Tampa Bay Lightning’s Dave Andreychuk elected to Hockey Hall of Fame

After a long career in the National Hockey League, former Tampa Bay Lightning captain Dave Andreychuk will finally be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame this Fall.

It’s been a long time coming, but Dave Andreychuk will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto this year. The former Tampa Bay Lightning captain and Stanley Cup champion has been out of the game for a while now and is finally getting the recognition he deserves. He will be the Lightning’s first inductee into the hall.

Andreychuk played for multiple teams over they years, but only lifted the Stanley Cup once, which was with the Tampa Bay Lightning, of course. In the past, many experts and fans around the league believed that he didn’t have the resume of a typical hall of fame inductee, but he does have the statistics to back up his case for enshrinement into the Hall.

Sure, Andreychuk never won any of the individual awards like the Conn Smythe, Hart Trophy or the Calder, but he does have one Cup on his resume, which is important. Many inductees into the hall go in with several awards to their name, but career stats are just as important. If they weren’t, we likely wouldn’t even be talking about Andreychuk as a possible member of the hall.

The 53-year-old Hamilton, Ontario native played in 1,639 games (7th all time), scored 640 goals (14th all time), including 274 on the Power Play (1st all time), notched 698 assists and had 1,338 points overall (29th all time). He recorded 99 points in a season twice, once with the Buffalo Sabres and once with the Toronto Maple Leafs, and finished with 97 Stanley Cup playoff points in 162 games played.

He was the last among the NHL’s 600 goal scorers to be selected.

And to remind you once again, he won the Stanley Cup with the Lightning in 2004, which was his 22nd year in the league. Likely the proudest moment of his career came in Tampa Bay when he hoisted the Cup over his head in front of a sold out St. Pete Times Forum on the night of June 7. Andreychuk helped deliver the Lightning’s first championship ever, and to this day, he remains an active member of the community and this organization.

https://twitter.com/TBLightning/status/879465344531824640

While I was driving home this afternoon, I had 620 WDAE, Tampa Bay’s sports radio station, on the radio, and the afternoon drive show host, Steve Duemig, was talking about Andreychuk’s election to the hall. He mentioned Andreychuk’s continued involvement in the community and how he decided to stay in Tampa instead of leaving to live somewhere else. He’s not originally from the Tampa Bay area and played with other teams prior to the Lightning during his career.

To Lightning fans, and others, perhaps, he’s always been a Hall of Fame player (at least since he retired), but now it’s official. Andreychuk will be inducted in November along with six other people.

The longtime NHL veteran shared his thoughts on the announcement and what it means to him.

In addition to Andreychuk, former NHL forward and three-time Stanley Cup champion Mark Recchi was also elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Recchi spent part of one season (2008-09) with the Tampa Bay Lightning, and in 62 games with the team, he registered 13 goals and 45 points before moving on with the Boston Bruins that year. He finished his career with 577 goals, which is 20th all time.

Today, two former Tampa Bay Lightning players were elected into the hall, but they won’t be the last of the bunch. Former captains Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis certainly have strong chances to be future inductees. For now, we should be proud of both players, especially the former captain.

Next: Tampa Bay Lightning free agency: Yes on Boyle, no on Shattenkirk

It was an exciting day for the Tampa Bay Lightning organization, with all of the announcements surrounding new contracts and qualifying offers. The most exciting news, though, was the Hall of Fame announcement. Congrats to both players!