning allowed 190 goals (3.26 a game), fifth most in the league. Tampa Bay allowed 19 more goals in 5-on-5 than they scored, which is astounding given the offensive star power the Lightning possess on their top line.
“I think for us, a big thing is just being responsible with the puck,” Point said. “I think getting it out sometimes instead of trying to make a clean breakout is going to be big for us. I think last year we got caught sometimes when they had pressure, we were still trying to pass our way out.”
There’s no question that last season the Lightning committed too many turnovers that led to odd-man rushes and high-leverage scoring opportunities the other way. Lightning head coach Jon Cooper wants his team to be able to make plays, but not at the cost of allowing big chances defensively. In the Lightning’s history, that’s where the organization took the step to becoming a championship-caliber team.
But another aspect to getting better defensively in 5-on-5 is taking away an opponent’s time and space in the defensive zone, another key component of the Lightning’s Cup teams.
“There’s no doubt we’ve got offensive firepower and skill, but we need to have a fine balance of not having a lot of risk in our game, being on the same page defensively, taking a lot of pride and being tough to play against defensively,” McDonagh said.
“When we had our successful, deep, long playoff runs, it was out defending some of the best defensive teams in the league at that time. So if there’s a recipe
for success, it’s being hard to play against defensively. Everybody will be onboard with that this year. And realizing the importance of being stronger there will only help our success in winning more games.”
Counting on a new cast
Counting McDonagh, who was in Nashville for two seasons after he was traded there following the Lightning’s third straight run to a Cup final in 2022, there are just seven players on this season’s roster who were on the back-to-back Cup teams: Hedman, Point, Kucherov, Anthony Cirelli, Erik Cernak and Andrei Vasilevskiy. More will be expected from all of them, both on the ice and in the locker room to instill a winning culture to newcomers.
It is a fine line between a short postseason run and a long one. Keep in mind that the Lightning’s two first-round playoff losses included five one-goal defeats; four were decided in overtime. Defense and goaltending are paramount, as is the ability to battle through the physical grind of a postseason, protect leads and make big plays in big situations. The half-dozen existing members of the core group know that because they’ve lived it.
A healthy and rejuvenated Vasilevskiy will help after he missed the first six weeks of last season recovering from back surgery. His stats didn’t show it, but he was a major reason why the Lightning had the third-best record in the second half of the regular season.
Both special-teams units will have to be retooled, most importantly replacing Stamkos on the power play, where he’s been one of the league’s most productive goal scorers in man-advantage situations.
Under assistant coach Jeff Halpern, the Lightning have experimented with different looks, including putting defenseman Darren Raddysh and his 100-mph righthanded slap shot in Stamkos’ old spot in the left circle. Newcomer right-shot forward Cam Atkinson has also seen reps there.
The penalty kill unit also will look different, with forward Zemgus Girgensons likely to replace the departed Tyler Motte alongside Luke Glendening. The reunited pairing of McDonagh and Cernak on the PK should definitely make a unit that ranked fifth in the league last season even more stout.
The biggest spotlight will be on Guentzel, because he will be seen as the replacement for Stamkos — and unfairly so — even though his game is different in a lot of ways, especially in how both men score goals.
“As a player, you want to come in and try and do your best and obviously have a fan base behind you,” Guentzel said. “I’m not trying to do too much, just try to play my game like I’ve done my whole career, and we’ll see what happens from there.
“I like to compete all over the ice, get in on the forecheck, trying to get pucks back as much as possible. I’ve obviously played with some high-end players. So I can try to score some goals, but you know, you want to try to be an all-around player and make some plays and try to set some guys up with a good defensive game.”
Guentzel playing with Point and Kucherov could make the Lightning’s top line one of the most dangerous in the league. He’s a responsible defensive player dedicated to strong two-way play. He’s able to get the puck in the hands of elite players — like he did for years with Sidney Crosby in Pittsburgh and most recently Sebastian Aho after a deadline trade to Carolina last season. And he has a unique feel for the ice that allows him to find scoring opportunities for himself around the net. And that was BriseBois’ focus when he retooled this team. He, too, knows what it takes to win in the postseason. And even though there are many new faces, the formula isn’t that much different than the one the Lightning used before to claim the Stanley Cup.
“I still see a lot of areas where we can be better, and I expect us to be better this year, and I think we have the makeup to be better this year,” BriseBois said. “So at the end of the day, our secret to our success, if we’re going to be successful this year, is how good a job we do at keeping the puck out of our own net.”
Contact Eduardo A. Encina at eencina@tampabay.com. Follow @EddieintheYard.
Photos by LUIS SANTANA | Times
Defenseman J.J. Moser is among the new faces that dot the Lightning roster this season. He came to Tampa Bay in the trade with Utah for Mikhail Sergachev.
Times
Will Stamkos be in tune with Music City?
Here’s how other Lightning standouts fared in their moves to new franchises.
BY JOEY KNIGHT | Times Staff Writer
The most beloved of Lightning linchpins now skates for a new team, in a new town and time zone. If history is any indicator, Steven Stamkos’ new sweater — from the Nashville Predators collection — will be a snug fit.
Because as local fans have been reminded ad nauseam, one man’s rebirth is another’s regret.
For decades now, we’ve seen a succession of athletes — from passers to pitchers to puck handlers — leave the Tampa Bay area only
Dan Boyle
With Lightning (2002-08)
One of the great trade coups in Lightning lore, Boyle was acquired from the Panthers for only a fifth-round pick, and he evolved into one of the NHL’s top offensive defensemen. A key cog of Tampa Bay’s first Stanley Cup team (2004), he amassed a 63-point season (20 goals, 43 assists) two years later, earning second-team All-Star honors.
Post-Lightning (2008-16)
Boyle abruptly waived his no-trade clause in 2008 upon feeling mistreated by the slapstick ownership team of Oren Koules and Len Barrie, and he was dealt to San Jose. In his first season, he led all Sharks defensemen with 16 goals and 57 points, and helped guide them to the Western Conference final the following year. In all, Boyle played eight more seasons after leaving Tampa, reaching the playoffs all eight years.
Vinny Lecavalier
With Lightning (1998-2013)
The first overall pick of the 1998 draft, Lecavalier became the Lightning captain at age 19 and, after some early turbulence, evolved into the face of the franchise. Still the No. 2 goal scorer (383) and No. 3 points scorer (874) in team history, Lecavalier was a key cog on the first Lightning Stanley Cup title team, and he forever endeared himself to fans with his philanthropic work at All Children’s Hospital. Post-Lightning (2013-16)
Shortly after taking the richest buyout in NHL history ($32.667 million), Lecavalier signed a five-year deal with the Flyers. He had 20 goals and 17 assists his first season in Philly before his role diminished, lowlighted by him being a healthy scratch for the first time in his career in December 2014. He spent his final season with the Kings before retiring in the summer of 2016.
to flourish elsewhere. Oh sure, some have fizzled in their new surroundings, but we tend to dwell on guys like Steve Young and Doug Williams, Willy Adames and Wade Adams — those who once made their home here but made their mark elsewhere.
Will Stamkos hit a few more high notes in the Music City? Hard to say, but again, we’ll take a cue from history and say probably.
Here’s a look at how other Lightning stars performed after leaving Tampa, either via free agency or trade.
Marty St. Louis
With Lightning (2000-14)
Undrafted out of college, St. Louis evolved into one of the Lightning’s most productive and beloved players. A six-time All-Star in Tampa, he remains the franchise leader in assists (588) and its No. 3 all-time goal scorer (365). He immortalized himself in the Lightning’s first Stanley Cup title season, scoring an NHL-best 94 points, winning the Hart Memorial Trophy (as league MVP) and scoring the winning goal in overtime of Game 6 of the Cup final.
Post-Lightning (2014-15)
St. Louis refused to co-exist with then-Lightning general manager (and Team Canada GM) Steve Yzerman after not being chosen to represent his native country at the 2014 Olympics. He was traded to the Rangers in March 2014 and led the team with eight playoff goals during its run to the Stanley Cup final. He totaled 52 points the following season, when New York fell to Tampa Bay in the Eastern Conference final.
Contact Joey Knight at jknight@tampabay.com. Follow @TBTimes_Bulls.
Nikolai Khabibulin
With Lightning (2001-04)
Dealt to Tampa Bay in a multi-player trade in 2001, Khabibulin put together a pair of All-Star seasons and became the backbone of the Lightning’s 2004 Stanley Cup team. He recorded five shutouts in 23 playoff games, including three in the first round against the Islanders.
Post-Lightning (2005-14)
A free agent following the NHL’s 2004-05 lockout, Khabibulin signed a four-year, $27 million deal with the Blackhawks, but never replicated the stonewall consistency he brandished as a Bolt. By 2008, he essentially was a part-time goaltender for Chicago and signed the following season with Edmonton, where he also foundered the better part of four seasons.
Brad Richards
With Lightning (2000-08)
A third-round pick of the Bolts in 1998, Richards notched four consecutive seasons of 70 or more points. His most lasting contribution, however, was a surreal performance during the team’s 2004 Stanley Cup title run, when he scored seven game-winning goals and earned the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the postseason.
Post-Lightning (2008-16)
Traded to the Stars in a blockbuster deal in February 2008, Richards played eight more NHL seasons, recording three more seasons of at least 66 points and earning an All-Star nod in 2011. He spent three years with the Rangers, scoring five goals during the team’s run to the Stanley Cup final in 2014. A year later, he totaled 37 regular-season points for the Blackhawks, who topped Tampa Bay for the Cup.
DIRK SHADD | Times
Owners, upgrades and outdoor games
CEO Steve Griggs breaks down what’s potentially ahead for the franchise as another season starts.
BY EDUARDO A. ENCINA | Times Staff Writer TAMPA
Chief executive officer Steve Griggs has been a key figure in making the Lightning one of the NHL’s model franchises under owner Jeff Vinik.
Aside from the Lightning’s success on the ice — the team has a 375-game home sellout streak — Amalie Arena has been established as an attractive venue for concerts, NCAA events and more.
One of the big storylines this summer was that Jeff Vinik was working to sell his majority share of the team. The prospect of a new ownership group, or the idea of Vinik being less involved might make some fans uneasy. What can we expect moving forward?
EDITOR’S NOTE: Since this interview, the NHL’s board of governors approved the sale of 54% of the team to Blue Owl Capital co-CEOs Doug Ostrover and Marc Lipschultz at a $1.8 billion valuation, one of the final steps before the deal becomes official.
Jeff is still in control for several years. We will be very excited to roll out the new partners in due time. But that being said, I think 1 plus 2 is going to equal 5 here in that they want to learn from Jeff. They want to be great partners. They want to be great community stewards of our brand. They want to be philanthropic, and they’re excited to continue working with Jeff to have championship teams here.
Stamkos was the face of the franchise for 16 years. He made a tremendous impact on fans with his play, leadership and active role in the community. Months later, fans are still stung by the fact that he’s gone. What would you tell them?
I’ve been around this business for 30 years and have seen Wayne Gretzky, you know, Michael Jordan (play elsewhere). You’re talking about someone who was iconic here, a Stanley Cup champion, a great captain, a great human being. Unfortunately, it’s the business we live in and we work in. But I think everyone’s going to have that opportunity on Oct. 28 to thank him (when the Predators come to Tampa). We’ll all thank him for everything that he’s done, not only for our hockey team, but for this community, for this organization.
Our team is really poised to have a wide window here for a number of years to come with the great acquisition of Jake Guentzel. You bring back Ryan McDonagh. You’re going to have your goalie (Andrei Vasilevskiy) who’s going to be in great shape now coming off (the back injury) last year. We have four great
Griggs was recognized by The Hockey News as the No. 1 team executive in the NHL in the publication’s 2022 “Money and Power” issue. During this time of transition for the Lightning, we spoke to Griggs on a variety of topics, including an revamping of the ownership, the departure of star Steven Stamkos, reinventing the fan experience at Amalie Arena and the potential of hosting an outdoor game in Tampa. (Answers have been edited for length and clarity.)
defensemen. You’ve got a great core up front in the forwards. And so we have this huge opportunity to continue to move forward. And I think that’s what fans should be excited about.
Hosting an outdoor game in Tampa is something you have been trying to do for years, and there are obvious obstacles given the weather here. Do you feel like you’re close to making that a reality?
Jeff and I have been pushing since about 2015, 2016 and I’m very optimistic that day will come. It’s something we work on daily to try and get done for our fans, because the reason we want to do it is because it’s for our fans. It’s sort of like the All-Star Game. It’s a celebration of the game. And I think having it at Raymond James Stadium and having 65,000
hockey fans in there for a hockey game is a celebration of hockey and a testament to what a great hockey market this is. It really comes down to, what’s the covering system? And how are you keeping it shielded from not only humidity, sunshine, wind, rain, those elements that we just need to make sure we’re protecting the ice in order to pull it off. So we’re working hard with the league to get to that place.
The area around Amalie Arena has changed as Water Street has grown, and you’re constantly working to re-invent the fan experience. Among the additions this season is transitioning the Firestick Grill restaurant to a food hall featuring local vendors like King of the Coop, Malio’s and Bavaro’s that will be open to all fans.
That’s a $2.5 million project alone. You’re installing a video board to the arena that will be the largest outdoor marquee in the state. You’ve announced that concession prices won’t go up this season. Why are all those things important?
For us, it’s to always keep elevating and transforming this building in order to make sure it keeps up with a $2.5 billion district that’s going to become a $5 billion district at some point in time. So we need to make sure we’re always enhancing this building. It’s in a worldclass place, not just for hockey, but for all the other events that come in, especially NCAA. As other cities start to want to have NCAA events and have Women’s Final Four or Frozen Four or Volleyball Final Four, which are huge events for the city, we need to make sure that this building is at a very high level.
MARK LOMOGLIO | Tampa Bay Lightning
Lightning CEO Steve Griggs stresses that all of the franchise’s big decisions are made with the fans in mind.
