Tampa Bay Lightning

The Tampa Bay Lightning announced Thursday that owner Jeff Vinik has sold a stake in the franchise to a group of investors led by Doug Ostrover and Marc Lipschultz.

While Vinik will remain controlling owner of the Lightning for the next three years, Ostrover and Lipschultz will take over that role beginning in 2027 with Vinik retaining an ownership stake and becoming alternate governor and a Vinik Sports Group board member.

The NHL's Board of Governors officially approved Ostrover and Lipschultz buying a portion of the team on Oct. 1, and they will become part of the Lightning's ownership group effective immediately.

Vinik, who has owned the Lightning since 2010, explained the decision to bring in Ostrover and Lipschultz, and to eventually cede controlling interest in the team to them, saying: "Bringing in the right partners, with the right values, and a strong commitment to our culture is the way we ensure lasting success for the Tampa Bay Lightning. We have built a legacy of which I am proud and I want it to endure for generations."

Ostrover also commented on the transaction and his goals moving forward, saying:

"The Tampa Bay Lightning is one of the most respected and well-managed franchises across all of sports and that's thanks to Jeff Vinik and his incredible team. Their commitment to excellence on-and-off the ice is one that we share. We look forward to embracing the Tampa Bay community and partnering with Jeff to build on the team's success and championship legacy. We are excited to be a part of a League with such incredible growth and momentum."

When Vinik took over as the Lightning's owner in 2010, they already had one Stanley Cup win to their credit as a franchise, but they were also in the midst of a three-year playoff drought.

Tampa reached the Eastern Conference Finals in his first season at the helm, and in the 13 seasons since then, the Bolts have made 10 playoff appearances.

That included four trips to the Stanley Cup Final and two Stanley Cup victories, hoisting the trophy in both 2020 and 2021.

Vinik also oversaw the development of some of the most iconic players in franchise history, including Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, Victor Hedman and Andre Vasilevskiy.

The Lightning entered this season having made seven consecutive playoff appearances, although they lost in the first round in each of the past two seasons on the heels of three straight trips to the Stanley Cup Final.

Through six games this season, the Lightning are 4-2, placing them second in the Atlantic Division and fifth in the Eastern Conference as a whole.

The Tampa Bay Lightning's Saturday home opener against the Carolina Hurricanes has been postponed due to the impact of Hurricane Milton.

A makeup date will be shared "as soon as it can be confirmed," according to the NHL.

The Lightning are scheduled to open the 2024-25 season on Friday against the Hurricanes on the road.

Tampa Bay also has home games scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday of the following week. It is not yet clear if those contests will be impacted by the storm.

Hurricane Milton, which made landfall on Wednesday, left millions of Florida residents without power fewer than two weeks after the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene.

Mandatory evacuation orders were issued to more than seven million Florida residents ahead of the hurricane, Terry Spencer and Kate Payne reported for the Associated Press.

Tampa International Airport was closed on Thursday after reporting damages to boarding bridges, debris on grounds and leaks inside the airport.

The storm also caused apparent flooding at Raymond James Stadium, home of the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and severely damaged the roof at Tropicana Field, where the MLB's Tampa Bay Rays play in St. Petersburg.

It was not immediately clear if Amalie Arena, located on the opposite side of Tampa from the Buccaneers' home, suffered any damage in the storm. Angelina Salcedo of 11Alive News shared video of flooding in the streets near the arena.

Amalie Arena has additionally postponed multiple other events, including concerts originally scheduled to take place at the venue on Thursday and Friday.

The Lightning are currently scheduled to face the Vancouver Canucks and Vegas Golden Knights at home next week before embarking on a three-game road trip. The Minnesota Wild, Washington Capitals and Nashville Predators are then slated to visit Tampa Bay the week of Oct. 24.

Defenseman Victor Hedman has been named captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning ahead of his 16th season with the team.

Hedman will be the 11th captain in Lightning franchise history. Forward Nikita Kucherov and defenseman Ryan McDonagh will join him as alternate captains.

He replaces Steven Stamkos, who wore the "C" from 2014 until he left to join the Nashville Predators in free agency this offseason.

Hedman won the Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defender in 2018 and earned the Conn Smythe for his role in leading the Lightning to the first of back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020. He has served as an alternate captain in Tampa Bay since the 2018-19 season.

Having played for the Lightning since the team selected him with the No. 2 pick in the 2009 draft, Hedman is the only Tampa Bay defenseman to skate in more than 1,000 games with the team.

Should he appear in 31 more games with the Lightning this season, he will move past Stamkos to become the franchise's all-time leader in games played.

In 15 seasons, Hedman has established himself as the franchise's all-time defensive leader with 728 points, 1,132 hits, 1,613 blocked shots and 529 takeaways.

He also is the team leader among defensemen in most postseason categories, leading Lightning blueliners with 23 goals, 94 assists and 117 points in 165 playoff games.

The 10 goals Hedman scored during the Lightning's 2020 Cup run ranked third only to Hall of Famers Paul Coffey and Brian Leetch for the most goals by a defenseman in a single playoff run in NHL history.

Earlier this offseason the Lightning announced they had signed the 33-year-old blueliner to a four-year, $8 million AAV extension that is set to kick in before the 2025-26 season. The deal is set to keep Hedman in Tampa Bay through the 2028-29 campaign.

McDonagh, who was acquired this spring in a trade with the Predators, spent three prior seasons as alternate captain while playing with the Lightning from 2018 to 2022.

Kucherov, who is heading into his 11th season with the team, will meanwhile continue the role he first held in 2022.

Behind a leadership team comprised of three players with key roles in the 2020 and 2021 championships, the Lightning will look to start out the post-Stamkos era as potential Cup contenders once more.

The Tampa Bay Lightning are working to sell the team at a valuation near $2 billion, Elliotte Friedman reported for Sportsnet.

The reported buyer is Doug Ostrover, CEO of New York City-headquartered investment company Blue Owl Capital, per Friedman.

Friedman wrote that sources say "the deal is not done yet" and current owner Jeff Vinik is anticipated to retain control over team operations "for the next several years." Vinik will also keep "a significant ownership stake" in the team, Friedman reported.

Vinik confirmed to The Athletic's Joe Smith that he is in discussions to sell the team:

Vinik purchased the Lightning in 2010 for a reported valuation of around $170 million. The new valuation of $2 billion would dwarf the $950 million Michael Andlauer paid for the Ottawa Senators last September as the most valuable team sale in NHL history.

Since Vinik's purchase of the team, the Lightning have won two Stanley Cups and attended two more Stanley Cup Finals.

The new sale will take place in a "multi-stage" process, sources told Friedman.

The Lightning sold a minority stake in the franchise to Arctos Sports Partners in June 2023 at a franchise valuation of $1.4 billion, Scott Soshnick and Kurt Badenhausen reported for Sportico.

Forbes listed the Lightning as the 13th-most valuable franchise in the NHL at $1.25 billion as of December 2023. That marked a 31 percent increase over the year prior, per Forbes.

Only the Los Angeles Kings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs were estimated to have values of $2 billion or higher by Forbes.

The Lightning were one of 16 NHL teams with an arena filled to capacity during the 2023-24 regular season. Even with former captain Steven Stamkos having departed for the Nashville Predators, Tampa Bay will expect similarly high attendance in 2024-25.

The Vegas Golden Knights and Nashville Predators are "believed to be in the mix" for Tampa Bay Lightning legend Steven Stamkos, who is set to become a free agent at noon ET Monday should he not agree to a contract extension with his long-time team.

Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff broke that news Sunday and added that the Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings and New Jersey Devils could potentially be in the mix as well.

Of course, the Lightning can still retain Stamkos, with Seravalli writing that "one last push" can't "firmly" be ruled out.

Stamkos has played 16 NHL seasons, all with the Lightning, who selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2008 draft. The two-time Stanley Cup winner has 555 career goals and 582 assists for 1,137 lifetime points.

He finished with 40 goals and 41 assists in 79 games last year for a Lightning team that made the playoffs but fell in the first round to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.

Stamkos will certainly get paid handsomely again after finishing off his eight-year, $68 million deal, although it perhaps won't be as lucrative and long with him turning 35 next year and being in the back half of his second decade in the league.

Still, the widespread interest here is certainly warranted given his excellence. It would be a tough blow to the Lightning, who are all but resigned to let him test free agency. But a reunion hasn't been ruled out.

"As of now, we've both agreed to get to July 1," Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois said Sunday, per Mike Zeisberger of NHL.com. "It doesn't mean we can't circle back to one another, but we're both going to go ahead and follow through with our due diligence, seeing what's out there and seeing what's best.

"My responsibility is to see what's best for the Lightning organization, and Steven has to do what's best for him, his career and his family. So, unless something changes between now and July 1 -- and it doesn't look like it will -- we will get to July 1."

July 1 has now arrived, and now the hockey world awaits the results of the Stamkos sweepstakes.