A-B-C… it’s easy as 1-2-3!!! The words of a young Michael Jackson ring true to this day. This time, the A, B, and the C stand for something, however: Another Bolts Championship! The Tampa Bay Lightning have reached their third straight Stanley Cup Final! Their mission now is to join the five other teams who have WON three straight Stanley Cup Finals. The Bolts proved that Lightning could strike twice when they won their second straight Final last year. Can Lightning strike three times in a row?!?! I’m here to say unequivocally… YES!!!
Tampa, FL has become a hockey town. An ICE hockey town. This may be a strange concept for most because the average yearly high temperature in Tampa is about 82 degrees Fahrenheit. It is true, however. The reason Tampa Bay embraces hockey like it does is due to the efforts of one man: Mr. Jeffrey N. Vinik. He is the current owner of the Tampa Bay Lightning and a minority owner of the Boston Red Sox. We won’t hold that last one against him though.
The Tampa Bay Lightning won their first Stanley Cup back in 2004. It’s hard to believe it has been almost 20 years. The years immediately following that ’04 championship was grim for the Bolts. Jeff Vinik, on the other hand, was sitting PRETTY. Vinik was a star investor at Fidelity Investments throughout the 1990s. After a very successful career at the firm, Vinik left to start his own hedge fund, Vinik Asset Management which was the catalyst that brought him the wealth, network and knowledge required to punch his ticket into professional sports. While Vinik was enjoying success in the financial industry, the Lightning franchise was flirting with bankruptcy and potential relocation. By 2009, the organization was losing tens of millions of dollars, had one of the lowest season ticket bases in the NHL (4,500 season ticket holders) and played in a facility that needed significant upgrades1.
Vinik purchased the Lightning in February 2010 and the rest, as they say, is history. Using his investment expertise, he invested heavily in the Lightning’s success. He recruited then Seattle Seahawks CEO Tod Leiweke for the same position. Vinik then made perhaps the best move an NHL owner ever has. He convinced Steve Yzerman to leave Detroit and become the General Manager of the Lightning. The masterpiece that is the Tampa Bay Lightning roster was painted by Mr. Yzerman. Although Mr. Yzerman is back in Detroit as of 2019, his managerial moves with the Lightning impact them to this day. Check out the success of the team since Vinik purchased them and made Mr. Yzerman GM:
2010-2011: Reached Conference Finals, lost to Boston Bruins in seven games
2011-12: Missed the playoffs
2012-2013: Missed the playoffs
2013-2014: Reached playoffs, swept by Montreal Canadiens
2014-2015: Reached Stanley Cup Final, lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games
2015-2016: Reached Eastern Conference Finals, lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in seven games
2016-2017: missed the playoffs, ending their three-season playoff streak.
2017-2018: Reached Eastern Conference Finals, lost to Washington Capitals in seven games
2018-2019: Swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Columbus Blue Jackets despite winning the Presidents’ Trophy. The Presidents' Trophy is an award presented by the National Hockey League (NHL) to the team that finishes with the most points (i.e., best record) during the NHL regular season.
2019-2020: WON the Stanley Cup by defeating the Dallas Stars in six games
2020-2021: WON the Stanley Cup by defeating the Montreal Canadiens in five games.
The thing I admire most about Mr. Vinik is the fact that he genuinely cares for the Tampa Bay community. Vinik has committed to a variety of programs including a $3 billion investment in the Water Street project to revitalize Tampa’s downtown core. He also poured $80 million into Amalie Arena renovations, including the installation of a massive center-hung arena HD video display board, the largest of its kind in North America at the time it was installed. From a charitable perspective, it would be difficult to find a non-profit organization within the Tampa community that has not been touched by Vinik’s philanthropy. One of his most prominent programs, “Lightning Community Heroes”, celebrates a local hero during each Lightning regular-season home game and donates $50,000 to a non-profit charity of his or her choice. This program alone has surpassed the $20 million mark. More recently, Vinik purchased local newspaper ads, radio ads, and billboards to promote resources available for local residents affected by unemployment, small business struggles and food shortages due to COVID-19. Additionally, he donated $300,000 to provide food boxes for underprivileged families in the Tampa area and, with his donation, 300 meal boxes are being provided each day. In his ten seasons as the owner of the Lightning, there have been no scandals, no lawsuits, no distractions and no disconnect from the community2. Vinik has become a prominent figure in the Tampa Bay community for all the right reasons. He has built an ice hockey dynasty on the Gulf Coast of Florida. I believe I speak for the entire Tampa Bay community and all Bolts fans when I say, “Well done Mr. Vinik. And thank you!”
P.S. - If you’re into the whole winning thing, root on the Bolts… BE THE THUNDER!!!
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