Tampa Bay Lightning

Tampa Bay Lightning
2024–25 Tampa Bay Lightning season
ConferenceEastern
DivisionAtlantic
Founded1992
HistoryTampa Bay Lightning
1992–present
Home arenaAmalie Arena
CityTampa, Florida
Team colorsBlue, white, black[1][2]
     
MediaBally Sports Sun
102.5 The Bone
Owner(s)Vinik Sports Group, LLC
(Jeffrey Vinik, chairman)[3][4]
General managerJulien BriseBois
Head coachJon Cooper
CaptainVictor Hedman
Minor league affiliatesSyracuse Crunch (AHL)
Orlando Solar Bears (ECHL)
Stanley Cups3 (2003–04, 2019–20, 2020–21)
Conference championships4 (2003–04, 2014–15, 2019–20, 2021–22)[note 1]
Presidents' Trophy1 (2018–19)
Division championships4 (2002–03, 2003–04, 2017–18, 2018–19)
Official websitewww.nhl.com/lightning

The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. The Lightning compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play their home games at Amalie Arena in Downtown Tampa.

The Lightning were founded as an expansion team on December 6, 1990, and began play in the 1992–93 NHL season. The team has won three Stanley Cup championships: in 2004, 2020, and 2021. Since 2011, the Lightning have reached the conference finals seven times (in 2011 2015, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2021 and 2022) and have made four appearances in the Stanley Cup Finals, winning in 2020 and 2021 and finishing as runners-up in 2015 and 2022 to the Chicago Blackhawks and Colorado Avalanche, respectively. Additionally, the Lightning won the Presidents' Trophy in 2019 after they tied the then all-time record for regular season wins in the 2018–19 season, tying the 62 wins of the 1995–96 Detroit Red Wings[5] (later broken by the 2022–23 Boston Bruins), and won eleven straight playoff series from 2020 to 2022. The team's sustained success in the time period from 2015 to 2022 has led some outlets to regard the Lightning as a modern NHL dynasty within that time span.[6][7][8] The franchise is owned by Jeffrey Vinik, and the general manager is Julien BriseBois. Jon Cooper has served as head coach since March 2013, and is the longest-tenured active head coach in the NHL.

  1. ^ "Lightning launch new Third Jersey, Uniform System". TampaBayLightning.com (Press release). NHL Enterprises, L.P. February 7, 2019. Retrieved November 27, 2023. "We are extremely excited to unveil our third jersey and uniform system to Bolts Nation tonight," Lightning chief executive officer Steve Griggs said. "As an organization, we saw the third jersey as an opportunity to grow our brand by evolving from our traditional, classic blue and white uniform system into one that is unique, youthful and innovative." The new jersey concept began with an open survey for all fans nearly two years ago. Over 30,000 fans participated, and the results heavily favored a return to black, one of the original colors of the 26-year-old franchise.
  2. ^ "Lightning set to raise banner March 13 as fans return to Amalie Arena". TampaBayLightning.com (Press release). NHL Enterprises, L.P. March 8, 2021. Retrieved November 27, 2023. The 2020 Stanley Cup banner is blue, features the Lightning logo and measures 14'x24'.
  3. ^ "Tampa Bay Sports And Entertainment LLC Closes on Purchase of Tampa Bay Lightning". TampaBayLightning.com. NHL Enterprises, L.P. March 3, 2010. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  4. ^ "Tampa Bay Lightning owner expands business portfolio with Vinik Sports Group". SportBusiness. February 25, 2020. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  5. ^ "Most Wins In NHL Season". StatMuse. June 25, 2024.
  6. ^ "End of An Era: The Tampa Bay Lightning's Modern Day Dynasty". Yardbarker. August 19, 2023.
  7. ^ Dayal, Harman. "Win or lose, are the Lightning already a modern NHL dynasty?". The Athletic.
  8. ^ Peters, Andrew. "NHL Fans Troll End of Lightning Dynasty After Panthers Clinch Playoff Series Win". Bleacher Report.


Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).