HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — "I make small of things. That's just my way. Yeah, but it's special," said Lightning founder Phil Esposito.
Special indeed. Esposito is credited with bringing the Lightning to Tampa Bay. Next month, he'll be inducted into the first-ever class of the Lightning Hall of Fame.
Getting the NHL to put a team in Florida was no easy task. Phil, 81, said there was a laundry list of hurdles to jump over and hoops to jump through to make it happen—everything from lack of money to players not wanting to join an upstart franchise. But Esposito stayed the course with an attitude that could only be described as old school- an approach that might not go over so well in the modern NHL.
"Everything's gotta be, boop-boop-boop-boop," Esposito said as he tapped the podium at Thursday's news conference. "Because if you don't have lawyers involved, accountants involved, this involved, that involved, you don't get anything done. My deal was- look you in the eye; if I trust you, fine. If I don't, I don't."
Regardless of his approach, Esposito's attitude helped lay the foundation for a franchise that's won three Stanley Cups and turned the Tampa Bay area into a "Hockey Town."
"He's accomplished everything and anything in this game," Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said Thursday. "When you're talking about pioneers in this sport, when you look at the Mount Rushmore, how Phil Esposito isn't there, or darn close, because how important he's been to all of us. And I don't think any of us are standing here right now without Phil."
Esposito, a Hockey Hall of Famer who scored more than 700 career goals, gets most of the recognition for the existence of NHL hockey in Tampa Bay- and rightfully so. But he's quick to give credit for his career accomplishments to everyone he's worked with.
"You're only as good as the people you hire around you. And when you play on a team, you're only as good as your teammates- are good with you," Phil added. "Individually, you can do things. But if you're gonna win, it's collectively."
Esposito will join former Lightning stars Vinny Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis in the Bolt's Hall for their 30th-anniversary celebration.
The Lightning will host Alumni Weekend March 16-18. The inaugural Hall of Fame class will be enshrined on the 17.
