Today marks the end of my first full calendar year as HockeyBuzz’s Tampa Bay Lightning blogger. It’s been a wild ride, and I look forward to bringing what I hope you consider to be top notch Lightning coverage as we move into 2014 and beyond. With all that in mind, I’d like to take a step back today and list the top 10 Tampa Bay Lightning stories from 2013.
10) The End of the 2012-13 Lockout For a long while, it looked as though we were going to miss the entire 2012-13 National Hockey League season. Thankfully, an agreement between the league’s owners and the players’ association was reached; Lightning owner Jeff Vinik played an integral role in negotiations. Fans were then graced by a very compacted 48 game schedule with ups, downs, and everything in between. While the Bolts struggled through the entire campaign, it was just great to be able to sit back and watch a hockey game after such a long off-season. With the new deal in place, fans won’t have to worry about missing any action for the next handful of years.
9) Victor Hedman’s Evolution Since returning from the KHL where he spent the lockout, Victor Hedman has been simply fantastic for the Lightning. In 33 games played this season, he has complied 7 goals (a career high) and 20 points. Those who say that he’s not a legitimate top pairing defender or that the Lightning should want more from 77 clearly don’t watch him play. He is playing great hockey right now, and for that the organization should be very thankful.
8) The Tampacuse Invasion Tyler Johnson. Ondrej Palat. Alex Killorn. Radko Gudas. Andrej Sustr. Mark Barberio. Richard Panik. Nikita Kucherov. JT Brown. These guys are all household names in every Lightning fan’s home, but earlier in 2013 they were all playing in the American Hockey League. It’s hard to believe that they are all now having a very big impact on one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference. Steve Yzerman and his management team have done a masterful job of restocking the cupboards, building a winning culture, and developing young talent. The future is bright, Tampa Bay.
7) Guy Boucher Fired, Jon Cooper Hired I’ve referenced the team’s struggles in the lockout shortened season a few times already. It all culminated with the firing of Guy Boucher and the hiring of Jon Cooper. Since that moment, the team’s fortunes have shifted. The systems are different. The results are better. While far from perfect, Jon Cooper’s Lightning are doing what Guy Boucher’s Lightning couldn’t do post-2011. After going 5-8-3 to close out last season, Cooper has posted a 23-12-4 record this season. Considering all the injuries he’s had to deal with, that’s damn impressive. Kyle Alexander might have said it best…
Anyways I also agree that Jon Cooper should, at this point, be in the Jack Adams conversation. Lot of credit to his assistants for that too.
— Kyle Alexander (@kalexanderRC) December 27, 20136) Drafting Drouin The Lightning held the third overall pick in the 2013 NHL entry draft, and with it they selected Jonathan Drouin. In doing so, they passed on ultra-talented blueliner Seth Jones and went with arguably the most gifted forward on the board. It’s a decision that will be discussed and debated for the next twenty years. While Drouin was sent back to Junior following an underwhelming training camp with the Bolts, his future in Tampa is more than bright. He is lighting the QMJHL on fire this season, and is currently leading Team Canada to great heights at the World Juniors.
5) The Stamkos Injury After compiling 14 goals and 23 points in his first 16 games to start 2013-14, Steven Stamkos went into Boston on November 11th looking to keep his hot streak alive. Unfortunately, as everyone around the hockey world knows, things didn’t go as planned. Stamkos had his tibia broken in an unfortunate collision and has been out ever since. Now more than a month and a half later, he is starting to skate on his own and do some light exercise with the puck. There is still hope from Team Canada and Canadian hockey fans that he will be good to go in time for the Olympic games, but nothing has been confirmed yet.
4) The Lecavalier Buyout and Filppula Signing Vincent Lecavalier was a big part of Tampa Bay Lightning history for so many years. He was a captain, a Stanley Cup winner, and a great ambassador to the game. For those reasons, among others, it was hard to say goodbye when the team elected to buy out the remainder of his mammoth 11-year, $85-million deal in June. As much as it hurt to see Lecavalier sign with the Philadelphia Flyers, I think it’s fair to say that most Lightning fans agree that the team made the right move. After buying out Vinny, Steve Yzerman went out and signed former Detroit Red Wing Valtteri Filppula to take on the duties of second line center. Signed to a five-year, $25-million deal, Filppula has been unbelievably good for the Bolts this season.
3) The Bishop Trade On April 3, the league’s trade deadline day, the Lightning dealt rookie sensation Cory Conacher and a fourth round draft pick to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for goaltender Ben Bishop. The immediate fan reaction was mixed. Some felt that the Bolts had given up too much for Bishop, who was either a backup or a third string guy in Ottawa. Others felt the move to get another goaltender made little sense. Then there was the crowd that was supportive right from the beginning. If you asked all those people to evaluate the trade now, the response would be one of unanimous support. Bishop has been beyond good for the Lightning. This season he has 20 wins, a .935 save percentage, a 1.89 goals-against average, and three shutouts. He’s been the Lightning’s MVP from day one.
2) Marty St. Louis’ Art Ross Performance At the tender age of 38, Marty St. Louis did something spectacular. In the 48 game lockout shortened season, he tallied 17 goals and 43 assists for 60 points. That was enough to net him the Art Ross Trophy, handed out to the league’s leading point scorer at the end of each season. The 2013 award, his second Art Ross, was just icing on the cake of an already amazing career. Marty is a Stanley Cup winner, a Captain, a three time Lady Byng winner, a Hart winner, a Lester B. Pearson winner, and an all-star. Can you say ‘Hall of Fame’?
1) Fan Attendance at the Forum During the 2013 season, Bolts Nation filled the Tampa Bay Times Forum nearly every night. The Lightning averaged 19,055 fans last season, good enough for 8th most in the league, and are averaging 18,367 this season. Hockey fans in Florida don’t get enough credit. Bolts Nation makes the Forum one of the most exciting arenas in the NHL. It’s packed on most nights, it’s noisy, and it’s full of great energy. Nobody has a bad time at a Lightning game.
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Well, there you have my list of the ten biggest Tampa Bay Lightning stories from 2013. I’d like to thank all of my regular readers and commenters (you know who you are) for sticking around this year and engaging in some great discussion. All the best in 2014, and ‘Go Lightning Go’! I’ll be back with a preview for the Vancouver game tomorrow.
As always, thanks for reading.