The Tampa Bay Lightning, or at least the idea of an NHL hockey team in Florida, was born poolside at a swank Fort Lauderdale resort during the all-star break of a season whose date is long forgotten. Phil Esposito and a few players relaxed in the sun, killing beers and time, marveling at the weather and all the benefits that came with a climate without snow and sub-freezing temperatures. “What are we doing playing hockey up north in the middle of the winter when we could be playing hockey down here in the middle of the winter?” Esposito asked. Heads nodded. An idea was born. Years later, Esposito finally brought hockey to Tampa Bay in the form of the Lightning, which played their first game in October of 1992.
Esposito, the hall of famer known best for his days with the Boston Bruins, has had several roles with the team, including radio analyst during the 2004 Stanley Cup championship run. He deserves more than a mention in the team’s history, since he was one of the first to realize that you don’t have to be in Canada to be a hockey city. All you need is an arena and a team. Tampa Bay has both. The Lightning play at the St. Pete Times Forum in downtown Tampa. It’s not one of the old barns, as they like to call them around the NHL, but the building is perfect for watching hockey and hanging a Stanley Cup banner.
What was once thought of as a cute idea turned into one of the best franchises in the first half of this decade. After years of starts and stops, the Lightning put it together when Jay Feaster was hired as general manager and John Tortorella was named as coach. Mix in a couple of all-stars in Marty St. Louis and Vinny Lecavalier and you have the backbone for a championship team, which those two formed in the 2003- 2004 season.
The Lightning rolled through the playoffs until meeting Philadelphia in the conference finals. The Flyers gave the Lightning all they could handle in the seven-game series, but it was the Lightning who skated off to the Stanley Cup Finals, where they meet the Calgary Flames. What followed was another exciting seven-game series, complete with a double-overtime win in Game 6 in Calgary that staved off elimination for the Lightning and brought the teams back to Tampa Bay for Game 7. It was the Lightning 2, the Flames 1. Lord Stanley, like a number of other notable Canadians, was headed to Florida for a long visit. It was a joke at first: A team from Florida skating with the Stanley Cup, the most famous trophy in all of sports. But that’s what the Lightning did in June 2004, while all of hockey cheered the team with few stars but big hearts. After the players retreated to the champagne-soaked locker room, a pair of Zambonies took over the ice. One spun a few donuts in celebration.
The Lightning recently began the next chapter in team history. A new owner, Hollywood movie producer Oren Koules, runs the show now. He brought in Barry Melrose to coach the team. Folks mostly remember Melrose as the long-time ESPN hockey analyst, but the man famous for his mullet haircut also was a pretty good coach, taking the Los Angeles Kings to the 1993 Stanley Cup finals. So, Melrose knows a little bit about winning in a place defined by beautiful weather.
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