How many Stanley Cups have the Tampa Bay Lightning won as of 2022?
By Jim Lynch
The Tampa Bay Lightning have been in the NHL since the 1992-93 NHL season.
Throughout their time in the league, the Tampa Bay Lightning have a record of 1036-970-112-158. Their first trip to the Stanley Cup playoffs came in 1996, during their third year in the league. Their first trip to the Stanley Cup playoffs saw them lose in round one, but eventually, they would make it back to have a better run.
The NHL has a handful of teams that have never won a Stanley Cup. Luckily for Lightning fans, the Tampa Bay hockey team has seen a few Stanley Cup parades in their years. So without further ado, let’s go over how many championships this team has won.
The Tampa Bay Lightning have won the Stanley Cup three times.
Their first championship came in 2004 under then head coach John Tortorella. The Lightning beat the New York Islanders in round one in five games. They then swept the Montreal Canadiens in round two, beat the Flyers in a seven-game series to make it to the Final, and took home the Stanley Cup in seven games against the Calgary Flames.
Their first championship was led by a young core group of stars like Vincent Lecavalier, Brad Richards, Fredrik Modin and most importantly, Martin St. Louis. Richards took home the Conn Smythe after putting up 26 points in the postseason.
The second championship came in 2020 for the Lightning during the bubble. After a disappointing sweep in 2019 at the hands of the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Lightning got back into the playoffs and steamrolled their way to a championship.
The Lightning beat the Blue Jackets in round one in five games. Then they beat the Bruins in round two in five games. They then faced the New York Islanders and Dallas Stars in rounds three and four, winning both those series in six games.
Victor Hedman won the Conn Smythe in 2020 and Nikita Kucherov led the team in points with 34 in the playoffs.
The third championship came in 2021 when their second championship in back-to-back seasons. They beat the Florida Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes, New York Islanders (again), and the Montreal Canadiens this time.
Goaltender Andrei Vailevskiy took home the Conn Smythe in 2021, the first goalie to win the trophy since Jonathan Quick won in 2012.
The Lightning have been to the Stanley Cup Final an additional two times in their franchise history – once in 2015 when they lost to the Chicago Blackhawks and again in 2022 when they recently lost to the Avalanche. This team has won three Stanley Cups and has been one of the best teams in the past ten-plus years.