Early years (1992–2000) Bringing hockey to Tampa In the late 1980s, the NHL announced it would expand the league. Two rival groups from the
Tampa Bay Area decided to bid for a franchise: a
St. Petersburg-based group fronted by future
Hartford Whalers/
Carolina Hurricanes owners
Peter Karmanos Jr. and
Jim Rutherford, and a Tampa-based group fronted by brothers
Phil and
Tony Esposito and
Mel Lowell. One of the Esposito group's key backers, the
Pritzker family, backed out a few months before the bid, to be replaced by a consortium of Japanese businesses headed by Kokusai Green, a golf course and resort operator. Although it appeared on paper that the Karmanos/Rutherford group had more financial resources, it only wanted to pay $29 million of the $50 million expansion fee before starting operations. In contrast, the Esposito/Kokusai Green group was one of the few groups willing to pay the full $50 million fee up front. The Esposito group won the expansion franchise on December 6, 1990, and named the team the Lightning, after Tampa Bay's status as the "Lightning Capital of North America." fronted an ownership group that was later awarded an NHL franchise in 1992. Phil Esposito assigned himself president and general manager, while Tony became chief scout, and Mel Lowell executive vice-president and treasurer.
Terry Crisp, who played for the
Philadelphia Flyers when they won two
Stanley Cups in the mid-1970s and coached the
Calgary Flames to a Stanley Cup in
1989, was hired as the first head coach. In 1991,
Angus Montagu, 12th Duke of Manchester announced that a company of which he was a director would raise millions of dollars in investments in the Lightning, but his plans were unsuccessful and he was later convicted of wire fraud. The Lightning played their first preseason game in September 1992 against the
Minnesota North Stars.
Manon Rhéaume became the first woman to play in any major professional sports league when she suited up for the Lightning in a preseason game, stopping seven of nine shots in goal. The Lightning played their first regular season game on October 7, 1992, in Tampa's
Expo Hall at the
Florida State Fairgrounds. They defeated the visiting
Chicago Blackhawks, winning 7–3 with four goals by
Chris Kontos. The team rose to the top of the
Campbell Conference's
Norris Division within a month, behind Kontos' initial torrid scoring pace and a breakout season by forward
Brian Bradley. However, the team finished in last place with a 23–54–7 record for 53 points. The following season Lightning shifted to the
Eastern Conference's
Atlantic Division, as well as move into the
Florida Suncoast Dome (a building originally designed for baseball) in St. Petersburg, which was reconfigured for hockey and renamed the "ThunderDome". The team acquired
goaltender Daren Puppa,
left wing goal scorer
Petr Klima, and veteran forward
Denis Savard. The Lightning finished last in the Atlantic Division in 1993–94 with a record of 30–43–11. Another disappointing season followed in the lockout-shortened
1994–95 season with a record of 17–28–3.
On-ice and off-ice struggles In the
1995–96 season, backed by Bradley's team-leading 79 points, the Lightning qualified for the playoffs. Playing the
Philadelphia Flyers in the first round, the Lightning split the opening two games in Philadelphia before taking game three in overtime before a ThunderDome crowd of 28,183. This was the largest crowd for an NHL game, a record that stood until the
2003 Heritage Classic in Edmonton; and it still stands as the largest crowd at a
Stanley Cup playoffs game. The Lightning lost the series in six games. The Lightning moved into the current arena in downtown Tampa, the Ice Palace (now
Benchmark International Arena) for the
1996–97 season. They acquired
Dino Ciccarelli from the
Detroit Red Wings during the 1996 offseason. Puppa developed a back injury that kept him out of all but six games during the season. Bradley also lost time to a series of concussions that would limit him to a total of 49 games from 1996 until his retirement in December 1999. Crisp was fired 11 games into the
1997–98 season and replaced by
Jacques Demers. The team did not improve and the Lightning lost 55 games. The Lightning's plunge to the bottom of the NHL was due to inattentive ownership by Kokusai Green. Rumors abounded as early as the team's second season that the Lightning were on the brink of bankruptcy and that the team was part of a
money laundering scheme for the
yakuza (Japanese crime families). Its scouting operation consisted of Tony Esposito and several satellite dishes. The
Internal Revenue Service investigated the team in 1994 and 1995, and nearly threatened to put a
tax lien on the franchise for $750,000 in back taxes. The situation led longtime NHL broadcaster and writer
Stan Fischler to call the Lightning a "skating vaudeville show." Even in their first playoff season, the team was awash in red ink and Kokusai Green was looking to sell the team. However, its asking price of $230 million for the team and the lease with the Ice Palace deterred buyers. Nearly all of Kokusai Green's investment in the team and the Ice Palace came in the form of loans, leaving the team constantly short of cash. At least one prospective buyer pulled out after expressing doubts that Okubo even existed. Even though the Ice Palace was built for hockey and the Lightning were the only major tenant,
Forbes called the team's deal with the arena a lemon since it would not result in much revenue for 30 years. It was also behind on paying state sales taxes and federal payroll taxes. In 1998, Kokusai Green found a buyer. Although
William Davidson, longtime owner of the
Detroit Pistons of the
National Basketball Association (NBA), was thought to be the frontrunner, the buyer turned out to be insurance tycoon and motivational speaker
Art Williams, who previously owned the
Birmingham Barracudas of the
Canadian Football League (CFL). The team was $102 million in debt at the time the sale closed. He also cleared most of the debt from the Kokusai Green era. After taking control, Williams publicly assured the Espositos that their jobs were safe, only to fire them two games into the 1998–99 season. He then gave Demers complete control of hockey operations as both coach and general manager. Williams was widely seen as being in over his head. The Lightning drafted
Vincent Lecavalier first overall in 1998.
Playoff contention and first Cup (2000–2010) By the spring of 1999, Williams was looking to sell the team. He had not attended a game in some time because "this team broke my heart". He lost $20 million in the 1998–99 season alone, as much money in one year as he had estimated he could have reasonably lost in five years. Williams sold the team for $115 million—$2 million less than he had paid for the team a year earlier—to Detroit Pistons owner
Bill Davidson, who had almost bought the team a year earlier. Davidson remained in Detroit, but appointed Tom Wilson as team president to handle day-to-day management of the team. Wilson immediately fired Demers and persuaded
Ottawa Senators general manager
Rick Dudley to take over as the Lightning's new general manager; Dudley, in turn, brought Vipers coach
Steve Ludzik in as the team's new head coach. Even with a wholesale transfer of talent from Detroit to Tampa, the Lightning lost 54 games in
1999–2000 and 52 in
2000–01, becoming the first team in NHL history to post four straight 50-loss seasons. Ludzik was replaced in early 2001 by assistant coach
John Tortorella. At the 2001 trade deadline, the team acquired goaltender
Nikolai Khabibulin from the
Phoenix Coyotes for three players and a draft pick. The
2001–02 season, Tortorella's first full year behind the bench, saw some improvement.
Martin St. Louis was having a breakout season until he broke his leg midway through the season and was injured for the remainder of the season. By mid-February, the Lightning were well out of playoff contention. Dudley resigned amidst the team's losing streaks, being replaced by assistant
Jay Feaster. Tortorella stripped Lecavalier of the captaincy due to contract negotiations that made him miss the start of the season.
Two dream seasons and first Stanley Cup championship (2002–2004) In
2002–03, the team was led by the goaltending of Nikolai Khabibulin and the scoring efforts of Lecavalier, St. Louis,
Fredrik Modin, Richards and
Ruslan Fedotenko. They won the division by one point, giving them home-ice advantage in their first-round matchup with the Capitals. In the first round of the
playoffs, the Lightning fell two games behind in the series but followed the two losses with four consecutive wins for their first playoff series win in franchise history. However, in the conference semifinals, they went down in five games to the
New Jersey Devils. The Lightning's improvement continued through the
2003–04 regular season, finishing with a record of 46–22–8–6 for 106 points. In the first round of the playoffs, the Lightning ousted the
New York Islanders in five games, with Khabibulin posting shutouts in games one, three, and four. In the second round, the Lightning defeated the
Montreal Canadiens in a four-game sweep. They then faced the
Philadelphia Flyers in the conference finals, winning in seven games to gain a berth to the
Stanley Cup Final. Their opponent in the Final was the
Calgary Flames. Ruslan Fedotenko scored both Lightning goals their game seven victory. Brad Richards, who had 26 points in the postseason, won the
Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs. Tortorella won the
Jack Adams Award as the NHL's coach of the year. The Lightning became the southernmost team to win the Stanley Cup, an accomplishment since surpassed by the
Florida Panthers. Martin St. Louis led the team and the NHL with 94 points, and won the
Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player. St. Louis also won the
Lester B. Pearson Award for the NHL's most outstanding player as voted by the
NHL Players' Association. A season of superlatives was capped with one final accolade, as
The Sporting News named general manager Jay Feaster as the league's executive of the year for 2003–04.
Post-championship disappointments (2004–2008) The Lightning had to wait a year to defend their title due to the
2004–05 NHL lockout, during which goaltender Khabibulin left in free agency. In
2005–06, they made the
playoffs, but lost to the Ottawa Senators in five games in the first round. ,
Vincent Lecavalier broke the then franchise record for most points, and goals in a single season. During the offseason, the Lightning traded Fredrik Modin and
Fredrik Norrena to the
Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for goaltender
Marc Denis in an effort to replace the departing
John Grahame, who had signed with the Carolina Hurricanes. However, free agent
Johan Holmqvist would receive the majority of playing time and most of the club's wins.
Vincent Lecavalier broke the franchise record for most points in a season, finishing with 108. Lecavalier also broke the franchise's goal-scoring record, finishing with a league-leading 52 goals. The Lightning were eliminated in the playoffs, losing game six to the New Jersey Devils in the conference quarterfinals. with the Lightning in 2007. Following their playoff exit, on August 7, 2007, Absolute Hockey Enterprises, a group led by
Doug MacLean, announced it had signed a purchase agreement for the team and the
leasehold on the St. Pete Times Forum. The group announced it planned to keep the team in Tampa. However, the sale was canceled in November, 2007, when Absolute failed to pay an initial $5 million. On February 13, 2008, Palace Sports & Entertainment agreed to sell the Lightning to OK Hockey LLC, a group headed by
Oren Koules, a producer of the
Saw horror movies, and
Len Barrie, a former NHL player and real estate developer. During the
2007–08 season, the team was active at the trade deadline. Trades included Vaclav Prospal's trade to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for prospect
Alexandre Picard and a conditional draft pick. Additionally, former Conn Smythe Trophy winner Brad Richards and goaltender Johan Holmqvist were traded to the
Dallas Stars in exchange for goaltender
Mike Smith and forwards
Jussi Jokinen and
Jeff Halpern, as well as a fourth-round draft pick in
2009. The team significantly declined and finished with 71 points. Upon winning the draft lottery, they would use their first overall pick to select
Steven Stamkos. Head coach
John Tortorella was fired by the Lightning following the season. At the time working as an NHL analyst for
ESPN,
Barry Melrose stated on June 4 during an episode of
Pardon the Interruption that he missed coaching and would entertain any NHL coaching offers. He stated, "I miss not having a dog in the fight." Melrose was hired as coach soon after.
Arrival of Steven Stamkos (2008–2010) Leading up to the start of the
2008–09 season, the Lightning centered their promotional efforts around Stamkos, including a website with the slogan "Seen Stamkos?" On July 4, 2008, Dan Boyle, despite coming off a recent contract extension, was traded (along with
Brad Lukowich) to the
San Jose Sharks in exchange for
Matt Carle,
Ty Wishart, a first-round draft pick in
2009 and a fourth-round pick in
2010. Boyle was pressured to waive his no-trade clause by Tampa Bay's ownership, who said they would otherwise place him on waivers. Former coach Tortorella later labeled the owners as "cowboys" and said he had zero respect for them. Frustrated at interference in the team's hockey operations by Barrie and Koules, seven days later, Jay Feaster resigned as general manager. The Lightning did not get off to a great start as hoped, and Melrose was eventually fired by the Lightning with a 5–7–4 record.
Rick Tocchet, who had been hired as assistant coach during the previous offseason, was promoted to interim head coach. After the firing of Melrose, the Lightning went 19–33–14 and would finish the season 24–40–18 with 66 points. with the Lightning in March 2010. He signed a four-year extension with the team in the 2010 off-season. With the second overall pick in the
2009 NHL entry draft, the Lightning selected Swedish defenseman
Victor Hedman. In the 2009 offseason, the Lightning removed the interim status of Rick Tocchet, making him the full-time head coach. During the
2009–10 season, Stamkos scored 51 goals in his second NHL season along with 44 assists and 95 points. His 51 goals earned himself a share of the
Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy by tying for the NHL lead in goals with
Sidney Crosby. During the season, the team was sold to
Bostonian investment banker
Jeffrey Vinik. Following the late-season collapse, Vinik cleaned house, firing both head coach Rick Tocchet and general manager
Brian Lawton on April 12, 2010, one day after the season ended.
Steve Yzerman era (2010–2018) 2011 run to the Eastern Conference finals (2010–2011) In May 2010, Vinik hired
Steve Yzerman as general manager. Yzerman then hired
Guy Boucher from the Montreal Canadiens organization to succeed Rick Tocchet as the head coach two weeks later. In the offseason, the Lightning signed star winger Martin St. Louis to a four-year, $22.5 million contract extension. They also traded defenseman
Matt Walker and Tampa Bay's fourth-round pick in 2011 for winger
Simon Gagne. Other off-season acquisitions included the signing of forwards
Sean Bergenheim,
Dominic Moore and
Marc-Antoine Pouliot, along with defensemen
Brett Clark,
Randy Jones and
Pavel Kubina and goaltender
Dan Ellis, as well as the re-signing of restricted free agent forward
Steve Downie to a two-year, $3.7 million deal. During the
2010–11 season, the team acquired veteran
Dwayne Roloson from the New York Islanders. The Lightning compiled a 46–25–11 record with 103 points, matching a franchise record for wins in a season. Scoring 31 goals and assisting on 68 for 99 points,
Martin St. Louis finished second in the NHL in points only behind the 104 points by
Daniel Sedin of the
Vancouver Canucks. conference semifinals. The team went on to sweep the
Washington Capitals in the series. In the
2011 playoffs, Tampa Bay played the
Pittsburgh Penguins in the conference quarterfinals who finished the season as the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. After losing game four at home in the second overtime period, they fell behind in the series one game to three. However, the Lightning went on to win the next three games, including a 1–0 game seven win on the road, taking their first playoff series since winning the Stanley Cup against the
Calgary Flames in 2004. In the conference semifinals, the Lightning swept the top-seeded
Washington Capitals. Tampa Bay played the
Boston Bruins in the conference finals, but lost in seven games.
Transition seasons (2011–2013) The Lightning finished the
2011–12 season with a 38–36–8 record. With only 84 points, they fell short of reaching the playoffs by eight points in the standings and ending the season third in the Southeast Division and tenth in the Eastern Conference. Individually,
Steven Stamkos scored a franchise-record 60 goals. He won the
Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy for the second time in his career. Stamkos was also second in the NHL in points with 97, and was a finalist for both the
Hart Memorial Trophy for the first time and the
Ted Lindsay Award for the second consecutive season which both awards eventually going to
Evgeni Malkin of the
Pittsburgh Penguins. During the
2012–13 season, head coach Guy Boucher was dismissed for following a 7–16–1 record.
Syracuse Crunch head coach
Jon Cooper was hired as the head coach. On June 27, 2013, the team announced that they would exercise one of their two "
compliance buyouts" on captain
Vincent Lecavalier. The team stated the move was made not because of Lecavalier's play on the ice, but because of how his contract affected the team's salary cap, which would have been more than $7 million per year until its expiration after the 2019–20 season.
Return to playoff contention (2013–2014) On November 11, 2013, going into the day tied for most goals during the regular season,
Steven Stamkos suffered a broken right
tibia after crashing into one of the goalposts during play against the
Boston Bruins. He would miss 45 games and was not cleared to play again until March 5, 2014. during his first month with the Lightning. Callahan was acquired by the team in a trade that sent
Martin St. Louis to the
New York Rangers. In January 2014, general manager
Steve Yzerman, who also served as the general manager for Canada's team at the
2014 Winter Olympics, elected not to name Lightning captain
Martin St. Louis to Canada's roster, instead choosing the still-injured Stamkos. After Stamkos was not medically cleared to play in
Sochi in early February, Yzerman ultimately named St. Louis to Team Canada as an injury replacement. In late February, it was reported St. Louis requested a trade from Yzerman the month prior. St. Louis, who had a no-move clause in his contract with Tampa Bay, reportedly consented to only being traded to the
New York Rangers. On March 5, 2014, St. Louis was sent to New York along with a conditional 2015 second-round pick in exchange for New York captain
Ryan Callahan, a 2015 first-round draft pick, a conditional 2014 second-round pick and a 2015 conditional seventh-round pick. The deal came subsequently after Stamkos was cleared to return to the Lightning's active roster. St. Louis cited his decision based on his family and thanked Lightning fans for their support during his tenure with the franchise, but would not specify any further about the reasons leading to his request. On March 6, Steven Stamkos was named Tampa Bay's 10th captain. Finishing the season with 101 points, the Lightning placed second in the Atlantic Division, qualifying for the playoffs for the first time since 2011. However, Tampa Bay was eliminated in the first round, losing to the
Montreal Canadiens in a four-game sweep.
Contention for the Stanley Cup (2014–2018) Finishing the
2014–15 season with 108 points, the Lightning placed second in the Atlantic Division and qualified for the playoffs for the second consecutive season. Tampa Bay eliminated the
Detroit Red Wings in seven games in the first round of the playoffs before facing the
Montreal Canadiens in the second round. The Lightning won the series in six games. In the conference finals, the Lightning and the New York Rangers pushed the series to seven games. In game seven, Bishop recorded his third shutout of the playoffs in a 2–0 victory against the Rangers to lead the Lightning to their first appearance in the
Stanley Cup Final since 2004. The Lightning not only became the first team to defeat the Rangers in a game seven at
Madison Square Garden, but they also became the first team to successfully defeat three
Original Six teams in the first three rounds of the playoffs. The Lightning would face the
Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Final, making it the first time a finalist faced four Original Six teams in the playoffs since the four-round format was introduced in
1980. However, they lost the series in six games. During the series, goaltender Bishop would be injured and
Andrei Vasilevskiy would make his NHL debut, winning game two in relief. for game 6 of the
2015 Stanley Cup Final The Lightning had a slow start to the
2015–16 season. The season was filled with controversy for the team, starting off with the contractual questions regarding captain
Steven Stamkos and with the former third overall pick
Jonathan Drouin publicly requesting a trade and being suspended from the organization. The Lightning picked up their play at the beginning of 2016 and set the franchise record to nine consecutive wins on March 5, 2016, when
Alex Killorn scored with 42.5 seconds remaining in overtime to propel the Lightning to a 4–3 victory over the
Carolina Hurricanes at the then Amalie Arena. On March 26, 2016, the Lightning announced cornerstone defenseman
Anton Stralman had suffered a fractured leg in their game against the
New York Islanders at home. Stamkos was out of the lineup for the team's game on April 2 against the
New Jersey Devils in Tampa; general manager
Steve Yzerman announced after the game that the captain would miss one-to-three months due to a blood clot in his arm. Due to the injuries on the team, Drouin rejoined the team. The Lightning finished second in the Atlantic Division and would once again face the third-seeded Detroit Red Wings in the first round of the
playoffs. The Lightning defeated the Red Wings in five games. In the second round, they defeated the
New York Islanders. The Lightning were set to play against the
Pittsburgh Penguins in the conference finals, which they lost in seven games. emerged as the Lightning's leading point-scorer during the
2015–16 season. With the Lightning under the spotlight in the 2016 offseason, Drouin rescinded his trade request. On June 29, the team re-signed Stamkos to an eight-year deal. Defenseman
Victor Hedman was then signed to an eight-year contract on July 1, along with a seven-year deal for Alex Killorn and three-year deals to winger
Nikita Kucherov and goaltender
Andrei Vasilevskiy. The Lightning narrowly missed the playoffs in the 2016–17 season. Finishing with 94 points, they were beaten to the second wildcard by the Toronto Maple Leafs, with 95 points. The 2016–17 season for the Lightning was a host of injuries, mainly their captain, Steven Stamkos. Stamkos went down in the 17th game, against the Detroit Red Wings on November 15, 2016. It was revealed he suffered from a torn left meniscus, which put him out for the rest of the season. Ryan Callahan would also play in only 18 games due to multiple surgeries to his back and hip. Towards the end of the season, they traded goaltender Ben Bishop to the
Los Angeles Kings, center
Brian Boyle to the Toronto Maple Leafs, and forward
Valtteri Filppula to the
Philadelphia Flyers. However, there were positive signs as winger Nikita Kucherov emerged with 40 goals for the first time in his career and the Lightning also showcased their young talent with rookie
Brayden Point and AHL call-ups
Yanni Gourde and
Jake Dotchin. won the
James Norris Memorial Trophy in
2017–18. In the 2017 offseason, the Lightning made a deal with the Montreal Canadiens to send Jonathan Drouin for defensive prospect
Mikhail Sergachev and a second-round pick in the
2018 NHL entry draft. They also signed defenseman
Daniel Girardi for two years and winger
Chris Kunitz to a one-year deal. In the
2017–18 season, Steven Stamkos returned from injury, scoring 20 points in the first 10 games and assisting on nine of Nikita Kucherov's 11 goals. The Lightning finished the 2017–18 season with a record of 54–23–5, finishing with 113 points. The Lightning won their first
Atlantic Division title and first division title since the 2003–04 season, as well as securing the top seed in the Eastern Conference for the
2018 Stanley Cup playoffs. Andrei Vasilevskiy was nominated for the
Vezina Trophy for the first time. Nikita Kucherov scored 100 points during the regular season, finishing third overall in the league. Steve Yzerman was once again nominated for the
NHL General Manager of the Year Award. During the 2018 playoffs, the Lightning eliminated the New Jersey Devils in the first round and the Boston Bruins in the second round, both in five games. However, they were defeated in the conference finals by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals, in seven games.
Julien BriseBois era (2018–present) First Presidents' Trophy winner swept in the first round (2018–2019) On September 11, 2018,
Steve Yzerman announced his resignation from his position as general manager, and longtime assistant general manager
Julien BriseBois took his place as the new general manager. During the
2018–19 season, the Lightning clinched their first
Presidents' Trophy and second consecutive division title after a 4–1 win over the
Arizona Coyotes on March 18, 2019. Winning their final regular season game against the
Boston Bruins on April 6, the Lightning finished with 62 wins, tying the NHL record set by the
1995–96 Detroit Red Wings for most wins in a season.
Nikita Kucherov became the second player in Lightning franchise history (after
Martin St. Louis) to win the
Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's most valuable player and the
Art Ross Trophy as the league's leading point scorer, setting a new franchise record of 128 points.
Andrei Vasilevskiy became the first player in franchise history to win the
Vezina Trophy as the league's best goaltender. However, in the first round of the
2019 playoffs, they were swept in four games by the eighth seeded
Columbus Blue Jackets in that team's first-ever playoff series victory, becoming the first Presidents' Trophy winner to be swept in the first round of the playoffs.
The series is widely regarded as one of the biggest
upsets in league history. Former NHL player and
NBC Sports analyst
Jeremy Roenick described Tampa's elimination as "one of the biggest letdowns in history", while the
Tampa Bay Times described it as "the disappointment that all others are measured against".
Back-to-back Stanley Cups and three straight Final appearances (2019–2022) Following their earlier than expected exit from the 2019 playoffs, several players left the Lightning. Left winger
J. T. Miller was traded to the
Vancouver Canucks. Backup goaltender
Louis Domingue was dealt to the
New Jersey Devils for a conditional seventh-round draft pick in
2021. Defenseman
Anton Stralman left the team in free agency after five seasons and signed a three-year contract with the intrastate rival
Florida Panthers. Right winger
Ryan Callahan's career was effectively ended when he was diagnosed with a degenerative back disease. Defenseman
Daniel Girardi went unsigned over the summer and eventually announced his retirement from playing hockey effective immediately after his two-year contract he signed in 2017 expired. To make up for these losses, the Lightning signed defenseman
Kevin Shattenkirk to a one-year contract. Left winger
Patrick Maroon, who was coming off a
Stanley Cup championship with his hometown team, the
St. Louis Blues, was also signed to a one-year deal. The Lightning re-signed centers
Brayden Point and
Cédric Paquette to two and three-year contracts, respectively. Starting goaltender
Andrei Vasilevskiy's contract was also extended by eight years. The Lightning began the season with a 17–13–4 record after 34 games. After this point, they won 23 of their next 26 games, including two separate win streaks of at least ten games, the second of which eventually set a new franchise record of eleven consecutive wins. They lost captain
Steven Stamkos to injury once again, as he underwent surgery to repair a
core muscle in late February. He was expected to miss 6–8 weeks as a result, which at the time was expected to keep him out for the remainder of the regular season and the start of the playoffs. backstopped the Lightning to back-to-back
Stanley Cup championships, winning the
Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in
2021. Tampa Bay had only played 70 games when the NHL suspended the season on March 12, 2020, due to concerns over the
COVID-19 pandemic. At the time, the Lightning had a record of 43–21–6 and were second in their conference. By virtue of having one of the top four highest point percentages at the time the season was suspended, the Lightning not only qualified for the playoffs, but would first compete in a single round robin opening round group with the
Boston Bruins,
Washington Capitals, and
Philadelphia Flyers to determine seeding. Winning two out of three games, the Lightning earned the second seed in the East. Following the round robin, the Lightning drew the
Columbus Blue Jackets again in the first round. The first game of the series ultimately became the
fourth-longest NHL game in history, as the game-winning goal was scored by Brayden Point at the 10:27 mark of the fifth overtime period. Point also scored in overtime for a second time in game five, eliminating Columbus and avenging their playoff defeat from the previous year. In the second round, the Lightning faced the
Presidents' Trophy-winning Boston Bruins. After losing the first game of this series, the Lightning rallied to win the next four, with
Victor Hedman's double-overtime goal in game five sealing the series victory for Tampa Bay. In the conference finals, the Lightning took on the
New York Islanders, winning in six games. The win earned the Lightning the
Prince of Wales Trophy for the third time in their history, and their first trip to the
Stanley Cup Final since . In the
2020 Stanley Cup Final, the Lightning met the
Dallas Stars winning the series in six games win in game six to win their second
Stanley Cup championship, and first since 2004.
Victor Hedman was named the
Conn Smythe Trophy winner as the
MVP of the playoffs.
Nikita Kucherov set a new franchise record for points in a single playoff season with 34, and also became the franchise leader for playoff goals, assists, and points.
Andrei Vasilevskiy surpassed both former Lightning goaltender
Ben Bishop and
Nikolai Khabibulin to become the franchise leader in playoff games played and playoff games won. The victory led to a new tradition for Tampa Bay sports teams: boat parades. The 2020 Lightning held a parade of boats on the
Hillsborough River rather than a traditional
victory parade through the streets of the city, mainly to comply with COVID-19 regulations, but subsequent championship teams in Tampa have held similar parades even with those restrictions lifted. Due to COVID-19, the league moved the Lightning to the
Central Division.
Nikita Kucherov would miss the entire regular season with a hip surgery he had in December 2020. During the season, the Lightning acquired defenseman
David Savard through a multi-team trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets and the
Detroit Red Wings. The Lightning also acquired defenseman
Fredrik Claesson in another trade with the
San Jose Sharks. The Lightning finished the season with a 36–17–3 record, and would finish third in the Central Division. Entering the
2021 playoffs, the Lightning faced the
Florida Panthers in the first round, making this the first time the two
state rivals would meet each other in the playoffs. The Lightning won the series 4–2. In the second round, the Lightning faced the
Carolina Hurricanes. In the third game of the series,
Brayden Point would score the first goal in a playoff goal-scoring streak that would last for nine games, coming in second to
Reggie Leach with 10 games in a single playoff year. The Lightning won the series in five games. For the second consecutive year, the Lightning would again face the
New York Islanders before heading to the
2021 Stanley Cup Final, which Tampa Bay won in seven games. In the Stanley Cup Final, the Lightning won the series in five games. Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP. Patrick Maroon won his third consecutive Stanley Cup, one with the St. Louis Blues in 2019 and two with the Lightning in 2020 and 2021. Maroon later slipped and dropped the Stanley Cup and severely dented the trophy's bowl during a celebration at Julian B. Lane Park following the team's victory parade on July 12. Maroon cited the strong thunderstorm during the outdoor celebration as the reason, and the Cup was quickly repaired. On February 26, 2022, the Lightning played their first outdoor game in franchise history against the host
Nashville Predators in the
2022 NHL Stadium Series at
Nissan Stadium. The Lightning won the game 3–2. In the
2022 playoffs, the Lightning defeated the
Toronto Maple Leafs in seven games in the first round and swept their in-state rivals, the Presidents' Trophy–winning
Florida Panthers, in the second round. On June 11, the Lightning clinched their third straight Stanley Cup Final berth after a 2–1 win against the New York Rangers in game six of the conference finals. However, in the
2022 Stanley Cup Final, they came up two wins short for a third consecutive Stanley Cup title by losing the series in game six against the
Colorado Avalanche.
Early playoff exits and Stamkos departure (2022–present) In the
2022–23 season, the Lightning finished in third place in the Atlantic Division and sixth in the Eastern Conference, and once again played the
Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of the
2023 playoffs. However, the Maple Leafs would avenge their loss from the previous year and eliminated the Lightning 4–2. In the
2023–24 season, the Lightning finished in fourth place in the Atlantic Division and the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference, and qualified for the
2024 playoffs as the first wild card, but were eliminated by their in–state rivals and eventual Stanley Cup champions, the
Florida Panthers, in five games in the first round. In the 2024 offseason, longtime captain
Steven Stamkos signed with the
Nashville Predators on the first day of free agency after Stamkos and the team were unable to come up with a contract extension agreement prior to start of free agency. They named
Victor Hedman as the next captain. In the
2024–25 season, the Lightning placed second in the Atlantic Division and the third seeding in the Eastern Conference. They played the
Florida Panthers in the first round of the playoffs and lost 4–1. ==Team colors and mascot==