Tampa- Ten years ago the atmosphere in the Tampa Bay area was one of triumph. The Tampa Bay Lightning had just gone head-to-head with the National Hockey League’s best, including a seven game conference championship victory against the Philadelphia Flyers that led to the Lightning’s first ever, and so far their only, Stanley Cup berth and eventual championship win.

  We are 10 years removed from the day that the Cup was won in the Bay and in that 10 year span the team has been passed between multiple ownerships, tumultuous seasons, individual achievements, trades and draft busts. Stability was not a common term used to describe the team until the current regime came to town. There was one constant however, Dave Andreychuk has been with the team through all of it.

  Andreychuk was the first Lightning player to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup above his head. This being the long standing tradition of a team’s captain being the first to celebrate the victory. That one particular moment has been forever immortalized in the form of a statue that now stands proudly at the entrance of Thunder Alley, the courtyard that Lightning fans congregate at before the games.

  Andreychuk was honored by fans, teammates and family during a pre-game ceremony on April 5th, just days after the Lightning had secured a playoff seed for this year’s Stanley Cup Finals. The ceremony included a video of the Lightning’s historic playoff run, speeches from current owner, Jeff Vinik, previous owner and NHL great, Phil Esposito, and NHL’s winningest coach, Scotty Bowman. The speeches were then preceded by the big reveal, which was performed by Andreychuk’s three daughters.

  The statue is a standing testament to everything that Andreychuk has done for the Lightning, but is also reflects his own individual achievements, such as:
• The sixth most games played in the NHL, at 1639.
• No. 14 on list of most goals scored, with 640.
• Holds the NHL power play goals scored, with 274

  Andreychuk has continued to be an outstanding ambassador for the Lightning since his retirement in 2006. He can be found at the entrance of almost every game, shaking the hands of fans as they enter the Tampa Bay Times Forum, taking pictures, or even helping lost fans find their seats. Andreychuk can be seen at promotional events and has made a concerted effort to help developmental leagues here in the Tampa Bay area.

  While the Tampa Bay Lightning are a relatively young team, only being in existence for 21 years, they have not retired any numbers yet, but if they were going to ever retire their first one, I imagine it would be Andreychuk’s No. 25. After all, only one person can claim to have hoisted the Stanley Cup for the first time.