1993–94 Tampa Bay Lightning season

The 1993–94 Tampa Bay Lightning season was the Lightning's second season of operation. The team finished last in the Atlantic Division and did not qualify for the playoffs.

1993–94 Tampa Bay Lightning
Division7th Atlantic
Conference12th Eastern
1993–94 record30–43–11
Home record14–21–6
Road record16–22–5
Goals for224
Goals against251
Team information
General managerPhil Esposito
CoachTerry Crisp
CaptainVacant
ArenaThunderDome
Minor league affiliate(s)Atlanta Knights (IHL)
Knoxville Cherokees (ECHL)
Team leaders
GoalsPetr Klima (28)
AssistsBrian Bradley (40)
PointsBrian Bradley (64)
Penalty minutesRoman Hamrlik (135)
Plus/minusJohn Tucker (+9)
WinsDaren Puppa (22)
Goals against averageWendell Young (2.50)

Offseason

Buoyed by an active off-season, confidence was high as the Lightning headed to Lakeland to prepare for the team's second National Hockey League season. The team was moved to the newly formed Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference, prompting the beginning of several heated rivalries with East Coast teams such as Philadelphia and Florida.

Brian Bradley, fresh from an 86-point All-Star season, returned to lead the offense. Notably absent was Chris Kontos, who couldn't agree to a contract with the team. Offense, however, was expected to be a stronger area for the Lightning, with the off-season additions of flashy playmaker Denis Savard fresh off a Stanley Cup championship the previous season (free agent) and renowned sniper Petr Klima (trade with Edmonton). And with a move from Expo Hall across Tampa Bay to the Florida Suncoast Dome (soon renamed ThunderDome), the team was hoping the added stars would help fill the almost 30,000 seats available in St. Petersburg.

Another notable addition that would prove to be the most significant for the Lightning was the claim of veteran goaltender Daren Puppa from Florida in Phase II of the 1993 NHL Expansion Draft. Puppa, a former NHL All-Star with Buffalo, moved to the forefront in the Lightning net and posted a 22-33-6 record while the team allowed 81 fewer goals than in 1992-93.

Other notable additions to the Lightning lineup in 1993-94 included first-round draft choice Chris Gratton and a pair of heavyweights Tampa Bay fans would grow to love—Rudy Poeschek and Enrico Ciccone. Poeschek, a defenseman/forward signed as a free agent after time with the Rangers and Winnipeg, stepped into the enforcer role and immediately elicited chants of "Rudy" from ThunderDome crowds. Ciccone was acquired in a late-season deal that sent Joe Reekie to Washington, and "Chico" quickly teamed with Poeschek to form one of the most formidable tandems in the league.

Regular season

On the ice, the team couldn't match the hot start from 1992 to 1993, and quickly dropped to 3-12-2 by early November. However, a bit of NHL history was made early in the season when the first regular-season game at the ThunderDome, which drew an NHL-record 27,227 fans to watch the Lightning face the Panthers on October 9, 1993. That attendance mark remains as the league record for a regular season game. Also, that same month when the Los Angeles Kings came to town (October 20), NHL legend Wayne Gretzky faced his brother—Lightning 1992 draft choice Brent—for the only time in his career. Older brother Wayne got the better end of Brent this evening, helping Los Angeles to a 4-3 victory with a goal and an assist.The season did, however, have its share of highlights. The Lightning eventually began to show more consistency, and a 9-3-1 stretch through late December (a month that also featured the team's most successful road trip to that point, a 3–0 December swing through California that pushed the Lightning's record in the Golden State to a perfect 7-0.) and most of January put the Bolts back in the race. The Bolts closed out the season with a 5-2 victory against Quebec at the ThunderDome and with high hopes for even more improvement in 1994-95. Although they never managed to reach .500, the Lightning posted a marked improvement with seven more wins and 18 more points than the previous year.

In addition to being their first season in the ThunderDome, the team played four regular-season home games in Orlando at Orlando Arena.

The Lightning finished the regular season as the NHL's most disciplined team, being shorthanded only 335 times. They also allowed the most short-handed goals in the league, with 20.[1]

Final standings

Atlantic Division
No.CRGPWLTGFGAPts
11New York Rangers8452248299231112
23New Jersey Devils84472512306220106
37Washington Capitals8439351027726388
48New York Islanders8436361228226484
59Florida Panthers8433341723323383
610Philadelphia Flyers8435391029431480
712Tampa Bay Lightning8430431122425171

[2]Note: No. = Division rank, CR = Conference rank, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
       Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Game log

No.RDateScoreOpponentRecord
1LOctober 6, 19931–2@ New Jersey Devils (1993–94)0–1–0
2LOctober 7, 19934–5@ New York Rangers (1993–94)0–2–0
3LOctober 9, 19930–2Florida Panthers (1993–94)0–3–0
4WOctober 14, 19933–2Pittsburgh Penguins (1993–94)1–3–0
5WOctober 16, 19934–1Ottawa Senators (1993–94)2–3–0
6TOctober 17, 19933–3 OT@ Florida Panthers (1993–94)2–3–1
7LOctober 20, 19933–4Los Angeles Kings (1993–94)2–4–1
8WOctober 22, 19934–1New York Rangers (1993–94)3–4–1
9LOctober 23, 19930–2Toronto Maple Leafs (1993–94)3–5–1
10LOctober 27, 19933–4Winnipeg Jets (1993–94)3–6–1
11LOctober 29, 19932–4New York Islanders (1993–94)3–7–1
12LOctober 30, 19931–2 OT@ Florida Panthers (1993–94)3–8–1
13LNovember 2, 19932–8@ Quebec Nordiques (1993–94)3–9–1
14LNovember 3, 19930–1@ Montreal Canadiens (1993–94)3–10–1
15TNovember 6, 19931–1 OT@ Boston Bruins (1993–94)3–10–2
16LNovember 8, 19933–6@ New York Rangers (1993–94)3–11–2
17LNovember 11, 19931–4Washington Capitals (1993–94)3–12–2
18WNovember 13, 19934–3Quebec Nordiques (1993–94)4–12–2
19LNovember 17, 19933–4@ Dallas Stars (1993–94)4–13–2
20LNovember 19, 19933–5New York Rangers (1993–94)4–14–2
21WNovember 20, 19934–3Chicago Blackhawks (1993–94)5–14–2
22WNovember 24, 19934–1Hartford Whalers (1993–94)6–14–2
23LNovember 26, 19930–3@ Philadelphia Flyers (1993–94)6–15–2
24LNovember 27, 19933–4 OTPhiladelphia Flyers (1993–94)6–16–2
25LDecember 1, 19930–3Buffalo Sabres (1993–94)6–17–2
26WDecember 4, 19935–4@ Los Angeles Kings (1993–94)7–17–2
27WDecember 5, 19934–2@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1993–94)8–17–2
28WDecember 7, 19933–1@ San Jose Sharks (1993–94)9–17–2
29LDecember 11, 19933–6Pittsburgh Penguins (1993–94)9–18–2
30T#December 14, 19931–1 OTMontreal Canadiens (1993–94)9–18–3
31WDecember 15, 19934–3Ottawa Senators (1993–94)10–18–3
32LDecember 18, 19933–5Boston Bruins (1993–94)10–19–3
33TDecember 19, 19933–3 OT@ Buffalo Sabres (1993–94)10–19–4
34LDecember 21, 19933–8@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1993–94)10–20–4
35LDecember 23, 19934–7@ St. Louis Blues (1993–94)10–21–4
36L#December 26, 19931–3Florida Panthers (1993–94)10–22–4
37WDecember 28, 19934–1@ Quebec Nordiques (1993–94)11–22–4
38WDecember 30, 19933–0@ Ottawa Senators (1993–94)12–22–4
39TJanuary 1, 19945–5 OT@ Washington Capitals (1993–94)12–22–5
40L#January 2, 19941–4Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1993–94)12–23–5
41WJanuary 4, 19941–0@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1993–94)13–23–5
42WJanuary 8, 19944–2Philadelphia Flyers (1993–94)14–23–5
43WJanuary 10, 19945–2@ New York Rangers (1993–94)15–23–5
44WJanuary 12, 19944–2@ Detroit Red Wings (1993–94)16–23–5
45LJanuary 13, 19940–1@ Chicago Blackhawks (1993–94)16–24–5
46WJanuary 16, 19943–2 OT@ Winnipeg Jets (1993–94)17–24–5
47LJanuary 17, 19943–6Detroit Red Wings (1993–94)17–25–5
48WJanuary 19, 19944–3 OTNew York Islanders (1993–94)18–25–5
49W#January 24, 19944–0Buffalo Sabres (1993–94)19–25–5
50TJanuary 26, 19941–1 OTFlorida Panthers (1993–94)19–25–6
51LJanuary 29, 19941–2San Jose Sharks (1993–94)19–26–6
52LFebruary 2, 19941–3Detroit Red Wings (1993–94)19–27–6
53LFebruary 5, 19943–6@ Washington Capitals (1993–94)19–28–6
54WFebruary 7, 19942–1@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1993–94)20–28–6
55WFebruary 10, 19946–2@ Ottawa Senators (1993–94)21–28–6
56LFebruary 12, 19942–3Vancouver Canucks (1993–94)21–29–6
57TFebruary 13, 19943–3 OTNew Jersey Devils (1993–94)21–29–7
58LFebruary 15, 19941–2@ New York Islanders (1993–94)21–30–7
59WFebruary 17, 19944–3Montreal Canadiens (1993–94)22–30–7
60LFebruary 19, 19944–5@ New Jersey Devils (1993–94)22–31–7
61TFebruary 20, 19942–2 OTBoston Bruins (1993–94)22–31–8
62WFebruary 24, 19944–0@ Calgary Flames (1993–94)23–31–8
63LFebruary 26, 19941–3@ Vancouver Canucks (1993–94)23–32–8
64LFebruary 27, 19942–3@ Edmonton Oilers (1993–94)23–33–8
65WMarch 1, 19944–3@ Washington Capitals (1993–94)24–33–8
66LMarch 3, 19944–5 OTNew Jersey Devils (1993–94)24–34–8
67WMarch 5, 19944–2Hartford Whalers (1993–94)25–34–8
68LMarch 6, 19941–3Philadelphia Flyers (1993–94)25–35–8
69LMarch 9, 19941–4@ Hartford Whalers (1993–94)25–36–8
70TMarch 13, 19945–5 OT@ Philadelphia Flyers (1993–94)25–36–9
71LMarch 15, 19943–7Calgary Flames (1993–94)25–37–9
72TMarch 16, 19944–4 OTEdmonton Oilers (1993–94)25–37–10
73L#March 20, 19940–3Washington Capitals (1993–94)25–38–10
74LMarch 22, 19944–5 OT@ New York Islanders (1993–94)25–39–10
75LMarch 24, 19941–2@ New Jersey Devils (1993–94)25–40–10
76TMarch 27, 19942–2 OTDallas Stars (1993–94)25–40–11
77WMarch 30, 19943–2 OT@ Buffalo Sabres (1993–94)26–40–11
78WApril 1, 19944–3St. Louis Blues (1993–94)27–40–11
79LApril 4, 19941–2@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1993–94)27–41–11
80WApril 6, 19943–1@ Montreal Canadiens (1993–94)28–41–11
81WApril 9, 19943–0@ Boston Bruins (1993–94)29–41–11
82LApril 10, 19944–6@ Hartford Whalers (1993–94)29–42–11
83LApril 13, 19940–2New York Islanders (1993–94)29–43–11
84WApril 14, 19945–2Quebec Nordiques (1993–94)30–43–11

# Lightning home game played at the Orlando Arena[3]

Player stats

Skaters

Regular season[4]
PlayerGPGAPts+/−PIM
Brian Bradley78244064-856
Petr Klima75282755-1576
Denis Savard74182846-1106
Danton Cole81202343732
Chris Gratton84132942-25123
John Tucker66172340928
Shawn Chambers66112334-623
Chris Joseph66101929-13108
Pat Elynuik63121426-1864
Mikael Andersson76131225823
Roman Hamrlik6431821-14135
Adam Creighton53101020-737
Marc Bergevin8311516-587
Marc Bureau758715-930
Rob DiMaio398715-540
Gerard Gallant514913-674
Rob Zamuner596612-942
Joe Reekie73111128127
Tim Bergland516511-146
Rudy Poeschek713693118
Donald Dufresne51268-248
Bill McDougall22336-48
Bob Beers16156-1112
Chris LiPuma27044177
Brent Gretzky1012302
Jason Ruff612322
Enrico Ciccone11011-252
Eric Charron400002
Cory Cross5000-36
Jim Cummins4000-113
Jason Lafreniere1000-10
Normand Rochefort6000-110
Total2243555791,567

Goaltenders

Regular season
PlayerGPGSTOIWLTGAGAASASV%SOGAPIM
Daren Puppa63623,652:30223361652.711,637.8994012
Pat Jablonski1513833:46563543.89374.8560000
Wendell Young96479:42231202.50211.9051004
Jean-Claude Bergeron33134:0811173.1369.8990000
Total5,100:063043112462.892,291.8935016

† Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Lightning. Stats reflect time with the Lightning only.
‡ Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Lightning only.

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes;
TOI = Time on ice; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV% = Save percentage;

Awards and records

Transactions

Trades

DateDetails
June 8, 1993 (1993-06-08)To Detroit Red Wings
Steve Maltais
To Tampa Bay Lightning
Dennis Vial
June 16, 1993 (1993-06-16)To Edmonton Oilers
1994 3rd-round pick (60th overall)
To Tampa Bay Lightning
Petr Klima
June 19, 1993 (1993-06-19)To San Jose Sharks
Dave Capuano
To Tampa Bay Lightning
Peter Ahola
June 25, 1993 (1993-06-25)To Florida Panthers
1993 3rd-round pick (78th overall)
To Tampa Bay Lightning
Panthers agreed to select Daren Puppa in the 1993 NHL Expansion Draft
June 25, 1993 (1993-06-25)To New York Rangers
Glenn Healy
To Tampa Bay Lightning
1993 TB 3rd-round pick (55th overall)
October 5, 1993 (1993-10-05)To Calgary Flames
Peter Ahola
To Tampa Bay Lightning
Cash
October 22, 1993 (1993-10-22)To Washington Capitals
1995 Conditional 5th-round pick (108th overall)
To Tampa Bay Lightning
Pat Elynuik
November 11, 1993 (1993-11-11)To Edmonton Oilers
Bob Beers
To Tampa Bay Lightning
Chris Joseph
February 21, 1994 (1994-02-21)To Toronto Maple Leafs
Pat Jablonski
To Tampa Bay Lightning
Future Considerations (Cash)
March 18, 1994 (1994-03-18)To Philadelphia Flyers
Rob DiMaio
To Tampa Bay Lightning
Jim Cummins
1995 4th-round pick (100th overall)
March 19, 1994 (1994-03-19)To Los Angeles Kings
Donald Dufresne
To Tampa Bay Lightning
1994 6th-round pick (137th overall)
March 21, 1994 (1994-03-21)To Washington Capitals
Joe Reekie
To Tampa Bay Lightning
Enrico Ciccone
1994 3rd-round pick (67th overall)
1995 Conditional 5th-round pick (108th overall)
May 31, 1994 (1994-05-31)To New Jersey Devils
1994 4th-round pick (91st overall)
To Tampa Bay Lightning
Jeff Toms

Waivers

DatePlayerTeam
March 19, 1994 (1994-03-19)Tim Berglandto Washington Capitals

Signings

DatePlayerContract term
August 24, 1993 (1993-08-24)Adam Creighton
September 20, 1993 (1993-09-20)Shawn Chambers
June 2, 1994 (1994-06-02)Allan Egeland

NHL Expansion Draft

Phase I

The following two players were selected from the Tampa Bay Lightning roster in the 1993 NHL Expansion Draft:

Pick #PlayerSelected by
19Dennis VialMighty Ducks of Anaheim
41Randy GilhenFlorida Panthers

Phase II

In the second phase of the Expansion Draft, Tampa Bay Lightning selected the following players from the Panthers and Mighty Ducks:

Pick #PlayerSelected from
1Glenn HealyMighty Ducks of Anaheim
4Daren PuppaFlorida Panthers

Departures

DatePlayerViaNew Team
July 1, 1993Jock CallanderFree agencyCleveland Lumberjacks (IHL)
July 1, 1993Alain CoteFree agencyQuebec Nordiques
July 1, 1993Matt HerveyFree agencyMilwaukee Admirals (IHL)
July 1, 1993David LittmanFree agencyBoston Bruins
July 1, 1993Keith OsborneFree agencyGrasshopper Club Zürich (CHE.2)
July 1, 1993Shayne StevensonFree agencyEV MAK Bruneck (AL)
August 1, 1993Herb RaglanBuyoutOttawa Senators
August 1, 1993Steve KasperRetired

Draft picks

Tampa Bay's draft picks at the 1993 NHL Entry Draft held at the Quebec Coliseum in Quebec City, Quebec.

Round#PlayerPositionNationalityCollege/Junior/Club team (League)
13Chris GrattonC  CanadaKingston Frontenacs (OHL)
229Tyler MossG  CanadaKingston Frontenacs (OHL)
355Allan EgelandC  CanadaTacoma Rockets (WHL)
481Marian KacirRW  Czech RepublicOwen Sound Platers (OHL)
5107Ryan BrownD  CanadaSwift Current Broncos (WHL)
6133Kiley HillLW  CanadaSault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL)
7159Mathieu RabyD  CanadaVictoriaville Tigres (QMJHL)
8185Ryan NaussLW  CanadaPeterborough Petes (OHL)
9211Alexandre LaPorteD  CanadaVictoriaville Tigres (QMJHL)
10237Brett DuncanD  CanadaSeattle Thunderbirds (WHL)
11263Mark SzokeLW  CanadaLethbridge Hurricanes (WHL)
S3Brent PetersonLW  CanadaMichigan Technological University (WCHA)

References

  • "1993–94 Tampa Bay Lightning Games". Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved May 6, 2009.