As a fan of this team, this was a long and winding road to get to the Stanley Cup. The thrill of winning the last game of the season is indescribable and I wouldn’t trade this moment for anything. Everything that has happened over the last decade (and then some) for this franchise has lead up to this day… Where among all the chaos that is happening around the world, the Tampa Bay Lightning were able to come out of the bubble as Stanley Cup Champions. And I will attempt–heavy emphasis on attempt–to describe the path for this team and how we got here.
The Rise
As mentioned, the road for this team of Stanley Cup Champions began over a decade ago. A team that was slowly losing pieces from its last Stanley Cup team, had to begin anew. That’s where the first piece of the puzzle was drafted. No, not Steven Stamkos. As a matter of fact, it was Alex Killorn that was selected in the third round of the 2007 draft. Then, in the next two drafts they had drafted Steven Stamkos first overall in 2008 and Victor Hedman second overall in the 2009 draft.
But things really didn’t make a turn until they hired Red Wing’s legend Steve Yzerman to be their GM in 2010. Then things really took off. Between 2011 and 2015 the Lightning were able to draft: Nikita Kucherov, Ondrej Palat, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Cedric Paquette, Jonathan Drouin (later used in a trade for Mihkail Sergachev), Brayden Point, and Anthony Cirelli. As well as signing undrafted free agent Tyler Johnson in 2011.
They had the star power with Stamkos and Hedman, they had the young talent, now they just needed a goaltender who could help them win today. In one of many brilliant moves by Yzerman, he was able to acquire Ben Bishop, an up and coming goaltender who was just waiting for his chance to be “the guy”. In his first full season as the starter the Lightning, Bishop help lead the Lightning to their first playoff appearance since the 2010-2011 season, before getting injured. The next year, they posted their highest point total in franchise history and made the Stanley Cup for the second time in franchise history, coming up just two wins short…
The Fall
This fall seemed like a slow burn and a fall that never seemed to end, killing a lot of my hope for this team. It began with Ben Bishop unable to stay healthy and concern about his long-term health began to rise. With a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals thanks to some great goal-tending by Vasilevskiy–albeit surprising since it was his first real run as the starter in the playoffs–the Lightning couldn’t get it done and lost the next two games.
The year after that with Vasilevskiy being handed the reigns after Bishop was traded at the deadline, the Lightning missed the post-season entirely. Then, they made it back to the Eastern Conference Finals. After falling in a 0-2 hole they found a way to win three straight and were only one win away from going back to the Stanley Cup. Except like last time, they fell apart. Losing the next two games, scoring zero goals in those games, and Vasilevskiy playing horrible.
So, missing the playoffs was bad, but losing in seven games to teams that went on to win the Stanley Cup isn’t horrible. Then 2018-2019 season happened…
Franchise records, league records, and player records were shattered thanks to the 2018-2019 Lightning. They were set up to be one of the greatest teams of all time. Not only did they lose in the first round, they got swept. Something I have been reminded of–and they have been reminded of–almost every time you turn on a Lightning hockey game. That was one of the biggest displays of humility I have ever seen. A lot of questions were asked by the people and myself. Can Vasilevskiy be the primary goaltender for a championship team? Can Jon Cooper lead an NHL team to a championship? Along with many, many more questions. This loss brought some serious doubt that they could get it done.
The Resurrection
The Lightning front office had to take a long look in the mirror and realize that they couldn’t simply run it back. Something had to be done. While no sweeping changes were made as far as moving on from big names they changed the outlook of the team.
They had skilled players from top to bottom. One could say they had too much skill. So what did they do? They traded some of the skill for brute force and size. Acquiring Kevin Shattenkirk and Pat Maroon in free agency, Zach Bogosian in the buyout market, and both Barclay Goodrow and Blake Coleman near the trading deadline.
When this story is retold, Julien BriseBois, the current Lightning GM, should be given as much credit, if not more, than Yzerman when it comes to this championship team. Obviously a ton of credit goes to Yzerman as he built the foundation of this team. But BriseBois was able to identify the weaknesses of this team and in one off-season (plus some changes during the season) was able to not only fix those weaknesses, but turn them into strengths. Making them a complete team.
Conclusion
This was simply one of the more dominant runs I had seen from a hockey team. They won in so many different ways. Winning in overtime, winning low-scoring games, winning in high-scoring games. They were able to add a couple of blowouts too with no games where they weren’t in it til the end.
This run will also be memorable because of the extreme circumstances of playing in the bubble. No fans, having to create your own energy, and being away from your lot in life. It really was a test of your mental toughness, trying to stay focus on the task at hand. And credit to the Stars for going through the same thing and being only two wins away.
This was the hardest championship to win in the history of hockey. Hopefully the next time there is a Stanley Cup Champion–hopefully the Lightning again–it can be celebrated with friends, family, and fans.