5 random players you forgot were on the Tampa Bay Lightning

Tampa Bay Lightning: Evgeni Nabokov

Upon his 2015 midseason retirement — which tellingly happened at his first NHL home rather than in Tampa — Nabokov earned stick salutes for his intangible impact on the Lightning.

As Bryan Burns wrote on the Bolts website, “Away from the ice, Nabokov was a veteran leader in the Lightning locker room. He was a good-natured individual with a contagious personality and a penchant for delivering a timely one-liner.”

Burns added, “Nabokov mentored Lightning rookie goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, even though it was Vasilevskiy who would eventually take his spot on the roster.”

Indeed, Vasilevskiy and Ben Bishop were quick to make Tampa fans forget Nabokov on the road to that year’s Stanley Cup Final. Of course, Nabokov’s preceding achievements elsewhere were another factor.

The NHL’s 2001 rookie of the year was a candidate for hardware at each of his first two stops. During his decade as San Jose’s starter, he received Hart Trophy votes in five seasons and All-Star and Vezina consideration six times.

Upon leading the league with 46 wins in 2007-08, he was the first runner-up for the goaltending prize. He followed up with two more 40-win seasons and back-to-back trips to the Western Conference Final.

But after three years with the Islanders, including one back on the Hart and All-Star ballots in 2013, Nabokov faded to third-string status. In his lone Lightning season, he played a mere 11 games, culminating at the 2:36 mark of the second period on January 12, 2015. He allowed four goals on 13 shots by the host Flyers, and stayed on the hook for the eventual 7-3 loss.

Three weeks later, he hit the waiver wire and returned to the Sharks. Another 10 days elapsed, and with a 3-6-2 mark constituting only his second losing season, Nabokov hung up his pads.