Lightning Win Stanley Cup

One Year Later

WFLA Reports: Tortorella Maintains Optimism | Boyle, Celebration Turns To Discontent
Playoffs: Game-By-Game | Parade Photos/Reaction | Cup On Parade | Lockout Diary
Special Report: 'Stanfest' Photo Gallery

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TAMPA - The ice melted away long ago. The once free-flowing champagne that dripped from the locker room ceiling evaporated nearly a year ago. The downtown streets that once overflowed with fans lined up along the victory parade route have long since been swept up.

The memories, however, remain as fresh as a newly zambonied sheet of ice.

Tuesday marks the one-year anniversary of the Lightning's 2-1 victory against Calgary in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals. A victory that set off a jubilee like no sports event in Tampa history. More than 23,000 fans packed inside the St. Pete Times Forum on June 7, 2004, while another estimated 20,000 watched the game outside on the plaza. The final horn ended the game and signaled the start of the celebration.

Since that night, however, the arena has sat silent on hockey nights. The doors to the building have remained bolted since the NHL lockout took effect on Sept. 15, 2004.

To many, hockey seems a distant memory. Fans feel a sense of void.

But to the players, management, staff and building employees the sport is more than a game. It's a way of life, a career or an opportunity to make some money on the side.

All facets of the team were there the night the Stanley Cup made Tampa its temporary home and felt the joy of being part of a championship effort. And while that night - and the two-month run leading up to it - will always be a part of their past, there are concerns for the present and future of the game and the team.

And they all have their tales about the events of the past year.

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Catching Up With ...

Andre Roy, Forward
Andre Roy likes to flip his television to the NHL Network. The Lightning forward makes sure to catch reruns of last year's championship run.

''They have shown our games against Montreal, Philadelphia and Calgary ... I've watched every series from last year,'' Roy said. ''That was a good time. I miss that. It brings back so many memories and makes me miss hockey even more.''

Roy wasn't on the ice when the final buzzer blared following the Game 7 victory against Calgary, but he was a big part of the team. His on-ice presence was matched by his locker room antics that kept his teammates loose.

While the NHL lockout has allowed him more time to help fiancee Karine Labelle plan the couple's July 23 wedding, Roy longs to relive the magical memories he and his teammates created last year.

''I'm so anxious, I miss hockey and it's rare that I would say that because we are always playing or training,'' he said. ''In [two] days from now, it will be one year since [experiencing] the best feeling in the world. I will always think about that day.

''Then to go from last year in the playoffs and to win, and now we don't even know if we are going to be playing hockey. It's weird to see what has happened in a year. This has got to end. We have to start in September, it's not good for hockey.''

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Drew Thompson, Forum Employee
When chairs started flying around the room, Drew Thompson knew he was in the middle of something big.

And he got caught up in every moment.

Thompson was in the control room on the fifth floor inside the Forum overlooking the ice on the night the Lightning captured the Stanley Cup. When the final buzzer blared signaling Tampa Bay's 2-1 win, he joined in the celebration with other building employees.

A native of southern Indiana and a graduate of Indiana University, he was never exposed to hockey. But working a part-time job operating the rotating ads and setting up the LED electronic board inside the Forum allowed him to catch each playoff game in person.

''I wasn't a fan of hockey at all before I started working there,'' said Thompson, who taught kindergarten at Colson Elementary the past year-and-a-half. ''It was a lot of fun to watch. Now I'm missing it.''

The NHL lockout that wiped out the 2004-05 season has affected Thompson twofold. After getting an introduction to the game last season, the game ditched him this year. And though there are still events taking place inside the Forum that keep him busy, Thompson estimates that he has lost 50 percent of his supplemental income this year.

''Being a teacher, you don't make too much money, so that second job helps,'' he said.

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Jay Feaster, General Manager
Jay Feaster served during the 50-loss seasons. He heard the snickers, felt the embarrassment when the Lightning were the butt of jokes that transcended hockey circles. Feaster recalls the Sports Illustrated season preview ranking his team 30th out of 30 teams because of ''a minor league GM in over his head.''

But nothing has been tougher professionally for Feaster than the past year.

Since winning the Stanley Cup on June 7, 2004, there has been no NHL, no Cup to defend, no bragging rights every time the Lightning stepped on the ice. The nine-month old lockout has wiped it all out.

''I realize that all 29 teams will say they have been impacted by the lockout, but you will have a hard time convincing me that we weren't the most affected,'' Feaster said. ''We have been impacted dramatically. We haven't had a chance to defend our title, you don't get to enjoy that target that is on your back from every other team. Those are the opportunities you get that we won't have a chance at.''

The memory of Feaster's children walking into the team suite after winning Game 7 to walk down to the ice for the celebration is as fresh in his mind as his morning breakfast.

Though it has been a year, Feaster still puts the championship video in his DVD player to rekindle the magic of a year ago.

''I still look at the video and I just have to shake my head,'' he said.

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Tim Friedenberger, Director Of Facility Operations
Tim Friedenberger stood at the zamboni gate, beaming with pride watching Dave Andreychuk skate a lap with Stanley.

The ice Andreychuk - and the rest of the Lightning players and management - skated across belonged to Friedenberger - he built it. As director of facility operations, Friedenberger oversees all the surfaces, whether it's concerts, Arena Football or basketball courts.

But ice is his specialty. The Indiana native has been freezing surfaces in Tampa since before the Lightning were born. Friedenberger built ice at the Suncoast Dome for exhibition games before joining the Lightning at the Florida Expo Hall for the inaugural hockey season, back at the ThunderDome and at the Ice Palace/St. Pete Times Forum for the past nine years.

Since watching the Stanley Cup raised over the ice, however, Friedenberger has kept his hands a bit warmer.

''We just got done pulling the ice up for the third time,'' Friedenberger said.

In the absence of hockey, other upgrades have taken place inside the Forum to improve the ice when the sport returns. Friedenberger is longing for the day.

''It's been just heartbreaking what has happened,'' he said.

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Brad Richards, Center
The mantle that holds Brad Richards' trophies picked up some hefty hardware last year.

After helping the Lightning capture the Stanley Cup, Richards skated around the ice with the Conn Smythe trophy as the playoffs MVP following a record-setting performance with seven game-winning goals in the postseason. A few days later in Toronto, he skated off with the Lady Byng award for his professional attitude on the ice.

A few months later, however, he couldn't skate anywhere after undergoing abdominal surgery to repair a nagging injury that flared up while playing in Russia during the lockout. For the first time in his career, Richards was laid up and had little to occupy himself while the players were locked out.

''I probably would have been playing if I didn't get hurt in Russia, but it compounds when you have to sit around knowing you can't do anything and watch the season just waste away,'' he said. ''A lot of people probably had things to do to keep their minds off of it. I didn't. I was sitting on the couch for five weeks hoping that we start a season. That way I could get down here and see the trainers and see the guys. That at least would have given me motivation. But it was a pretty long and boring winter.''

With the summer approaching, the training will heat back up for Richards. He is set to resume full workouts and hopes to be skating again this week.

At that point, he can keep his mind focused on getting ready for training camp and looking back at a championship run instead of thinking about all the free time he had during the lockout.

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How They Killed The Time

With no NHL hockey to keep them busy since winning the Stanley Cup, Lightning players did various activities during the lockout. A look at what they did and where they did it:
Player Location(s): What they did
Dave Andreychuk, Tampa: Played lots of golf, spent time with family
Dmitry Afanasenkov, Russia: Played with Lada Togliatti in Russian league
Dan Boyle, Sweden: Played with Djurgarden in SEL, Canada in World Championships
Martin Cibak, Slovakia: Split time between Slovak and Czech leagues
Ben Clymer, Switzerland: Played in 19 games for Biel of Swiss B league
Jassen Cullimore, Tampa: Spent most of time working out in Brandon
Chris Dingman, Tampa: Spent most of time working out in Brandon
Ruslan Fedotenko, Iowa: Spent time with family in Sioux City
John Grahame, Tampa: Spent most of time working out in Brandon
Nikolai Khabibulin, Russia: Played for AK Bars Kazan of Russian league
Pavel Kubina, Czech Republic: Played for HC Viktovice and national team
Vinny Lecavalier, Russia: Played for AK Bars Kazan of Russian league
Brad Lukowich, Dallas: Played briefly in CHL; spent time with family
Fredrik Modin, Sweden: Played for Timra in Swedish league
Stan Neckar, Czech Republic: Played for HC Ceske Budejovice in Czech league
Eric Perrin, Hershey: Played for Hershey Bears of AHL
Nolan Pratt, Tampa/Germany: Worked out in Brandon; played for Duisburg in Germany
Brad Richards, Russia/Canada: Played for AK Bars Kazan before abdomen surgery
Andre Roy, Montreal: Played in charity games; made wedding preparations
Darren Rumble, Springfield: Retired midseason to be assistant coach with Springfield
Martin St. Louis, Switzerland: Played for Lausanne before returning to New England
Cory Sarich, Tampa Worked out in Brandon to be with expecting wife
Cory Stillman, Ontario: Spent time with family
Darryl Sydor, Alberta: Spent time with family in Edmonton
Tim Taylor, Ontario: Team union rep spent time with family in Stratford

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Where Stanley's Been

The Stanley Cup spent last summer on a whirlwind tour with Lightning players, coaches and executives. A recap of where they went:
John Tortorella: Tampa
Jeff Reese: London, Ontario
Jay Feaster: Williamstown, Pa.
Ron Campbell: Detroit
Eric Perrin: Laval, Quebec
Dan Boyle: Ottawa
Cory Stillman: Peterborough, Ontario
Nikolai Khabibulin: Minsk, Russia
Ruslan Fedotenko: Kiev, Ukraine; Sioux City, Iowa
Dmitry Afanasenkov: Arkhangelsk, Russia
Stan Neckar: Prague, Czech Republic
Pavel Kubina: Prague, Czech Republic
Martin Cibak: Bratislova, Slovakia
Fredrik Modin: Njurunda, Sweden
Martin St. Louis: Burlington, Vt.; Laval, Quebec
Dave Andreychuk: Hamilton, Ontario; Buffalo
Craig Ramsay: Buffalo
Brad Richards: Murray Harbour, Prince Edw. Island
Jassen Cullimore: Port Dover, Ontario
Tim Taylor: Stratford, Ontario
Vincent Lecavalier: Ile Bizard, Quebec
Andre Roy: Montreal
Ben Clymer: Bloomington, Minn.
John Grahame: Denver
Darryl Sydor: Edmonton, Alberta; Kamloops, B.C.
Chris Dingman: Edmonton, Alberta
Brad Lukowich: Cranbrook, B.C.
Cory Sarich: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Darren Rumble: Barrie, Ontario
Nolan Pratt: Tampa