Top 5 Lightning Moments from 2022

2022 was quite the year for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Whether it was blockbuster trades, milestones being reached or yet another Stanley Cup Final, the Lightning have managed to make 2022 one of the most memorable years in franchise history. To finish off the year, we’ll be looking at the top five moments from the Lightning this past year.

A few honorable mentions before we begin as there’re a lot of great moments from the past year:

The storm jersey returns!

4. Lightning acquire Brandon Bagel from Blackhawks

No Lightning fan was expecting much during the 2022 trade deadline as the Lightning were dealing with salary cap issues, but on top of the Lightning trading away Mathieu Joseph for Nick Paul, the Lightning gave up Taylor Raddysh, Boris Katchouk, and two conditional first round picks in exchange for promising star forward Brandon Hagel of the Chicago Blackhawks.

Calling this trade a surprise is an understatement, as this trade told fans a few things. The Lightning were all in to get another cup to complete the dynasty, the Lightning are focused on a strong future on top of that, and the Lightning found a replacement for Ondrej Palat should he leave in the offseason (Palat later signed with the New Jersey Devils).

While the trade didn’t look great at first, Hagel has proven his doubters wrong as he is fifth in points on the Lightning with a 13-14-27 stat line in just 33 games this season.

3. Lightning re-sign Sergachev, Cirelli, Cernak to 8 year contracts

At the start of the 2022 free agency frenzy, fans had already seen players leave the team, including top six defender Jan Rutta, who signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins on a 3yr x $2.75m contract, and long time fan favorite Ondrej Palat, who signed a well deserved 5yr x $6m contract with the New Jersey Devils.

While losing Rutta wasn’t a huge loss, losing Palat was. Palat was a key player in the 2022 playoffs, especially in the Eastern Conference Finals where he scored an amazing last minute goal in game 3 to not only seal the victory for the Lightning, but to seal an amazing four game winning streak to lead the Lightning to their third straight final appearance. Before free agency, the Lightning had also traded away Ryan McDonagh to the Predators for Philippe Myers and Grant Mismash.

Due to the losses of these players, Lightning fans were concerned about what the future would hold as players like Anthony Cirelli, Mikhail Sergachev and Erik Cernak were on expiring contracts. Those fears were swept away by long term deals for all three players, with Sergachev earning $8.5m annually, Cirelli earning $6.25m annually, and Cernak earning $5.2m annually. While we still wait for contracts for key guys like Ross Colton, Nick Perbix and Alex Killorn, it’s still a sigh of relief knowing that these three key players were re-signed, and it’s the reason why we think it makes the top three of the best Lightning moments from 2022.

2. Stamkos hits 1000 points and 500 assists

It’s been almost fifteen years of Steven Stamkos in the NHL and despite the injuries and multiple league stoppages, he’s finally hit the 1000 point mark of his career, along with 500 assists.

Stamkos is the first player in Lightning history to collect all 1000 points with the team, and with all the stuff he’s dealt with over the years, it’s nothing short of amazing to see him hit this mark.

Unfortunately, we weren’t able to see the 500-500-1000 stat line we all were hoping would happen, but it’s still great to see. Stamkos is unlikely to hit 500 goals before 2022 ended so that story will have to wait for the “Top 5 Lightning Moments from 2023” article next year.

1. Lightning make it to their third straight Stanley Cup Final

It had been almost forty years since a team made three straight Stanley Cup Final’s, back when Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier were on the Edmonton Oilers. The Lightning made their third straight Stanley Cup Final appearance where they faced up against the Colorado Avalanche, who would go on to defeat the Lightning in six games.

Just like any other sport, making three straight finals is near impossible, especially in a league where there’s a hard salary cap and not a lot of rest between seasons once you have already played 60+ playoff games in those three seasons already.

A third straight cup would’ve put them in a very exclusive club, but there was no stopping the juggernaut that was the Avalanche. The Lightning gave it their all, but came away empty handed, but there is no team that can do what the Lightning were able to do, something almost every fan of any team can agree on.