1993–94 Tampa Bay Lightning season

1993–94 Tampa Bay Lightning
Division	7th Atlantic
Conference	12th Eastern
1993–94 record	30–43–11
Home record	14–21–6
Road record	16–22–5
Goals for	224
Goals against	251
Team information
General manager	Phil Esposito
Coach	Terry Crisp
Captain	Vacant
Arena	ThunderDome
Minor league affiliates	Atlanta Knights (IHL) Knoxville Cherokees (ECHL)
Team leaders
Goals	Petr Klima (28)
Assists	Brian Bradley (40)
Points	Brian Bradley (64)
Penalty minutes	Roman Hamrlik (135)
Plus/minus	John Tucker (+9)
Wins	Daren Puppa (22)
Goals against average	Wendell Young (2.50)
←  1992–93 1994–95  →

The 1993–94 Tampa Bay Lightning season was the Lightning's second season of operation. The team finished last in the Atlantic Division and did not qualify for the playoffs.

Offseason

Buoyed by an active off-season, confidence was high as the Lightning headed to Lakeland to prepare for the team's second National Hockey League season. The team was moved to the newly formed Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference, prompting the beginning of several heated rivalries with East Coast teams such as Philadelphia and Florida.

Brian Bradley, fresh from an 86-point All-Star season, returned to lead the offense. Notably absent was Chris Kontos, who couldn't agree to a contract with the team. Offense, however, was expected to be a stronger area for the Lightning, with the off-season additions of flashy playmaker Denis Savard fresh off a Stanley Cup championship the previous season (free agent) and renowned sniper Petr Klima (trade with Edmonton). And with a move from Expo Hall across Tampa Bay to the Florida Suncoast Dome (soon renamed ThunderDome), the team was hoping the added stars would help fill the almost 30,000 seats available in St. Petersburg.

Another notable addition that would prove to be the most significant for the Lightning was the claim of veteran goaltender Daren Puppa from Florida in Phase II of the 1993 NHL Expansion Draft. Puppa, a former NHL All-Star with Buffalo, moved to the forefront in the Lightning net and posted a 22-33-6 record while the team allowed 81 fewer goals than in 1992-93.

Other notable additions to the Lightning lineup in 1993-94 included first-round draft choice Chris Gratton and a pair of heavyweights Tampa Bay fans would grow to love—Rudy Poeschek and Enrico Ciccone. Poeschek, a defenseman/forward signed as a free agent after time with the Rangers and Winnipeg, stepped into the enforcer role and immediately elicited chants of "Rudy" from ThunderDome crowds. Ciccone was acquired in a late-season deal that sent Joe Reekie to Washington, and "Chico" quickly teamed with Poeschek to form one of the most formidable tandems in the league.

Regular season

On the ice, the team couldn't match the hot start from 1992 to 1993, and quickly dropped to 3-12-2 by early November. However, a bit of NHL history was made early in the season when the first regular-season game at the ThunderDome, which drew an NHL-record 27,227 fans to watch the Lightning face the Panthers on October 9, 1993. That attendance mark remains as the league record for a regular season game. Also, that same month when the Los Angeles Kings came to town (October 20), NHL legend Wayne Gretzky faced his brother—Lightning 1992 draft choice Brent—for the only time in his career. Older brother Wayne got the better end of Brent this evening, helping Los Angeles to a 4-3 victory with a goal and an assist. The season did, however, have its share of highlights. The Lightning eventually began to show more consistency, and a 9-3-1 stretch through late December (a month that also featured the team's most successful road trip to that point, a 3–0 December swing through California that pushed the Lightning's record in the Golden State to a perfect 7-0.) and most of January put the Bolts back in the race. The Bolts closed out the season with a 5-2 victory against Quebec at the ThunderDome and with high hopes for even more improvement in 1994–95. Although they never managed to reach .500, the Lightning posted a marked improvement with seven more wins and 18 more points than the previous year.

In addition to being their first season in the ThunderDome, the team played four regular-season home games in Orlando at Orlando Arena.

The Lightning finished the regular season as the NHL's most disciplined team, being shorthanded only 335 times. They also allowed the most short-handed goals in the league, with 20. ^[1]

Final standings

Atlantic Division

No.	CR		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	1	New York Rangers	84	52	24	8	299	231	112
2	3	New Jersey Devils	84	47	25	12	306	220	106
3	7	Washington Capitals	84	39	35	10	277	263	88
4	8	New York Islanders	84	36	36	12	282	264	84
5	9	Florida Panthers	84	33	34	17	233	233	83
6	10	Philadelphia Flyers	84	35	39	10	294	314	80
7	12	Tampa Bay Lightning	84	30	43	11	224	251	71

^[2] Note: No. = Division rank, CR = Conference rank, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
       Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Eastern Conference ^[3]

R		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	p-New York Rangers *	84	52	24	8	299	231	112
2	x-Pittsburgh Penguins *	84	44	27	13	299	285	101
3	New Jersey Devils	84	47	25	12	306	220	106
4	Boston Bruins	84	42	29	13	289	252	97
5	Montreal Canadiens	84	41	29	14	283	248	96
6	Buffalo Sabres	84	43	32	9	282	218	95
7	Washington Capitals	84	39	35	10	277	263	88
8	New York Islanders	84	36	36	12	282	264	84
9	Florida Panthers	84	33	34	17	233	233	83
10	Philadelphia Flyers	84	35	39	10	294	314	80
11	Quebec Nordiques	84	34	42	8	277	292	76
12	Tampa Bay Lightning	84	30	43	11	224	251	71
13	Hartford Whalers	84	27	48	9	227	288	63
14	Ottawa Senators	84	14	61	9	201	397	37

Final standings

bold – Qualified for playoffs; x – Won division; p – Won Presidents' Trophy (and division); * – Division leader

Schedule and results

1993–94 regular season [4]
October: 3–8–1 (home: 3–5–0; road: 0–3–1) Game Date Score Opponent Record Recap 1 October 6, 1993 1–2 @ New Jersey Devils (1993–94) 0–1–0 L 2 October 7, 1993 4–5 @ New York Rangers (1993–94) 0–2–0 L 3 October 9, 1993 0–2 Florida Panthers (1993–94) 0–3–0 L 4 October 14, 1993 3–2 Pittsburgh Penguins (1993–94) 1–3–0 W 5 October 16, 1993 4–1 Ottawa Senators (1993–94) 2–3–0 W 6 October 17, 1993 3–3 OT @ Florida Panthers (1993–94) 2–3–1 T 7 October 20, 1993 3–4 Los Angeles Kings (1993–94) 2–4–1 L 8 October 22, 1993 4–1 New York Rangers (1993–94) 3–4–1 W 9 October 23, 1993 0–2 Toronto Maple Leafs (1993–94) 3–5–1 L 10 October 27, 1993 3–4 Winnipeg Jets (1993–94) 3–6–1 L 11 October 29, 1993 2–4 New York Islanders (1993–94) 3–7–1 L 12 October 30, 1993 1–2 OT @ Florida Panthers (1993–94) 3–8–1 L
November: 3–8–1 (home: 3–3–0; road: 0–5–1) Game Date Score Opponent Record Recap 13 November 2, 1993 2–8 @ Quebec Nordiques (1993–94) 3–9–1 L 14 November 3, 1993 0–1 @ Montreal Canadiens (1993–94) 3–10–1 L 15 November 6, 1993 1–1 OT @ Boston Bruins (1993–94) 3–10–2 T 16 November 8, 1993 3–6 @ New York Rangers (1993–94) 3–11–2 L 17 November 11, 1993 1–4 Washington Capitals (1993–94) 3–12–2 L 18 November 13, 1993 4–3 Quebec Nordiques (1993–94) 4–12–2 W 19 November 17, 1993 3–4 @ Dallas Stars (1993–94) 4–13–2 L 20 November 19, 1993 3–5 New York Rangers (1993–94) 4–14–2 L 21 November 20, 1993 4–3 Chicago Blackhawks (1993–94) 5–14–2 W 22 November 24, 1993 4–1 Hartford Whalers (1993–94) 6–14–2 W 23 November 26, 1993 0–3 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1993–94) 6–15–2 L 24 November 27, 1993 3–4 OT Philadelphia Flyers (1993–94) 6–16–2 L
December: 6–6–2 (home: 1–4–1; road: 5–2–1) Game Date Score Opponent Record Recap 25 December 1, 1993 0–3 Buffalo Sabres (1993–94) 6–17–2 L 26 December 4, 1993 5–4 @ Los Angeles Kings (1993–94) 7–17–2 W 27 December 5, 1993 4–2 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1993–94) 8–17–2 W 28 December 7, 1993 3–1 @ San Jose Sharks (1993–94) 9–17–2 W 29 December 11, 1993 3–6 Pittsburgh Penguins (1993–94) 9–18–2 L 30 [a] December 14, 1993 1–1 OT Montreal Canadiens (1993–94) 9–18–3 T 31 December 15, 1993 4–3 Ottawa Senators (1993–94) 10–18–3 W 32 December 18, 1993 3–5 Boston Bruins (1993–94) 10–19–3 L 33 December 19, 1993 3–3 OT @ Buffalo Sabres (1993–94) 10–19–4 T 34 December 21, 1993 3–8 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1993–94) 10–20–4 L 35 December 23, 1993 4–7 @ St. Louis Blues (1993–94) 10–21–4 L 36 [a] December 26, 1993 1–3 Florida Panthers (1993–94) 10–22–4 L 37 December 28, 1993 4–1 @ Quebec Nordiques (1993–94) 11–22–4 W 38 December 30, 1993 3–0 @ Ottawa Senators (1993–94) 12–22–4 W Notes: a Game played at the Orlando Arena. [5]
January: 7–4–2 (home: 3–3–1; road: 4–1–1) Game Date Score Opponent Record Recap 39 January 1, 1994 5–5 OT @ Washington Capitals (1993–94) 12–22–5 T 40 [a] January 2, 1994 1–4 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1993–94) 12–23–5 L 41 January 4, 1994 1–0 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1993–94) 13–23–5 W 42 January 8, 1994 4–2 Philadelphia Flyers (1993–94) 14–23–5 W 43 January 10, 1994 5–2 @ New York Rangers (1993–94) 15–23–5 W 44 January 12, 1994 4–2 @ Detroit Red Wings (1993–94) 16–23–5 W 45 January 13, 1994 0–1 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1993–94) 16–24–5 L 46 January 16, 1994 3–2 OT @ Winnipeg Jets (1993–94) 17–24–5 W 47 January 17, 1994 3–6 Detroit Red Wings (1993–94) 17–25–5 L 48 January 19, 1994 4–3 OT New York Islanders (1993–94) 18–25–5 W 49 [a] January 24, 1994 4–0 Buffalo Sabres (1993–94) 19–25–5 W 50 January 26, 1994 1–1 OT Florida Panthers (1993–94) 19–25–6 T 51 January 29, 1994 1–2 San Jose Sharks (1993–94) 19–26–6 L Notes: a Game played at the Orlando Arena. [5]
February: 4–7–2 (home: 1–2–2; road: 3–5–0) Game Date Score Opponent Record Recap 52 February 2, 1994 1–3 Detroit Red Wings (1993–94) 19–27–6 L 53 February 5, 1994 3–6 @ Washington Capitals (1993–94) 19–28–6 L 54 February 7, 1994 2–1 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1993–94) 20–28–6 W 55 February 10, 1994 6–2 @ Ottawa Senators (1993–94) 21–28–6 W 56 February 12, 1994 2–3 Vancouver Canucks (1993–94) 21–29–6 L 57 February 13, 1994 3–3 OT New Jersey Devils (1993–94) 21–29–7 T 58 February 15, 1994 1–2 @ New York Islanders (1993–94) 21–30–7 L 59 February 17, 1994 4–3 Montreal Canadiens (1993–94) 22–30–7 W 60 February 19, 1994 4–5 @ New Jersey Devils (1993–94) 22–31–7 L 61 February 20, 1994 2–2 OT Boston Bruins (1993–94) 22–31–8 T 62 February 24, 1994 4–0 @ Calgary Flames (1993–94) 23–31–8 W 63 February 26, 1994 1–3 @ Vancouver Canucks (1993–94) 23–32–8 L 64 February 27, 1994 2–3 @ Edmonton Oilers (1993–94) 23–33–8 L
March: 3–7–3 (home: 1–4–2; road: 2–3–1) Game Date Score Opponent Record Recap 65 March 1, 1994 4–3 @ Washington Capitals (1993–94) 24–33–8 W 66 March 3, 1994 4–5 OT New Jersey Devils (1993–94) 24–34–8 L 67 March 5, 1994 4–2 Hartford Whalers (1993–94) 25–34–8 W 68 March 6, 1994 1–3 Philadelphia Flyers (1993–94) 25–35–8 L 69 March 9, 1994 1–4 @ Hartford Whalers (1993–94) 25–36–8 L 70 March 13, 1994 5–5 OT @ Philadelphia Flyers (1993–94) 25–36–9 T 71 March 15, 1994 3–7 Calgary Flames (1993–94) 25–37–9 L 72 March 16, 1994 4–4 OT Edmonton Oilers (1993–94) 25–37–10 T 73 #March 20, 1994 0–3 Washington Capitals (1993–94) 25–38–10 L 74 March 22, 1994 4–5 OT @ New York Islanders (1993–94) 25–39–10 L 75 March 24, 1994 1–2 @ New Jersey Devils (1993–94) 25–40–10 L 76 March 27, 1994 2–2 OT Dallas Stars (1993–94) 25–40–11 T 77 March 30, 1994 3–2 OT @ Buffalo Sabres (1993–94) 26–40–11 W
April: 4–3–0 (home: 2–1–0; road: 2–2–0) Game Date Score Opponent Record Recap 78 April 1, 1994 4–3 St. Louis Blues (1993–94) 27–40–11 W 79 April 4, 1994 1–2 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1993–94) 27–41–11 L 80 April 6, 1994 3–1 @ Montreal Canadiens (1993–94) 28–41–11 W 81 April 9, 1994 3–0 @ Boston Bruins (1993–94) 29–41–11 W 82 April 10, 1994 4–6 @ Hartford Whalers (1993–94) 29–42–11 L 83 April 13, 1994 0–2 New York Islanders (1993–94) 29–43–11 L 84 April 14, 1994 5–2 Quebec Nordiques (1993–94) 30–43–11 W
Legend: W Win (2 points)L Loss (0 points)T Tie (1 point)

Player statistics

Skaters

Regular season ^[6]

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	+/−	PIM
Brian Bradley	78	24	40	64	-8	56
Petr Klima	75	28	27	55	-15	76
Denis Savard	74	18	28	46	-1	106
Danton Cole	81	20	23	43	7	32
Chris Gratton	84	13	29	42	-25	123
John Tucker	66	17	23	40	9	28
Shawn Chambers	66	11	23	34	-6	23
Chris Joseph †	66	10	19	29	-13	108
Pat Elynuik †	63	12	14	26	-18	64
Mikael Andersson	76	13	12	25	8	23
Roman Hamrlik	64	3	18	21	-14	135
Adam Creighton	53	10	10	20	-7	37
Marc Bergevin	83	1	15	16	-5	87
Marc Bureau	75	8	7	15	-9	30
Rob DiMaio ‡	39	8	7	15	-5	40
Gerard Gallant	51	4	9	13	-6	74
Rob Zamuner	59	6	6	12	-9	42
Joe Reekie ‡	73	1	11	12	8	127
Tim Bergland	51	6	5	11	-14	6
Rudy Poeschek	71	3	6	9	3	118
Donald Dufresne ‡	51	2	6	8	-2	48
Bill McDougall	22	3	3	6	-4	8
Bob Beers ‡	16	1	5	6	-11	12
Chris LiPuma	27	0	4	4	1	77
Brent Gretzky	10	1	2	3	0	2
Jason Ruff	6	1	2	3	2	2
Enrico Ciccone †	11	0	1	1	-2	52
Eric Charron	4	0	0	0	0	2
Cory Cross	5	0	0	0	-3	6
Jim Cummins †	4	0	0	0	-1	13
Jason Lafreniere	1	0	0	0	-1	0
Normand Rochefort	6	0	0	0	-1	10
Total		224	355	579	—	1,567

Goaltenders

Regular season

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Daren Puppa	63	62	3,652:30	22	33	6	165	2.71	1,637	.899	4	0	1	2
Pat Jablonski	15	13	833:46	5	6	3	54	3.89	374	.856	0	0	0	0
Wendell Young	9	6	479:42	2	3	1	20	2.50	211	.905	1	0	0	4
Jean-Claude Bergeron	3	3	134:08	1	1	1	7	3.13	69	.899	0	0	0	0
Total			5,100:06	30	43	11	246	2.89	2,291	.893	5	0	1	6

† Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Lightning. Stats reflect time with the Lightning only.
‡ Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Lightning only.

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes;
TOI = Time on ice; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV% = Save percentage;

Transactions

Trades

Date	Details
June 8, 1993 (1993-06-08)	To Detroit Red Wings Steve Maltais	To Tampa Bay Lightning Dennis Vial
June 16, 1993 (1993-06-16)	To Edmonton Oilers 1994 3rd-round pick (60th overall)	To Tampa Bay Lightning Petr Klima
June 19, 1993 (1993-06-19)	To San Jose Sharks Dave Capuano	To Tampa Bay Lightning Peter Ahola
June 25, 1993 (1993-06-25)	To Florida Panthers 1993 3rd-round pick (78th overall)	To Tampa Bay Lightning Panthers agreed to select Daren Puppa in the 1993 NHL expansion draft
June 25, 1993 (1993-06-25)	To New York Rangers Glenn Healy	To Tampa Bay Lightning 1993 TB 3rd-round pick (55th overall)
October 5, 1993 (1993-10-05)	To Calgary Flames Peter Ahola	To Tampa Bay Lightning Cash
October 22, 1993 (1993-10-22)	To Washington Capitals 1995 Conditional 5th-round pick (108th overall)	To Tampa Bay Lightning Pat Elynuik
November 11, 1993 (1993-11-11)	To Edmonton Oilers Bob Beers	To Tampa Bay Lightning Chris Joseph
February 21, 1994 (1994-02-21)	To Toronto Maple Leafs Pat Jablonski	To Tampa Bay Lightning Future Considerations (Cash)
March 18, 1994 (1994-03-18)	To Philadelphia Flyers Rob DiMaio	To Tampa Bay Lightning Jim Cummins 1995 4th-round pick (100th overall)
March 19, 1994 (1994-03-19)	To Los Angeles Kings Donald Dufresne	To Tampa Bay Lightning 1994 6th-round pick (137th overall)
March 21, 1994 (1994-03-21)	To Washington Capitals Joe Reekie	To Tampa Bay Lightning Enrico Ciccone 1994 3rd-round pick (67th overall) 1995 Conditional 5th-round pick (108th overall)
May 31, 1994 (1994-05-31)	To New Jersey Devils 1994 4th-round pick (91st overall)	To Tampa Bay Lightning Jeff Toms

Free agents Date Player Team June 2, 1993 Eric Dubois July 21, 1993 Gerard Gallant from Detroit Red Wings July 23, 1993 Denis Savard from Montreal Canadiens August 10, 1993 Rudy Poeschek from Toronto Maple Leafs August 13, 1993 Bill McDougall from Edmonton Oilers September 27, 1993 Normand Rochefort September 28, 1993 Bryan Fogarty

Waivers Date Player Team March 19, 1994 (1994-03-19) Tim Bergland to Washington Capitals Signings Date Player Contract term August 24, 1993 (1993-08-24) Adam Creighton September 20, 1993 (1993-09-20) Shawn Chambers June 2, 1994 (1994-06-02) Allan Egeland

NHL Expansion Draft

Phase I

The following two players were selected from the Tampa Bay Lightning roster in the 1993 NHL expansion draft:

Pick #	Player	Selected by
19	Dennis Vial	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
41	Randy Gilhen	Florida Panthers

Phase II

In the second phase of the expansion draft, Tampa Bay Lightning selected the following players from the Panthers and Mighty Ducks:

Pick #	Player	Selected from
1	Glenn Healy	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
4	Daren Puppa	Florida Panthers

Departures

Date	Player	Via	New Team
July 1, 1993	Jock Callander	Free agency	Cleveland Lumberjacks (IHL)
July 1, 1993	Alain Cote	Free agency	Quebec Nordiques
July 1, 1993	Matt Hervey	Free agency	Milwaukee Admirals (IHL)
July 1, 1993	David Littman	Free agency	Boston Bruins
July 1, 1993	Keith Osborne	Free agency	Grasshopper Club Zürich (CHE.2)
July 1, 1993	Shayne Stevenson	Free agency	EV MAK Bruneck (AL)
August 1, 1993	Herb Raglan	Buyout	Ottawa Senators
August 1, 1993	Steve Kasper	Retired

Draft picks

Tampa Bay's draft picks at the 1993 NHL entry draft held at the Quebec Coliseum in Quebec City, Quebec. ^[7]

Round	#	Player	Position	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	3	Chris Gratton	C	Canada	Kingston Frontenacs (OHL)
2	29	Tyler Moss	G	Canada	Kingston Frontenacs (OHL)
3	55	Allan Egeland	C	Canada	Tacoma Rockets (WHL)
4	81	Marian Kacir	RW	Czech Republic	Owen Sound Platers (OHL)
5	107	Ryan Brown	D	Canada	Swift Current Broncos (WHL)
6	133	Kiley Hill	LW	Canada	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL)
7	159	Mathieu Raby	D	Canada	Victoriaville Tigres (QMJHL)
8	185	Ryan Nauss	LW	Canada	Peterborough Petes (OHL)
9	211	Alexandre LaPorte	D	Canada	Victoriaville Tigres (QMJHL)
10	237	Brett Duncan	D	Canada	Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)
11	263	Mark Szoke	LW	Canada	Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL)
S	3	Brent Peterson	LW	Canada	Michigan Technological University (WCHA)

References

1. "1993-94 NHL Season Summary | Hockey-Reference.com". Archived from the original on September 29, 2013. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
2. Standings: NHL Public Relations Department (2008). Dave McCarthy; et al. (eds.). THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Official Guide & Record Book/2009. National Hockey League. p. 154. ISBN   978-1-894801-14-0.
3. "NHL Hockey Standings". NHL.com. Retrieved August 17, 2024.
4. "1993-94 Tampa Bay Lightning Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved February 11, 2025.
5. Ruiz, Stephen (September 24, 2018). "Tampa Bay Lightning will play in Orlando this week for 12th time — a look at their previous visits". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved February 11, 2025.
6. "1993-94 Tampa Bay Lightning Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
7. "1993 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved February 11, 2025.