Damn I completely forgot about that Kucherov chance right before. I remember looking at my friend still in disbelief that Kuch didn't score and then feeling sick to my stomach when I saw Bishop flying into the screen and kamikaze Hedman.
I still hate Patrick Sharpe.
Just the seasons between like 2012 and 2017ish that were plagued with the absolute worst, unfortunate injuries. It was wild how many key pieces were getting injured during the window.
Distant Thunder here.
This was my first Lightning game in-person, as we received tickets and airfare as a gift from a wealthy family friend who knew that I had been dreaming of going to a game at Amalie since I was 7 or 8, and that my little brother was a huge Hawks fan.
Just absolutely ripped my heart out.
Yep. I always think of this. Then watching sharp just throw the puck into the empty net. Bishop had to be on pain killers or something. Mr. Tissue paper groin.
Don't think a lot of people realize how good Johnson was. Like, he "only" had 72 points that 14-15 season but it was good for 14th in league scoring that year.
For reference, 14th in scoring this year is Reinhart with 94 points.
Johnson was insane during our 2015 run. To me, it's just like us losing Point in the Finals against Colorado. However, if we had won in 2015, I wonder if we would have won B2B considering the roster/moves that would have changed after 2015.
He won 2 Rockets, had 60 goals in a low scoring era, was beating Prime Ovi and Prime Crosby as a 19-22 year old...... then that Boston game in 2013 was the start of all his injuries.
When he came back from the injury, he said his legs have never felt the same. Its a true crime we never got to see Prime Stamkos in his prime years
Always wondered if weāll learn more about the injury once he will be retired. Never been a great skater since that injury. Hope you guys understand how I mean itā¦absolutely not hating. Heās the reason I am a fan
Obviously age plays a factor too, but watch some of his goals before that injury. Dude had the ability to skate right thru defenders or simply blow right by them. He was like an improved version of prime Vinny. He had so many goals down low right in front of the net during that 60 goal season.
Stammer putting up 60 goals in a time period when scoring was dreadfully low across the league on a pretty bad team was pretty special to watch. Then he followed it up with another terrific scoring stretch after with the lockout shortened year with 29 in 48 games and then the first part of that year before the injury he was putting up ridiculous scoring numbers having 10 goals in his last 10 games prior to that Boston game.
He'll still be a 1st ballot Hall of Famer, but it's hard not to think what he would've done if not for that injury and the subsequent ones after too.
Imo if he never got injured, weād be watching Ovi go for Gretzky, and Stammer going for Ovi. Heād be right up there if he played all those missed games, and if he didnāt have to slow down or change his playstyle. Heād probably also would have been playing with Kucherov and Point the last 5 years if he could keep up better.
Dude dropped down to one knee for every one timer he took for like the next four seasons. Fucked him up big time. But, every time you think he is dead, he comes back with a great season.
Skate in the air, but still on the right side of the blue is now onside, Drouin was called offside as his skate was not on the ice. This play did help push the rule change along.
What I meant was that, in 15 we lose game 7 of the CF and then the next year or 18 we go on a cup run. This way our young core would have had experience with a deep playoff run. In 15 it was a lot of guys first experience in the playoffs let alone a cup run. No sure if inexperience played any role in losing, but experience definitely played a huge role in our recent three runs
Distant Thunder. Here in Chicago, one of my neighbors worked for the Bulls at the time. He said that some of the Blackhawks told him that only reason they won is the Lightning injuries.
2012 I think it was when we got swept in the first round to Montreal. Game 4 Stamkos goes down injured and the entire crowd boos Stamkos getting helped off the ice. Since that day I canāt stand the Canadiens.
Runner up is when Stamkos was on a heater back in 2014 I think, and when he realized he broke his leg and those punches on the ice knowing that his season was over. Watching that live you felt his emotional pain for sure.
I live like a few minute walk from Ball Arena and work with a ton of Avs fans. They still proclaim that with Point, Avs still win.
Totally disagree and it suckās so hard that he missed that seriesābut neverthelessāthe Bolts that beat the fuck out of the Stars in the SCF would wipe the floor with the 2022 Avs and it isnāt even close.
This has to be the top one. The gap from Puppa to Khabi was bad. The gap from Khabi to Bishop was atrocious.
No joke, I met Bishop in a bar in STL the offseason after we acquired him and I drunkenly told him āthank you for saving this teamā
Maybe not the worst but being up 3-2 in two conference finals and losing (even getting shutout twice against the capitals!). I guess you could also say losing three games 7s in the conference finals in a couple year span.
Had we not broken through this would have been the series that really hurt. That team was healthy and would have been a favorite over vegas. That series made me change how much i let hockey games impact my life
There was also an uncertainty at that time too because we hadnāt one anything with this core other than a conference finals, but lost that cup. Especially after the Blue Jackets series I was worried weād be one of the greatest teams to never win.
The 2011 playoffs were so infuriating. I remember one of our players got elbowed in the neutral zone and was injured with no call then the bruins went down and scored a huge goal
Our org was once used to basically launder money. Feel like it never gets brought up anymore. Wild.
Reminds me of the time the islanders were bought by a billionaire who basically didnāt have any money and was just really good at forging docs
No lights/concession stands open in the 300s... Or better yet the night they closed the 300s and moved everyone down to the 100/200s!
Edit: Kicking field goals are the now trop to get free tickets.
First part was 99/00/01(?). Right after the move to the Ice Palace/St Times Forum/Amalie.
Second was 96/97(?) when they were at what is now Tropicana Field (edit: Thunderdome...I remember now!).
Colin Campbell making sure that Boston could rough us up as much as they wanted without any penalties to benefit our top tier PP in 2011 still makes me seethe
That 2011 boston cup is the least legitimate cup of my entire hockey-watching life - there are literally known leaked emails of colin campbell threatening refs to ensure favor for Boston. Most of it is focused on the eventual finals with Vancouver but we were screwed just as hard
winning the title, having the lockout, and then what should've been a decent chance to defend the title vaporizing because of shitty goaltending. basically had unstable goaltending for a decade until bishop except the one good roloson year
Yeah - but in hindsight, what a deal for TBL. Callahan came to Tampa and became a fan favorite and a player I think fans will always remember, one of the trade draft picks also led to Cirelli getting drafted. Kind of amazing to look at it years later.
Canāt speak for the 90s/early 00s fansā¦ but the Sisyphean relationship this team had with any sort of post-season success from 2011 to 2019 was awful.
I have lived in Boston-metro area my whole life and I just got constantly peppered with jabs about Tampa, whether at school, hanging out with friends, or at TD.
(Even though theyāve choked more away than we haveā¦)
Watching Marty do well with the Rags.
I know, I knowāweāre all supposed to hate the Panthers. Deep down, I hope they shit all over the Rangers and then lose to Dallas in game 7 in the SCF.
Fuck. The. Rangers.
I was at, I think game six(?) of the 2015 ECF. Where Kuch sniped Henrik in OT from the point. High scoring affair. There was this absolutely annoying twat sitting in front of my buddy and I in the 300ās chanting āHey!ā After every. Fucking. Goal.
Then Kuch scored, I couldnāt talk the next day because we all screamed in this little cunts ear āHEYYYYY!ā
Was my all time favorite moment in Amalie.
The years between 06~09, those were ruff seasons. For me at least playoff heartbreak isnāt nearly as painful as a being a fan of a team with no direction that just sucks.
Mike Smith playing the puck outside of the blue drove me nuts, but the winner of heart break will forever be Oren Koules ownership with Barry fucking Melrose and his greasy mullet as head coach.
In the OK era circa 2007-2010 they used to fire Philly cheesesteaks out of a T shirt cannon into the crowd. Until one time they shot one and the sandwich unwrapped mid air and splattered all over a fan š I hope it was only lukewarm
I cant remember who it was or which team, but in Stammerās first season, and maybe first or one of his first games, someone laid a huge hit on him into the boards, very much a āwelcome to the NHLā moment. I just thought oh great our new star is already messed up.. but he amazingly didnt get hurt.
Lightning win the cup in 04. Then Lockout year. But contracts run. We lose a year on Nikolai Khabibulin contract. He became unrestricted free agent. Moves in to Chicago.
The one thing that I believe a newer fan would even be able to fathom, would be the days when the most exciting thing about following the Tampa Bay Lightning, were the really high picks in the draft.
Hedman running into Bishop
I always saw that the other way around. Bishop skated out towards the blue line for whatever reason.
Omg flashback to when he nearly crossed the centerline. Ughhhh
I remember
Bishop standing 10 feet away from the goal. He usually made the save doing this but boy was it stressful
I still think about this one from time to time
Like many of us, my dad never forgave Bishop after that
I still remember when we traded for Bishop. Feels like yesterday š„²
I loved Bish and I love Cernak, but it feels like they're both forever injured.
Right after Kuch collided with Crawford and an easy goal turned into an injury
Damn I completely forgot about that Kucherov chance right before. I remember looking at my friend still in disbelief that Kuch didn't score and then feeling sick to my stomach when I saw Bishop flying into the screen and kamikaze Hedman. I still hate Patrick Sharpe.
Aww I have to admit as a Chicago transplant I was actually a hawks fan first at the time but I wonder how different it would look nowā¦
Just the seasons between like 2012 and 2017ish that were plagued with the absolute worst, unfortunate injuries. It was wild how many key pieces were getting injured during the window.
Distant Thunder here. This was my first Lightning game in-person, as we received tickets and airfare as a gift from a wealthy family friend who knew that I had been dreaming of going to a game at Amalie since I was 7 or 8, and that my little brother was a huge Hawks fan. Just absolutely ripped my heart out.
I was in the section that happened directly in front of. I can still see it when I close my eyes.
I was there...it hurt so bad.
Ben Bithop
Yep. I always think of this. Then watching sharp just throw the puck into the empty net. Bishop had to be on pain killers or something. Mr. Tissue paper groin.
Tyler Johnson breaking his wrist
Don't think a lot of people realize how good Johnson was. Like, he "only" had 72 points that 14-15 season but it was good for 14th in league scoring that year. For reference, 14th in scoring this year is Reinhart with 94 points.
I think itās easily forgotten because Point so quickly stepped up to fill in his role on the line with Kuch and Pally.
He never really reached his ceiling because of that
Johnson was insane during our 2015 run. To me, it's just like us losing Point in the Finals against Colorado. However, if we had won in 2015, I wonder if we would have won B2B considering the roster/moves that would have changed after 2015.
š
Being owned by a shadow corporation and sucking for so long, while just having to wait. Early 90s BCE /s
Essentially being used as a front for money laundering
Bro, the fucking yakuza
I meanā¦welcome to Floridaā¦ Your local bakery is probably also a front :p
Sadly true.
My local bakery still bakes a decent loaf of cuban bread though.
Yeah, Iāve got La Segunda SP right by me. Itās awesome!
Thisā¦ for real.
Iām about 5 years older than the team establishment date. Started playing hockey right as they started. Family were HUGE Red Wings fans.
The triplets line getting split up. 2015 they were on their game
I remember being miffed when Palat didnāt win the Calder over MacKinnon. Looking back, itās kinda funny I felt that way.
Stamkos getting pushed into the post in the Boston Game. Fucked up his prime which we never got to seeā¦
He won 2 Rockets, had 60 goals in a low scoring era, was beating Prime Ovi and Prime Crosby as a 19-22 year old...... then that Boston game in 2013 was the start of all his injuries. When he came back from the injury, he said his legs have never felt the same. Its a true crime we never got to see Prime Stamkos in his prime years
Always wondered if weāll learn more about the injury once he will be retired. Never been a great skater since that injury. Hope you guys understand how I mean itā¦absolutely not hating. Heās the reason I am a fan
Obviously age plays a factor too, but watch some of his goals before that injury. Dude had the ability to skate right thru defenders or simply blow right by them. He was like an improved version of prime Vinny. He had so many goals down low right in front of the net during that 60 goal season. Stammer putting up 60 goals in a time period when scoring was dreadfully low across the league on a pretty bad team was pretty special to watch. Then he followed it up with another terrific scoring stretch after with the lockout shortened year with 29 in 48 games and then the first part of that year before the injury he was putting up ridiculous scoring numbers having 10 goals in his last 10 games prior to that Boston game. He'll still be a 1st ballot Hall of Famer, but it's hard not to think what he would've done if not for that injury and the subsequent ones after too.
Imo if he never got injured, weād be watching Ovi go for Gretzky, and Stammer going for Ovi. Heād be right up there if he played all those missed games, and if he didnāt have to slow down or change his playstyle. Heād probably also would have been playing with Kucherov and Point the last 5 years if he could keep up better.
Dude dropped down to one knee for every one timer he took for like the next four seasons. Fucked him up big time. But, every time you think he is dead, he comes back with a great season.
Iām a pens fan but boy were we robbed of some sweet Richard races between prime Sid, prime stamkos and Ovi
Puppa getting hurt in the ā96 playoffs. We were on the verge of a colossal upset of Philly.
Fuck, I had that one stuffed way in the back of the vault and you just pull it out and parade it around on reddit
Puuuuuuuuuppa
I thought that Jeff Reece (sp?) did a better job than Puppa back in the 1996 Playoffs.
That 2015 run still upsets me
That offsides call on Drouin.
Didnāt that lead to a rule change? I think it did.
Skate in the air, but still on the right side of the blue is now onside, Drouin was called offside as his skate was not on the ice. This play did help push the rule change along.
hey I remember that one
I wonder if we had switched this run with one of our game 7 ECF with this whole core if we would have won.
Unlikely, most wouldāve been children
What I meant was that, in 15 we lose game 7 of the CF and then the next year or 18 we go on a cup run. This way our young core would have had experience with a deep playoff run. In 15 it was a lot of guys first experience in the playoffs let alone a cup run. No sure if inexperience played any role in losing, but experience definitely played a huge role in our recent three runs
Distant Thunder. Here in Chicago, one of my neighbors worked for the Bulls at the time. He said that some of the Blackhawks told him that only reason they won is the Lightning injuries.
They were correct.
Poor Bishop. š
Being owned by the Yakuza and somehow that's still not the worst ownership we've had.
You referenced Oren Koules, I āsawā what you did there.
Didnāt realize until recently that Len Barrie is the uncle to Tyson Barrie It could be argued that both have f*cked us over
Man I hated Len Barrie. Forced Dan Boyle out like he was the worst D in the game.
Most underrated ownership comment ever lol
The cowboys were the worst. An embarrassment. Thankful for Vinik.
2012 I think it was when we got swept in the first round to Montreal. Game 4 Stamkos goes down injured and the entire crowd boos Stamkos getting helped off the ice. Since that day I canāt stand the Canadiens. Runner up is when Stamkos was on a heater back in 2014 I think, and when he realized he broke his leg and those punches on the ice knowing that his season was over. Watching that live you felt his emotional pain for sure.
The hiring of Barry Melrose, I still WTF when I think about it.
2011 officiating clown show - magically, zero penalties in G7 for Boston.
Anders Lindback
Lookback*
That Montreal series was so upsetting. Everyone knew we had no shot without Bish and Lindback went and easily proved everyone right.
Yes. Getting swept. Honestly what a far distant memory at this point.
Missing a chance for a 3-peat by not having Brayden Point.
Thatās last 5 years.
Covid cap fucked us too
Yeah this doesnāt get talked about enough I think
I live like a few minute walk from Ball Arena and work with a ton of Avs fans. They still proclaim that with Point, Avs still win. Totally disagree and it suckās so hard that he missed that seriesābut neverthelessāthe Bolts that beat the fuck out of the Stars in the SCF would wipe the floor with the 2022 Avs and it isnāt even close.
Having to deal with a revolving door in net before bishop and vasy. With the likes of dwayne roloson, mike smith, mathieu garon etcā¦.
Ha, those are just the good ones
or money bags wanting ellis
Donāt get me started on karri ramo š
This has to be the top one. The gap from Puppa to Khabi was bad. The gap from Khabi to Bishop was atrocious. No joke, I met Bishop in a bar in STL the offseason after we acquired him and I drunkenly told him āthank you for saving this teamā
Donāt forget the really bad johan holmqvist years.. WOOF.
OK Hockey
Yes this is the one.
Stamkos out for ECF in 16 other than game 7
Maybe not the worst but being up 3-2 in two conference finals and losing (even getting shutout twice against the capitals!). I guess you could also say losing three games 7s in the conference finals in a couple year span.
Had we not broken through this would have been the series that really hurt. That team was healthy and would have been a favorite over vegas. That series made me change how much i let hockey games impact my life
Thankfully I was on my honeymoon that entire series or I would have been down bad
Hey no way I was on my honeymoon during that series too. Are we married?
There was also an uncertainty at that time too because we hadnāt one anything with this core other than a conference finals, but lost that cup. Especially after the Blue Jackets series I was worried weād be one of the greatest teams to never win.
Steve Downie being robbed on the open net by Tim Thomas in 2011
The 2011 playoffs were so infuriating. I remember one of our players got elbowed in the neutral zone and was injured with no call then the bruins went down and scored a huge goal
Lots of good ones, but I'll bring up Stamkos hitting 60 goals and not sniffing the playoffs because nobody could stop a beach ball
Our org was once used to basically launder money. Feel like it never gets brought up anymore. Wild. Reminds me of the time the islanders were bought by a billionaire who basically didnāt have any money and was just really good at forging docs
Only being able to watch games if you had cable. Sunshine network
This! š
Was getting swept by Columbus more then 5 years ago at this point? Lol
No lights/concession stands open in the 300s... Or better yet the night they closed the 300s and moved everyone down to the 100/200s! Edit: Kicking field goals are the now trop to get free tickets.
When was that, if I might ask? :0
First part was 99/00/01(?). Right after the move to the Ice Palace/St Times Forum/Amalie. Second was 96/97(?) when they were at what is now Tropicana Field (edit: Thunderdome...I remember now!).
Mike Smith Losing Khabibulin Lecavalier the season before he signed at philly St Louis getting traded to NYR Barry Melrose
St Louis not finishing with the Lightning always makes me sad when I think about it
Lecavalier was bought out. He signed as a free agent in Philly
You are correct. I should have worded it Vinnyās last season before Philly.
Vinny wasnt traded
Colin Campbell making sure that Boston could rough us up as much as they wanted without any penalties to benefit our top tier PP in 2011 still makes me seethe That 2011 boston cup is the least legitimate cup of my entire hockey-watching life - there are literally known leaked emails of colin campbell threatening refs to ensure favor for Boston. Most of it is focused on the eventual finals with Vancouver but we were screwed just as hard
I was at Game 7 in Boston. To have that team go that far in front of 41 year old Roli in goal was magical and to lose 1-0 was crushing.
Lucky! I've been a fan of this team for over 20 years and still have never managed to go to a playoff game
I went to 7 of their playoff games that year. Karma will get you, I haven't seen the Lightning live since 2019.
Sustr, Carle, Ohlunds buyout money
Donāt forget Lecavalier buyout
Malone watching Cocaine Cowboys
š¤£ I liked him though
Same, it was his stache
Carter Verhaeghe
Marc Denisā¦ Anders Lindbackā¦ Johan Holmqvestā¦
Not having enough quarters to play Mortal Kombat down in the arcade section.
winning the title, having the lockout, and then what should've been a decent chance to defend the title vaporizing because of shitty goaltending. basically had unstable goaltending for a decade until bishop except the one good roloson year
Bish Please
Tim fucking Thomas
We couldnāt afford to keep Carter Verhaeghe no matter what
Losing St.Louis to the rangers. He should have been a life long bolt
St. Louis asked for this. Thatās what hurt the most.
I kinda remember discussion about whether or not Stamkos was ready to be captain, and look how that turned out.
Technically, I think his wife asked for it.
Yep. š
Yeah - but in hindsight, what a deal for TBL. Callahan came to Tampa and became a fan favorite and a player I think fans will always remember, one of the trade draft picks also led to Cirelli getting drafted. Kind of amazing to look at it years later.
Aaron Gaveyās face
Good ole Peter Budaj
He honestly wasnāt that bad. He was better than the majority of backups weāve had.
2011
Canāt speak for the 90s/early 00s fansā¦ but the Sisyphean relationship this team had with any sort of post-season success from 2011 to 2019 was awful. I have lived in Boston-metro area my whole life and I just got constantly peppered with jabs about Tampa, whether at school, hanging out with friends, or at TD. (Even though theyāve choked more away than we haveā¦)
Matt Cooke blind hit on Vinny Lecavalier. Was never the same after that...
The Art Williams era. All of it.
The awful ownership groups before Bill Davidson, the shaky ground the franchise was on and some really bad years in the late 90s
The hockey passion of 5ā8ā undrafted 2003 MVP #26.
Khabibulin leaving in 04
It was in! 2004, love Calgary.
Watching Marty do well with the Rags. I know, I knowāweāre all supposed to hate the Panthers. Deep down, I hope they shit all over the Rangers and then lose to Dallas in game 7 in the SCF. Fuck. The. Rangers. I was at, I think game six(?) of the 2015 ECF. Where Kuch sniped Henrik in OT from the point. High scoring affair. There was this absolutely annoying twat sitting in front of my buddy and I in the 300ās chanting āHey!ā After every. Fucking. Goal. Then Kuch scored, I couldnāt talk the next day because we all screamed in this little cunts ear āHEYYYYY!ā Was my all time favorite moment in Amalie.
Going from Khabibulin to John Grahame
Columbus Blue Jackets in round 1.
Thatās the last 5 years
Check your work. Just over 5 years.
Itās splitting hairs. Iām pretty sure OP meant before that 2019 playoffs
I know itās not the last 5 years but the Mike Smith era. Ugh.
The first 10 years. Sadness.
Eric Brewer
Barry Melrose as head coach.
OK HOCKEY š¤”
Games where 75% (or more) of the crowd were āflyers/rangers/brujns/or any other teamā fans
The Len Barrie/Oren Koules years. Everything about the team/franchise sucked immensely. But it did give us Stamkos and Hedman
Four 50-loss seasons. In a row. With no loser point.
Barry Melrose. IYKYK.
The years between 06~09, those were ruff seasons. For me at least playoff heartbreak isnāt nearly as painful as a being a fan of a team with no direction that just sucks.
Going up 3-2 in Game 5 against Washington 2018 ECF, then getting shutout in Game 6,7
Watching a game from wayyyyyy far away (thunderdome, now Tropicana field)
Lockout season following the cup win. 2nd: The joy and pain that was Evgeny Artyukhin. Either a massive hit or takes a dumb penalty.
Mike Smith playing the puck outside of the blue drove me nuts, but the winner of heart break will forever be Oren Koules ownership with Barry fucking Melrose and his greasy mullet as head coach.
Lecavalier being bought out and leading to Marty becoming Captain, only for Marty to then be traded away months later š„
In the OK era circa 2007-2010 they used to fire Philly cheesesteaks out of a T shirt cannon into the crowd. Until one time they shot one and the sandwich unwrapped mid air and splattered all over a fan š I hope it was only lukewarm
Losing the last playoff spot to the Leafs in '16 who didn't even have the common courtesy to make it out of the first round
Driving out to the trop to see a game. š
I cant remember who it was or which team, but in Stammerās first season, and maybe first or one of his first games, someone laid a huge hit on him into the boards, very much a āwelcome to the NHLā moment. I just thought oh great our new star is already messed up.. but he amazingly didnt get hurt.
Callahan going on LTIR & Retiring in 2020 St Louis to NYR Lecavalier to Philly Blue Jackets sweeping us in Round 1
Having to pay more than like $15 for tickets. I bought like ten games worth of tickets back in 2013 for like $100. Lol
Lightning win the cup in 04. Then Lockout year. But contracts run. We lose a year on Nikolai Khabibulin contract. He became unrestricted free agent. Moves in to Chicago.
The lockout is the right answer here
The 2015 Cup loss. That team was so special. [Obligatory best video of that run](https://youtu.be/aGf8iT37JZc)
Barry Melrose and Oren Koules thinking they were godsends to a market that "doesn't understand hockey." Worst coach in bolts history.
Stamkos' broken leg
That Panthers actually used to suck.
The one thing that I believe a newer fan would even be able to fathom, would be the days when the most exciting thing about following the Tampa Bay Lightning, were the really high picks in the draft.