TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
SIX GOALIES (PER YEAR)
IN THEORY, THE STARTER WAS: No, that’s not a typo. The Lightning managed to use six goaltenders in three straight seasons. Deep breath. This one’s about to get messy.
The nominal starters were Corey Schwab in 1998-99, Dan Cloutier in 1999-2000 and Kevin Weekes in 2000-01. But the team managed to mix in 10 more goalies over the course of those three seasons.
YOU MAY ALSO RECOGNIZE: A few reasonably well-known veterans show up here, including Bill Ranford for part-time starting duties in 1998-99 and Daren Puppa for a handful of games that year and the next. You may also know names like Kevin Hodson and Wade Flaherty.
But the most important name on the list doesn’t arrive until the end, with a two-game cameo during the 2000-01 season. That would be Nikolai Khabibulin, who came over from Phoenix in a trade deadline deal and went on to finally stabilize the goaltending situation by becoming the full-time starter for the next three years, including Tampa’s 2003-04 Stanley Cup season.
PLUS THESE GUYS YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF: Zac Bierk shows up for two years before going on to brief stints with Minnesota and Phoenix. Dieter Kochan is there for two seasons as well, racking up 15 of his 21 career games. Evgeny Konstantinov accounted for half of his entire NHL career by playing one game in 2000-01. Derek Wilkinson played the last five games of his 22-game NHL career in 1998-99. And if you’ve ever thought it would be cool to have a rich parent, the Lightning would tell you it’s overrated, since their Rich Parent only won two games.