Tampa Bay Lightning All-Time Goal Scorer No. 1: Steven Stamkos
- 2008 – Present
- 515 career goals
- 60 goals in 2011-12
Even the most casual of Tampa Bay Lighting fans could tell where Stamkos is most likely to score a goal from; the left circle just above the faceoff dot.
But his impact with the Lightning goes well beyond his goal-scoring prowess.
As the first overall selection in the 2008 NHL Draft, Stamkos cemented himself as a star in the NHL by just his second season, putting up 51 goals during the 2009-10 season, and it looked like he had an outside shot of breaking the all-time NHL record when he put up 60 goals during his fourth season.
Unfortunately, a combination of an NHL lockout, a shortened season due to Covid, and a smattering of injuries, including a broken leg in 2013, a torn lateral meniscus in 2016, and surgery to repair a core muscle in 2020 put a damper on any hopes of that happening.
Still, one of the biggest moments in franchise history is when Stamkos opted to resign with Tampa in 2016 for below-market value, setting the bar for players like Victor Hedman, Nikita Kucherov, and Brayden Point to also sign for less money so that the Lightning as a whole could stay competitive and win a Stanley Cup or two.
Of current members of the Lightning, Point is the only immediate threat to top Stamkos on this list eventually. But having put up 34 goals last season, Stamkos could get to 600 goals before he opts to hang up the skates for good.
With 60 days to go until opening night, here’s a throwback to 2012 when Steven Stamkos scored goal number 60
— NICK PAUL’S HYPEMAN 🇨🇦 (@BLXCKMASS1) August 11, 2023
To this day Steven Stamkos is only one of twenty-two players to score sixty goals in a single seasonpic.twitter.com/HMOJL1yVEg