Editing Tampa Bay Lightning (section)

===Early years (1992–2000)===

====Bringing hockey to Tampa====
In the late 1980s, the NHL announced it would expand. Two rival groups from the [[Tampa Bay Area]] decided to bid for a franchise: a [[St. Petersburg, Florida|St. Petersburg]]-based group fronted by future [[Hartford Whalers]]/[[Carolina Hurricanes]] owners [[Peter Karmanos Jr.|Peter Karmanos]] and [[Jim Rutherford]], and a Tampa-based group fronted by [[Phil Esposito]], his brother [[Tony Esposito|Tony]] (both members of the [[Hockey Hall of Fame]]), and [[Mel Lowell]],<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Montgomery |first1=Ben |title=Twists, turns and colorful characters brought Lightning hockey to Tampa Bay |url=https://www.tampabay.com/features/humaninterest/twists-turns-and-colorful-characters-brought-lightning-hockey-to-tampa-bay/2233535/ |access-date=December 9, 2024 |website=Tampa Bay Times |date=June 13, 2015}}</ref> who was vice-president of [[Madison Square Garden]] for 14 years. 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.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Power Plays: An Inside Look at the Big Business of the National Hockey League|last=Stein|first=Gil|year=1997|pages=86–92}}</ref> The Esposito group would win the expansion franchise on December 6, 1990,<ref>{{cite web |title=A franchise is born 25 years ago |url=https://www.nhl.com/lightning/news/a-franchise-is-born-25-years-ago/c-791248 |website=NHL.com |access-date=May 27, 2019 |date=December 6, 2015}}</ref> and name the team the Lightning, after Tampa Bay's status as the "Lightning Capital of North America".

[[File:Philip Esposito, February 2012.jpeg|thumb|left|[[Phil Esposito]] 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.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Esposito |first1=Phil |title=Thunder and Lightning: A No-B.S. Hockey Memoir |last2=Goldenbock |first2=Peter |date=2003}}</ref> [[Terry Crisp]], who played for the [[Philadelphia Flyers]] when they won two [[Stanley Cup]]s in the mid-1970s and coached the [[Calgary Flames]] to a Stanley Cup in [[1988–89 NHL season|1989]], was tapped as the first head coach. Phil Esposito also hired former teammates from the [[Boston Bruins]] of the 1970s, including former linemate [[Wayne Cashman]] as an assistant coach and former Bruin trainer John "Frosty" Forristal as the team's trainer. The inaugural team photo has him flanked by Cashman and player [[Ken Hodge, Jr.]], son of his other Bruins' linemate.

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.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Basse |first1=Craig |title=Notorious duke, tied to Lightning, dies |url=https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2002/08/01/notorious-duke-tied-to-lightning-dies/ |access-date=May 20, 2022 |work=[[Tampa Bay Times|Tampabay.com]] |date=August 1, 2002}}</ref>

The Lightning played their first preseason game in September 1992 against the [[Minnesota North Stars]], and then turned heads later that preseason when [[Manon Rhéaume]] became the first woman to play in an NHL game, which also made her the first woman to play in any of the major professional North American sports leagues. She played for the Lightning against the [[St. Louis Blues]], and stopped seven of nine shots.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Basu |first1=Arpon |title=Part 1: Manon Rhéaume shatters the gender barrier |url=https://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=642005 |website=NHL.com |access-date=March 10, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120925233533/https://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=642005 |archive-date=September 25, 2012 |date=September 23, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Manon Rheaume, Team Canada |url=http://www.whockey.com/profile/canada/rheaume.html |website=whockey.com |access-date=March 10, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240915045526/http://www.whockey.com/profile/canada/rheaume.html |archive-date=September 15, 2024}}</ref>

The Lightning played their first regular season game on October 7, 1992, in Tampa's tiny 11,000-seat [[Expo Hall]] at the [[Florida State Fairgrounds]]. They surprised the visiting [[Chicago Blackhawks]], winning 7–3 with four goals by little-known [[Chris Kontos]]. The team rose to the top of the [[Western Conference (NHL)|Campbell Conference]]'s [[Norris Division]] within a month, behind Kontos' initial torrid scoring pace and a breakout season by forward [[Brian Bradley (ice hockey, born 1965)|Brian Bradley]]. However, it buckled under the strain of some of the longest road trips in the NHL—their nearest division rival, the Blues, were over {{convert|1000|mi}} away—and finished in last place with a record of 23–54–7 for 53 points. This was, at the time, one of the best-ever showings by an NHL expansion team. Bradley's 42 goals gave Tampa Bay fans optimism for the next season; it would be a team record until the 2006–07 season.

The following season saw the Lightning shift to the [[Eastern Conference (NHL)|Eastern Conference]]'s [[Atlantic Division (NHL)|Atlantic Division]], as well as move into the [[Tropicana Field|Florida Suncoast Dome]] (a building originally designed for baseball) in St. Petersburg, which was reconfigured for hockey and renamed the "ThunderDome."<ref>{{cite web|last=Buckley|first=Tim |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/325053951/?terms=ThunderDome|title=Lightning's spark? It was on the bench|work=Tampa Bay Times|date=October 10, 1993|page=6C|access-date=April 7, 2018}}</ref> The team acquired [[goaltender]] [[Daren Puppa]], [[winger (ice hockey)|left wing]] goal scorer [[Petr Klíma|Petr Klima]], and veteran forward [[Denis Savard]]. While Puppa's play resulted in a significant improvement in goals allowed (from 332 to 251), Savard was long past his prime and Klima's scoring was offset by his defensive lapses. The Lightning finished last in the Atlantic Division in 1993–94 with a record of 30–43–11 for 71 points. Another disappointing season followed in the lockout-shortened [[1994–95 NHL season|1994–95 season]] with a record of 17–28–3 for 37 points.

====On-ice and off-ice struggles====
In their fourth season, [[1995–96 NHL season|1995–96]], backed by Bradley's team-leading 79 points, second-year forward [[Alexander Selivanov]]'s 31 goals, and [[Roman Hamrlík|Roman Hamrlik]]'s All-Star year on defense, the Lightning finally qualified for the playoffs, posting a 38–32–12 record for 88 points, ahead of the defending [[Stanley Cup]] champion [[New Jersey Devils]] for the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference by a single win. Due to his stellar play in net, Puppa was named a finalist for the [[Vezina Trophy]] (losing out to [[Jim Carey (ice hockey)|Jim Carey]] of the [[Washington Capitals]]). Playing the [[Philadelphia Flyers]], a team seen as a Stanley Cup contender, in the first round, the Lightning split the opening two games in Philadelphia before taking game 3 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 today as the largest crowd at a [[Stanley Cup playoffs]] game. An injury to Puppa in that game, however, would see the Lightning lose the next three games and the series.

[[File:Amalie Arena.jpg|thumb|The Lightning moved to their present home, the Ice Palace (now [[Amalie Arena]]), during the 1996 off-season.]]
The Lightning moved into a new arena in downtown Tampa, the Ice Palace (later the St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa Bay Times Forum and now [[Amalie Arena]]) for the [[1996–97 NHL season|1996–97 season]]. They had acquired goal-scorer [[Dino Ciccarelli]] from the [[Detroit Red Wings]] during the 1996 off-season, and he did not disappoint, scoring 35 goals while [[Chris Gratton]] notched another 30 goals. The team appeared destined for another playoff appearance, but suffered a devastating rash of injuries. Puppa developed back trouble that kept him out of all but six games during the season; he would only play a total of 50 games from 1996 until his retirement in [[1999–2000 NHL season|2000]]. 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. [[Centre (ice hockey)|Center]] [[John Cullen]] developed [[non-Hodgkin lymphoma]], and missed the last 12 games of the 1996–97 season; he would eventually be forced to retire in 1999. Decimated by these ailments, the Lightning narrowly missed the playoffs. They would not tally as much as 60 points again for five years.

Most of the Lightning's early stars were gone by the [[1998–99 NHL season|1998–99 season]] due to free agency and a series of ill-advised trades. Crisp was fired 11 games into the [[1997–98 NHL season|1997–98 season]] and replaced by [[Jacques Demers]]. Though Demers had presided over the resurgence of the Detroit Red Wings in the 1980s and helmed a Stanley Cup run with the [[Montreal Canadiens]] in 1993, he was unable to change the team's fortunes and the Lightning ended up losing 55 games. That team's .268 winning percentage is still the worst in franchise history.

By most accounts, 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).<ref name="HC">{{Cite book |last=Duhatschek |first=Eric |title=Hockey Chronicles |year=2001 |publisher=Checkmark Books |location=New York City |isbn=0-8160-4697-2 |display-authors=etal |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/hockeychronicles00tren}}</ref> 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."<ref name="Fischler">{{Cite book |title=Cracked Ice: An Insider's Look at the NHL |last=Fischler |first=Stan |author-link=Stan Fischler |year=1999 |publisher=Masters Press |location=[[Lincolnwood, Illinois]] |isbn=1-57028-219-6 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/crackediceinside0000fisc_c0m0}}</ref>

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&nbsp;million for the team and the lease with the Ice Palace deterred buyers.<ref name="Fischler"/> A possible sale was further hampered by the team's murky ownership structure; many team officials (including Crisp) did not know who really owned the team.<ref name="HC"/> Kokusai Green's owner, Takashi Okubo, had never met with the Espositos or with NHL officials in person prior to being awarded the Lightning franchise, and never watched his team play during his seven years as owner.

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.<ref name="Sandomir">{{Cite news|first=Richard |last=Sandomir |title=A Soap Opera on Ice |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/06/sports/hockey-a-soap-opera-on-ice.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=April 6, 1998|access-date=January 27, 2008}}</ref> At least one prospective buyer pulled out after expressing doubts that Okubo even existed.<ref name="HC"/> In fact, the first time anyone connected with the Lightning or the NHL even saw Okubo was in the spring of 1998. Esposito was forced into several trades just to keep the team above water. The team's financial situation was a considerable concern to NHL officials; rumors surfaced that the NHL was seriously considering taking control of the team if Okubo failed to find a buyer by the summer of 1998.<ref name="Fischler"/>

''[[Forbes]]'' wrote an article in late 1997 calling the Lightning a financial nightmare, with a debt equal to 236% of its value, the highest of any major North American sports franchise. 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.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Keefe |first1=Robert |title=Lightning's finances called worst |url=http://www.sptimes.com/Lightning/lh.1203.finances.html |website=sptimes.com |access-date=March 10, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070312073619/http://www.sptimes.com/Lightning/lh.1203.finances.html |archive-date=March 12, 2007 |date=December 3, 1997}}</ref>

Finally, in 1998, Kokusai Green found a buyer. Although [[Bill Davidson (businessman)|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 [[Arthur L. Williams, Jr.|Art Williams]], who previously owned the [[Birmingham Barracudas]] of the [[Canadian Football League]] (CFL). The team was $102&nbsp;million in debt at the time the sale closed.<ref name="Fischler"/> Williams knew very little about hockey, but was very visible and outspoken, and immediately pumped an additional $6&nbsp;million into the team's payroll. 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. The Lightning drafted [[Vincent Lecavalier]] first overall in 1998, a player who would be a cornerstone of the team for years to come.

Williams was widely seen as being in over his head. Early in the 1998–99 season, the Lightning lost ten games in a row, all but ending any chance of making the playoffs. They ended up losing 54 games that year, more than the expansion [[Nashville Predators]].