Tampa Bay Lightning Quarter-Century Teams unveiled

With 2025 underway, the NHL is celebrating the best of the past 25 years by revealing Quarter-Century Teams for each of the League's 32 franchises and the Arizona Coyotes.

Each club will be represented by a First Team and Second Team of six players -- three forwards, two defensemen and one goalie -- who played for the franchise from Jan. 1, 2000 - Dec. 31, 2024. The first and second teams were selected by broadcasters, national, local and NHL.com writers who have covered the respective teams, in addition to select former players.

The six players voted to each First Team will be on the ballot for the NHL All Quarter-Century Team that will be chosen via a fan vote that will start in February.

Today, the First and Second Quarter-Century Teams for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Players are listed in alphabetical order.

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING QUARTER-CENTURY TEAMS

First Team

Forwards

Nikita Kucherov

Steven Stamkos

Martin St. Louis

Defensemen

Dan Boyle

Victor Hedman

Goalie

Andrei Vasilevskiy

Forwards: Kucherov, Stamkos and St. Louis have five Stanley Cup championship rings between them; Kucherov and Stamkos from 2020 and 2021, and St. Louis from 2004. Kucherov and Stamkos also played in the Stanley Cup Final in 2015 and 2022. Stamkos is the Lightning's all-time leader in goals (555) and points (1,137), his 1,082 games are second, and his 582 assists are third among forwards behind Kucherov (590 through Dec. 31, 2024) and St. Louis (588). He won the Rocket Richard Trophy as the leading goal scorer in the NHL twice (2009-10, 2011-12). In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Stamkos is second in Lightning history in goals (50), and second among forwards in assists (51) and points (101). Kucherov likely eventually will become the Lightning's all-time leader in points, but entering 2025 he was third with 927, including being first among forwards with 590 assists. He is fourth in goals with 337. In 2018-19, Kucherov won the Hart Trophy as the League's most valuable player, the Art Ross Trophy as the League's leading scorer and the Ted Lindsay Award as the MVP as voted on by the players. He also won the Art Ross Trophy last season. His postseason success has been the best in franchise history as he is Tampa Bay's all-time leader in goals (53), assists (114), points (167) and points per game (1.14). He is second overall and first among forwards in playoff games played (147). St. Louis was a self-made star in Tampa Bay before Stamkos and Kucherov arrived. After signing as an unheralded free agent July 31, 2000 to when he left the Lightning in a trade to the New York Rangers on March 5, 2014, St. Louis was their all-time leader in assists (588) and points (953), and his 365 goals were second. He won the Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award in 2003-04, and the Art Ross Trophy in 2003-04 and 2012-13. He led the Lightning to the 2004 Stanley Cup championship.

Defensemen: Hedman, a two-time Stanley Cup champion (2020, 2021), arguably was the best defenseman in the NHL during the first quarter of the century. He is without question the best defenseman in Lightning history. Hedman was first in every major statistical category among Tampa Bay defensemen. Through Dec. 31, 2004, he had 160 goals, 596 assists, 756 points and a plus-181 rating in 1,084 regular-season games. He won the Norris Trophy as the best defenseman in the NHL in 2017-18 and the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs in 2020. His 756 points was fourth among all NHL defensemen during the first quarter century, behind Brent Burns (893), Erik Karlsson (843) and Kris Letang (758). Hedman also is first across the board for the Lightning in the postseason with 23 goals, 94 assists, 117 points, a plus-24 rating and 165 games played. Boyle was Hedman before there was Hedman in Tampa Bay. He played for the Lightning from 2002-08; when he was traded to the San Jose Sharks on July 4, 2008, he left as the Lightning's all-time leader among defensemen in goals (66), assists (187) and points (253). In the quarter century, Boyle was second in goals and third in assists and points among Lightning defensemen. He also had 22 points (three goals, 19 assists) in 45 playoff games, and helped the Lightning win the Stanley Cup in 2004.

Goalie: Vasilevskiy is the most decorated goalie in Tampa Bay history. He's a two-time Stanley Cup champion (2020, 2021), Vezina Trophy winner as the best goalie in the NHL (2018-19) and Conn Smythe Trophy winner (2021). He entered 2025 as the franchise leader with 504 games played, 309 wins and 36 shutouts. Among goalies to play 50 games for the Lightning, his 2.56 goals-against average was third and his .917 save percentage was second. He also is the Lightning all-time leader in playoff games (115), starts (110), wins (66) and shutouts (seven), with a .920 save percentage and 2.41 GAA.

Second Team

Forwards

Vincent Lecavalier

Brayden Point

Brad Richards

Defensemen

Pavel Kubina

Ryan McDonagh

Goalie

Ben Bishop

Forwards: Lecavalier, who went to the Lightning with the No. 1 pick in the 1998 NHL Draft, left Tampa Bay after the 2012-13 season as the franchise leader in games played (1,037) and goals (383), including 359 goals in 920 games this century. He helped the Lightning win the Stanley Cup in 2004, when he had 16 points (nine goals, seven assists) in 23 playoff games. His best season was 2006-07, when he had 108 points, including an NHL-best 52 goals. Richards played with Lecavalier in Tampa Bay from 2000-08, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy in the 2004 Cup run with 26 points (12 goals, 14 assists) in 23 playoff games. Richards had 489 points in his 552 games with the Lightning, second on the team behind Lecavalier's 507 points during his seven seasons with Tampa Bay. Point has been one of the Lightning's best new generation players. He leads them in goals since debuting with the team in 2016-17, scoring 287 through Dec. 31, 2024. He was second behind Kucherov during that time with 596 points. Point had 56 points, including an NHL-best 28 goals, in the back-to-back Cup runs of 2020 and 2021.

Defensemen: Kubina and McDonagh are two of the most effective two-way defensemen in Tampa Bay history, just in different eras. Kubina played with the Lightning from 1997-2006 and again from 2010-12. He is second among Lightning defensemen behind Hedman in games played this century (550), and had 206 points (60 goals, 146 assists) during the regular season. He also appeared in 46 playoff games, including 22 during the 2004 Cup run, when he averaged 22:54 of ice time per game. McDonagh, like Kubina, has had two stints with the Lightning. They acquired him in a trade with the New York Rangers on Feb. 26, 2018. He was a big part of the two Cup-winning teams and the team that reached the 2022 Stanley Cup Final, then was traded to the Nashville Predators on July 3, 2022. He was re-acquired from Nashville on May 21, 2024. In total, McDonagh entered 2025 with 109 points (21 goals, 88 assists) in 301 regular-season games with the Lightning. His 598 blocked shots were third among Tampa Bay defensemen in the first quarter of the century. He also played in 89 playoff games, third among defenseman in the first quarter of the century, and had 23 points (two goals, 21 assists) while averaging 23:01 of ice time per game, with 207 blocked shots, second behind Hedman's 317.

Goalie: Vasilevskiy learned under Bishop from 2014-16, then replaced him as the No. 1 during the 2016-17 season before Bishop was traded to the Los Angeles Kings. But before Vasilevskiy, Bishop was the best goalie in Lightning history. He now is second all time in games played (227), starts (223), wins (131) and shutouts (17), but his 2.28 GAA and .921 save percentage are first in Tampa Bay history among goalies to play at least 50 games. Bishop guided the Lightning to the Stanley Cup Final in 2015, winning 13 games with three shutouts, a 2.18 GAA and .921 save percentage in 25 games.