Tampa Bay Lightning: 20 Greatest Goal Scorers In Franchise History

Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

20. Paul Ysebaert

Single Season High Goals: 16

Career High Goals: 149

The first player on our list of the 20 greatest goal scorers in Tampa Bay Lightning history is none other than forward Paul Ysebaert. The then-twenty-eight year old joined the newly found Tampa Bay Lightning just a few years after the team was founded in 1992. It wasn’t long before Ysebaert became the first captain in franchise history when he dawned the ‘C’ on his chest on opening night of the 1994-95 season.

Ysebaert played five seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning toward the end of his hockey career, with the Lightning being the final National Hockey League team he would play for before moving to play internationally. Before his time with the Lightning, Ysebaert spent time with teams like the New Jersey Devils, Detroit Red Wings, Winnipeg Jets, and Chicago Blackhawks.

In five seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Ysebaert scored a total of 42 goals and 66 assists for a total of 108 points. Ysebaert’s best season came during the 1995-96 campaign when he scored 16 goals for the Bolts.

Though he was not in a Lightning sweater for a long stretch of time, Ysebaert comes in at number 20 on our list of the top scorers in the 23 year history of the Tampa Bay Lightning. As well as ending his NHL career with the Bolts, Ysebaert will always be remembered as the first ever Lightning captain, something that will stand in Lightning lore for all eternity.

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