One year later, a vivid memory, a distant feeling
By Times Staff Writer
Published June 7, 2005
Close your eyes and you can still picture it.
A sea of black jerseys pouring on to the ice. Confetti raining from the rafters. Twenty-thousand fans inside the St. Pete Times Forum - and at least that many outside - screaming and hugging, laughing and crying.
One year ago tonight - June 7, 2004 - the Tampa Bay Lightning, just a few years removed from being one of the sorriest franchises in sports, won the Stanley Cup.
Its two-month playoff odyssey featured brilliant goaltending by Nikolai Khabibulin, clutch scoring from playoff MVP Brad Richards, steady leadership from captain Dave Andreychuk and the iron hand of coach John Tortorella. Everyone, it seemed, contributed - from stars like Vinny Lecavalier to grinders like Tim Taylor to young bucks like Eric Perrin.
The journey through Long Island, Montreal, Philadelphia and Calgary offered a lifetime of memories. Remember Lecavalier's breakaway goal against the Canadiens? Remember Marty St. Louis' overtime goal in Game 6 of the finals? Remember Ruslan Fedotenko scoring two goals in Game 7 after nearly being decapitated in Game 4?
There were parades and celebrations and then ... nothing.
This could've been a glorious season as the Lightning and its fans enjoyed the raising of the Stanley Cup banner and the proclamation that Tampa Bay was home of the best hockey team in the world. Instead, the league shut down, the result of an owners' lockout.
Not one NHL game has been played since the Lightning's 2-1 victory against the Calgary Flames on June 7, 2004. Instead of touring the NHL together, Lightning players were sprinkled across the globe for the past year. Some went to Europe. Some went to Canada. Some stayed around here fishing and golfing and, occasionally, skating to stay in shape for a season that never came.
Here's a look at five Lightning players, who are left to remember what was and what could have been.
THE VETERAN - DAVE ANDREYCHUKWhen the then 40-year-old captain Dave Andreychuk lifted the Cup over his head and won the first championship of his 22-year career, no one would've been surprised if he left the ice, jumped on a horse and rode into the sunset. But instead of retiring, Andreychuk decided to play one more season.
He's still waiting for that season.
It might never come.
Andreychuk remains undecided about whether he will play again. His mind is willing, but even he admits that someone his age (he will be 42 in September) who hasn't played hockey in a year would have a tough time knocking off the rust.
So June 7, 2004 could turn out to be bittersweet. That was the night he won his Stanley Cup. But it might turn out to be the night he played his final NHL game.
THE MVP - MARTIN ST. LOUISThere is no doubt many have been affected by the lockout, but it's easy to make the argument that no one individual was hurt more than St. Louis.
Talk about what could have been.
After years of struggling just to stick in the NHL, St. Louis had a monster season. He was the league's Most Valuable Player ... on the Stanley Cup champion ... and, here's the kicker, his contract was up.
What does the MVP from the champion get for a contract? Seven million? Eight million? More?
It's likely St. Louis will never see that kind of money. The new labor agreement likely will curtail salaries and the days of $8-million players probably are long gone.
"Of all the players, Marty calls me more than anyone to see when we're coming back," said Taylor, the Lightning's player representative to the union.
Still, the time off was not a total washout. St. Louis and his wife, Heather, welcomed the birth of their second child, son Lucas, in March.
THE PLAYER REP - TIM TAYLORNo Lightning player has been busier over the past year than Taylor. Instead of reliving the Stanley Cup dreams, he spends his days getting updates from the union and passing them along to teammates.
"It hasn't been much of a reflection, that's for sure," Taylor said. "There hasn't been too much to celebrate. Everyday, I'm talking to someone from our team, telling them what's going on."
Lately, there hasn't been much to say. The NHL and the union continue to meet, but little information is available.
"To me, that's a sign of progress," Taylor said. "Let's hope so. We all want to play again."
In the meantime, Taylor has paused a few times over the past few weeks to think about the Stanley Cup run.
"Every now and then, my wife (Jodi) will say, "A year ago today we were in Montreal,' or something like that," Taylor said. "It was truly a great time."
THE FRANCHISE PLAYER - VINNY LECAVALIERFor years, Lecavalier had to try to live up to the silly hype of former owner Art Williams' words that proclaimed him the "Michael Jordan of hockey."
After run-ins with coach John Tortorella, Lecavalier finally reached the lofty expectations and helped lead the Lightning to the promised land. He followed that up with an MVP in the World Cup of Hockey, a tournament that featured the best players on the planet.
For the first time in his career, Lecavalier would have entered a season totally relaxed and supremely confident in his abilities.
Instead of showing off his new attitude in the NHL, Lecavalier spent the season playing before only a few thousand a night in Russia.
Lecavalier called his Russian excursion "an experience of a lifetime, something I would do again." But as far as doing something again, he can think of something better than playing in Russia: winning another Cup.
THE KID - ERIC PERRINYou have to feel for the 29-year-old Perrin. A small, scrappy player, Perrin dreamed his whole life of playing the NHL. He finally got that chance at the end of the 2003-04 Cup season. He made his NHL debut and played sparingly in the playoffs.
Everyone expected the 2004-05 season to be Perrin's breakout year. But just as he was about to become an NHL regular, there was no NHL.
"It was very disappointing for a guy like me to wait so long to get his chance and I finally get a foot in the door, and then for the lockout to happen," Perrin said. "Just bad timing, I guess. I decided to put my head down and concentrate on hockey and to keep plugging."
Perrin spent the season playing for Hershey in the American Hockey League, but he couldn't help thinking about what the 2004-05 hockey season might have been.
"I was watching the (AHL championship) on TV the other night and I had this sense of jealousy and I started thinking about how great it would've been to go through another championship with the Lightning," Perrin said. "It would have been incredible to have that feeling again."