Along with the Ottawa Senators, the Tampa Bay Lightning entered the league in 1992. Unlike the Senators, the Lightning were playing closer to borderline playoff contender status in their early days. However, after their first playoff appearance in 1996, the Lightning went downhill, largely due to poor decisions from the front office. The mid-2000's saw the team regain some respectability, winning a Stanley Cup in 2004. However, more front office squabbles would derail the team in the late 2000's. Recently, the Lightning cleaned house, and the team is back on the road to respectability.
In the team's history, the Lightning have had eight captains. For the first three seasons, the Lightning went without a captain. In 1995, Paul Ysebaert was named the first team captain, holding the captaincy until 1997. The next four years would mirror the struggles, as the team went with Mikael Renberg (1997-98), Rob Zamuner (1998-99), Chris Gratton (1999), Bill Houlder (1999-2000), and Vincent Lecavalier (2000-01) all wear the C in that time. After a year without a captain, Dave Andreychuk would be named captain in 2002. He would establish the team's locker room tradition of not stepping on the team logo in the middle of the locker room and in the process, lead the team to a Stanley Cup in 2004. After he retired in 2006, Tim Taylor would take over the captaincy. Another veteran, there wasn't much of a drop-off in leadership. Taylor would wear the C until his retirement in 2008. Lecavalier would be named captain again in 2008, a role he currently holds.
No comments:
Post a Comment