The Ottawa Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning will be forever linked in the history of the NHL, and not it is not for the Ben Bishop trade.
On December 12, 1990 the NHL awarded 2 new franchises, the groups led by Bruce Firestone and Phil Esposito in Ottawa and Tampa Bay respectively.
The Lightning were going to a non-traditional hockey market so they had to make a big impact early to get noticed, while Ottawa was in a hockey-starved market that was willing to be patient to build a team from the ground up.
Tampa was the first of the expansion cousins to make the playoffs, qualifying in their fourth season, while Ottawa played 5 seasons before getting a taste of the playoffs. That started a string of 11 straight playoff appearances for the Sens, while the Lightning were one and done, missing in each of the next 6 seasons, not even being able to qualify in the SouthLEAST division.
But again, Tampa was the first of the duo to reach uncharted territory, making the Finals and then winning the Stanley Cup in 2003-04, gaining bragging rights on their cousin. Ottawa followed suit three years later, but were unable to get past the Ducks, losing in their only Cup final appearance.
Now, Tampa is one series away from notching their second Stanley Cup championship, having ousted the Rangers in 7 games on Friday night to book their ticket.
So lets compare the two 92-93 expansion teams -
The Senators had better teams for a long stretch of year, simply couldn't get the job done and had too many blown opportunities.
So the question is, if you were a Senators fan, would you trade the more consistent performance and more playoff appearances of the Senators for the rarer post-season visits but reaching the pinnacle once and maybe twice depending on what happens the next two weeks.
Is having the opportunity every year (15 of 22 seasons), but failing better than getting to the summit once (possibly twice) but only making the playoffs 8 times in 22 seasons?
In other words, should Senators fans be jealous of the Bolts?
I think I know the answer...but I want to hear yours!