Tampa Bay Lightning
| Tampa Bay Lightning | |
|---|---|
 2016–17 Tampa Bay Lightning season
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| Conference | Eastern |
| Division | Atlantic |
| Founded | 1992 |
| History |
Tampa Bay Lightning 1992–present |
| Home arena | Amalie Arena |
| City | Tampa, Florida |
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| Colors |
Blue, white, black |
| Media |
Fox Sports Sun 970 AM |
| Owner(s) | Tampa Bay Sports and Entertainment (Jeffrey Vinik, chairman) |
| General manager | Steve Yzerman |
| Head coach | Jon Cooper |
| Captain | Steven Stamkos |
| Minor league affiliates |
Syracuse Crunch (AHL) Kalamazoo Wings (ECHL) |
| Stanley Cups | 1 (2003–04) |
| Conference championships | 2 (2003–04, 2014–15) |
| Presidents' Trophy | 0 |
| Division championships | 2 (2002–03, 2003–04) |
| Official website | www |
Blue, white, black
The Tampa Bay Lightning are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. It is a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Lightning have one Stanley Cup championship in their history, in 2003–04. The team is often referred to as the Bolts, and the nickname is used on the current third jersey. The Lightning plays home games in the Amalie Arena in Tampa.
The owner of the Lightning is Jeffrey Vinik, while Steve Yzerman serves as general manager. The team is currently coached by Jon Cooper, who has led the team since 2013.
In the late 1980s, the NHL announced that it would expand. Two rival groups from the Tampa Bay Area area decided to bid for a franchise: a St. Petersburg-based group fronted by future Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes owners Peter Karmanos and Jim Rutherford, and a Tampa-based group fronted by two Hall of Famers—Phil Esposito and his brother Tony.
On paper, it looked like the Karmanos/Rutherford group was the frontrunner. Not only was the Karmanos/Rutherford group better financed, but one of Esposito's key backers, the Pritzker family, had backed out a few months before the bid. Esposito eventually recruited a consortium of Japanese businesses headed by Kokusai Green, a golf course and resort operator. The prospect of Japanese backing tipped the scales in the Esposito group's favor, and they were awarded an expansion franchise for the 1992–93 season, as was a group in Ottawa (which became the Senators). One of the team's limited partners was New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, who lived in Tampa during the year.
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Wikipedia