- The Lightning acquired Ryan McDonagh in a blockbuster deal with the New York Rangers.
- The Bolts traded a fifth-round pick to the Florida Panthers for Dan Boyle.
- Tampa Bay acquired Nikolai Khabibulin from the Phoenix Coyotes in 2002.
The Tampa Bay Lightning are one of the great rags-to-riches stories in hockey.
The Bolts joined the NHL in 1992 and struggled to gain traction in their first decade.
Everything changed in 2003-2004 when the Lightning, who were considered a long shot to win anything according to their NHL odds, won their first Stanley Cup.
Since then, Tampa Bay has become one of the model franchises in the league and a big part of their success has been the Lightning’s ability to acquire key players via trade.
I count down the seven biggest trades in the history of the Tampa Bay Lightning below.
7 Biggest Tampa Bay Lightning Trades in Team History
1. Libor Hajek, Vladimir Namestnikov, Brett Howden, a First-Round Pick, and a Second-Round Pick for Ryan McDonagh and J.T. Miller
The Tampa Bay Lightning developed into a powerhouse in the late 2010s, but it wasn’t until they made this trade in 2018 that they put all the pieces in place to win another Stanley Cup.
Ryan McDonagh was the captain of the New York Rangers at the time of this trade, but the Blueshirts were beginning to rebuild, and McDonagh was the player who could bring back the biggest package in return.
The Lightning were happy to pay the price for McDonagh, who became a perfect sidekick behind Victor Hedman.
McDonagh and the Bolts won two Stanley Cups and went to one other in his first stint with the club.
2. Bryan Marchment, David Shaw, and a First-Round Pick for Andrei Nazarov and a First-Round Pick
None of the players involved in this trade were stars, but this trade ended up changing the Lightning’s fortunes forever.
The Bolts used this package to jump from the No. 2 overall pick in the 1998 draft to the first selection and then selected Vincent Lecavalier.
Lecavalier would become Tampa’s first star and propel the Lightning to their first Stanley Cup in 2004.
He ranks second in franchise history in goals and games played, and is third in points.
3. Fifth-Round Pick for Dan Boyle
The 1990s and early 2000s were full of these kinds of trades.
One team (in this case, the Florida Panthers) was in a financial pickle and was so desperate to shed salary that it would basically give players away for free.
The Lightning took advantage of this situation by acquiring Dan Boyle for just a fifth-round pick.
Boyle was a rock on the blueline for the Lightning in the early 2000s and was their No. 1 defenceman when they lifted the Stanley Cup in 2004.
4. Martin St. Louis for Ryan Callahan, a First-Round Pick and a Second-Round Pick, and a Seventh-Round Pick
This trade felt like the end of an era, and, allegedly, it could have been avoided.
Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman was also in charge of Team Canada for the 2014 Olympics and he elected not to select Martin St. Louis for the roster originally.
Around that time, St. Louis requested a trade, leading to rumours that he felt betrayed by Yzerman. Eventually, St. Louis would be named a replacement and would go to the Olympics, but the dye was cast.
The saga ended when the Bolts traded one of the best – and beloved – players in Lightning history to the Rangers for Ryan Callahan and a host of draft picks.
5. Brad Richards and Johan Holmqvist for Jussi Jokinen, Mike Smith, Jeff Halpern, and a Fourth-Round Pick
By the end of the 2000s, the Lightning began to head in the wrong direction, and some of the veterans that won the 2004 Stanley Cup asked off the ride before the rebuild.
Brad Richards, who led the 2004 playoffs in scoring and won the Conn Smythe Trophy that spring, was close to free agency and was unlikely to re-sign in Tampa considering the team’s trajectory and the value of his contract.
Richards was third in scoring in franchise history when he departed.
6. Paul Mara, Mike Johnson, Ruslan Zainullin, and a Second-Round Pick for Nikolai Khabibulin and Stanislav Neckar
The owner of one of the great nicknames in hockey history, Nikolai Khabibulin was a massive piece of the puzzle for the 2003-2004 Tampa Bay Lightning.
“The Bulin Wall” stood tall all season long, helping the Bolts finish first in the Eastern Conference.
As well as Khabibulin played in the regular season, he took things to a new level in the playoffs with a .933 save percentage and five shutouts in 23 games.
7. First-Round Pick, Third-Round Pick, and a Fourth-Round Pick for David Savard and Brian Lashoff
The Tampa Bay Lightning were already a Stanley Cup favourite according to the hockey odds when this trade went down at the 2021 trade deadline, but they felt they needed one more piece on the blue line to truly separate themselves from the pack.
It turned out to be the correct take, as Savard solidified a unit that already consisted of Hedman, McDonagh, and Erik Cernak.
Savard and the Bolts lifted the Stanley Cup two months after this trade was completed.
