By Damian Cristodero, Times Staff Writer
Friday, January 18, 2013
Good, bad and ugly
Best trade: G Nikolai Khabibulin and D Stan Neckar acquired from the Coyotes in March 2000 for RW Mike Johnson, D Paul Mara, C Ruslan Zainullin and a second-round draft choice.
Worst trade: C Brad Richards and G Johan Holmqvist to the Stars in February 2008 for G Mike Smith, C Jeff Halpern and LW Jussi Jokinen.
Craziest story: When the Flyers in August 1997 made a five-year, $16.5 million contract offer to Lightning free agent Chris Gratton, Esposito, then the general manager, tried to have it invalidated by saying numbers on the fax (remember those?) from the Flyers were smudged. But an arbitrator ruled otherwise. So the Gratton trade cash-strapped Tampa Bay was trying to make with the Blackhawks was scuttled. Esposito declined to match the Flyers' offer but ended up trading the big center to Philadelphia for wing Mikael Renberg and defenseman Karl Dykhuis.
BIGGEST CROWD: Game 3 of the 1996 Eastern Conference quarterfinals against the Flyers was watched by 28,183 in the ThunderDome (now Tropicana Field), still the largest crowd to ever watch an NHL playoff game.
Worst power play: General manager Brian Lawton in February 2010 fired assistant coach Wes Walz and elevated AHL Norfolk coach Jim Johnson to replace him without consulting Lightning coach Rick Tocchet, who banished Johnson to the press box during games. Guess what? Lawton was fired by new owner Jeff Vinik.
Best quote:
"I said 'hockey.' They thought I said 'sake.' "
— Esposito, on how he sold owning the Lightning to the original Japanese investors
Worst season: In 1997-98, Tampa Bay was 17-55-10 with two 16-game winless streaks and a 1-12-1 streak to end the season. After a loss during one of those streaks, then-St. Petersburg Times beat writer Tom Jones said to wing Mikael Andersson, "I don't even know what to ask you." Responded Andersson: "I don't know what to tell you."
Worst pep talk: On Nov. 11, 2008, coach Barry Melrose, after a heated locker room meeting with his team, was seen walking the streets in Sunrise while players practiced. The next night, the Lightning lost 4-0 to the Panthers; the night after that, 4-3 to the Red Wings. The day after that, Melrose was fired after going 5-7-4 in 16 games.
Best 1-2 punch: If you didn't see Lecavalier and St. Louis as linemates in the 2006-07 season, you missed something. Lecavalier, at center, had 52 goals and 108 points. St. Louis, on right wing, had 43 goals, 102 points. As much as we relish the Stamkos-St. Louis combination now, Lecavalier and St. Louis were better, with machinelike precision and a sixth sense about their game.
Best war of words: After Melrose was fired, he accused Barrie and Koules of interfering with his coaching. Barrie called Melrose's game preparations "negligence."
Best absentee owner: Bill Davidson, owner of Palace Sports & Entertainment in Auburn, Mich., bought the Lightning in 1999 for the arena lease and the surrounding land in Tampa. After his partners with land-developing experience died, Davidson's interest in the Lightning waned. Still, he owned the team when it won the Cup and spent to the cap after the 2004-05 lockout.
Worst owners: Barrie did not have any money, and Koules, as far as running a team goes, did not have a clue, though they did draft Stamkos.
L
ightning founder Phil Esposito said Tampa Bay's 2004 Stanley Cup championship means more to him than all the goals he scored in the NHL and the two Cups he won with the Bruins.
"When your kids do something that is just unbelievable, you are so proud of them, you can't believe it," Esposito said. "For me, the Lightning was like my kid, it was like my baby. I still feel that way."
Awarded to the Tampa Bay area in December 1990, the Lightning played — and won — its first game on Oct. 7, 1992. It made the playoffs for the first time in 1996 and eight years later won the Stanley Cup.
With the Lighting entering its 20th season, what better time to name its all-time team.
Some big names did not make the top six (one at each position), including center Brad Richards, MVP of the 2004 Cup run, and center Steven Stamkos, a 60-goal scorer who may be the team's best player right now. But this is a list of cumulative accomplishment.
Many might miss left wing Fredrik Modin, perhaps the most underrated player in Lightning history; goaltender Daren Puppa, who led the team to its first playoff berth; left wing Rob Zamuner, perhaps the franchise's best defensive forward; and Pavel Kubina, whose 72 goals lead all Lightning defensemen.
All are noteworthy. As Esposito said, "When your kids do something that makes you really proud, it really makes you feel good."
Goaltender
Nikolai Khabibulin 2000-04
An argument can be made the Lightning would not have won the 2004 Stanley Cup without him. Richards was a deserving Conn Smythe winner, but Khabibulin — who during the regular season was close to losing his starting job to John Grahame — was 16-7 with five shutouts in 28 playoff games, with a 1.71 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage. Khabibulin was a victim of the season-killing 2004-05 lockout and ensuing new salary cap; then-general manager Jay Feaster, facing a one-or-the-other financial decision, kept Marty St. Louis instead. Since then, Tampa Bay has used 18 goalies, most in the league, and Khabibulin, now with the Oilers, still has team career records of 83 wins, 14 shutouts, a 2.39 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage.
DefensemAn
Dan Boyle 2002-08
Hardly anyone noticed when then-general manager Rick Dudley in January 2002 acquired Boyle from the Panthers for a fifth-round draft choice. But Boyle became a Norris Trophy (best defenseman) candidate and arguably the best blue-liner in team history. He certainly was the best puck mover, something the team hasn't had since July 2008, when Feaster traded Boyle to the Sharks under orders from then-owners Oren Koules and Len Barrie. Boyle's 20 goals in 2006-07 and 252 career points are Lightning records for defensemen.
DefensemAn
Roman Hamrlik 1992-97
The Lightning's first draft choice, Hamrlik set team records for defensemen with 49 assists and 40 power-play points in 1995-96. Taken No. 1 overall in 1992, Hamrlik was a solid two-way blue-liner who skated well, was physical and had a big shot. Most noteworthy was how he quarterbacked the 1995-96 power play. The Lightning was fourth in the league, at a team-record 20.8 percent, as it powered to its first playoff appearance. Hamrilk, traded in December 1997 to the Oilers for Bryan Marchment, Steve Kelly and Jamie Bonsignor (a salary dump considered one of the Lightning's worst trades), is with the Capitals and has played 1,379 career games.
Left wing
Dave Andreychuk 2001-06
Signed in July 2001 by Dudley as a free agent, Andreychuk added more to the team than three 20-goal seasons, his 600th career goal and his run toward an NHL record 274 power-play goals before retiring in 2006. The captain, who won his only Stanley Cup in 2004, led a core group of veterans that included center Tim Taylor and defenseman Grant Ledyard that taught a young team to understand what it takes to win. The best Andreychuk story? Once in Montreal after a team dinner at which players truly enjoyed themselves, Andreychuk made sure he skated ahead of his teammates during the next day's practice. The message: No matter how hard you party, always be ready to play.
Center
Vinny Lecavalier 1998-present
His production has slipped, and injuries have mounted, but Lecavalier still is one of the faces of the franchise. The Montreal native calls Tampa a second home, and his charitable contributions — his foundation donated $3 million to help construct the Vincent Lecavalier Pediatric Cancer and Blood Disorders Center at All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg — solidified his position in the community. Lecavalier, 32, the team captain who was drafted No. 1 overall in 1998 by Esposito, holds Tampa Bay career records with 373 goals, 60 winners, 842 points, 107 power-play goals and 288 power-play points. He also had a team season record 108 points in 2006-07, when he earned the Rocket Richard Trophy with a league-best 52 goals.
Right wing
Marty St. Louis 2000-present
Signed by Dudley as a free agent in July 2000, St. Louis was languishing during the 2000-01 season when he demanded more playing time from then-coach Steve Ludzik, who wisely acquiesced. St. Louis, 37, is second in team history with 319 goals, 57 winners and 832 points. It is in the playoffs, though, where he has shined even more, with team bests of 33 goals, eight winners (three in overtime), 35 assists and 68 points. He scored arguably the biggest goal in Tampa Bay history: the overtime winner in Calgary in Game 6 of the 2004 Stanley Cup final that sent the series back to Tampa, where the Lightning won the title.
Coach
John Tortorella 2001-08
No matter what you thought of his people skills, Tortorella, who took over in January 2001 after Ludzik was fired, got the most out of his players. Even Lecavalier, with whom Tortorella famously clashed, said after he played in Russia during the 2004-05 lockout that he missed the structure of Tortorella's system. The coach's "Safe Is Death" philosophy — a term actually coined by assistant Craig Ramsay — helped the Lightning to four playoff appearances, Southeast Division titles in 2003 and '04, and the 2004 Stanley Cup championship. Tortorella was fired in June 2008 by Koules and Barrie after missing the playoffs and going 238-216-38 with 36 ties. He is in his fifth season with the Rangers.
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