Driving the bus: Bolts' unique fourth line has found instant chemistry

"I don't know what to call our line - maybe the 'School Bus,' because we're all carrying each other."
It was forward Pat Maroon who coined the nickname for the Tampa Bay Lightning's fourth line, a group that has remained intact for nearly the entire 2021-22 season. The trio consists of Maroon and two players who signed with Tampa Bay in free agency last summer, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Corey Perry.
The Lightning have had some memorable lines over the years. Who could forget 'The Triplets' with Ondrej Palat, Tyler Johnson, and Nikita Kucherov? Throughout the mid-2000's, the trio of Fredrik Modin, Brad Richards, and Martin St. Louis was a vital piece in helping Tampa Bay claim its first Stanley Cup in 2004. Most recently, the line of Barclay Goodrow, Yanni Gourde, and Blake Coleman played a huge role in guiding the Bolts win back-to-back Stanley Cups.
But the 'School Bus' line may just be the most diverse, unique, or fascinating trio of them all.

At left wing you have Maroon, the only player this century to capture three-straight Stanley Cups and the first player to do so since several members of the New York Islanders captured four in a row from 1980-83. The 'Big Rig' is one of just eight active players to have won the Cup three times in their entire career.
In the middle, there's Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, hailing from Le Blanc-Mesnil, France. Over the NHL's 105-year history, there have been just 12 players all-time that were born in France. Now up to 583 career games in the League, Bellemare didn't get the chance to make his NHL debut until he was 29 years old after spending the first half of his career playing in France and Sweden where he won four championships.
Finally, you have 'The Worm,' Corey Perry, who earned his nickname for his ability to score from the dirty areas of the offensive zone. One of the best NHL agitators of all time, Perry has been a consistent winner throughout his entire career. He is one of four active NHL players to be a member of the Triple Gold Club, a group of players who have won an Olympic Games gold medal, a World Championship gold medal, and the Stanley Cup. He's won the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy as the NHL's leading goal scorer, the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player, one Stanley Cup, one World Junior Championship gold medal, two Olympic Games gold medals, one World Championship gold medal, one World Cup gold medal, and one Memorial Cup. He's made the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 13 of his 16 NHL seasons and has played in the Stanley Cup Final in each of the last two seasons with the Montreal Canadiens and Dallas Stars.
The trio has been incredibly consistent for Tampa Bay this year with all three players secured under contract for next season.
Maroon, Bellemare, and Perry combine for a cap hit of $2.9 million this season and have collectively recorded 81 points with 36 goals, 45 assists, and a plus-50 rating.
There's some history between the three players. Perry and Maroon were teammates in Anaheim for parts of five seasons, with Maroon skating in his first five years of professional hockey as a member of the Ducks organization. Prior to this season, neither Perry nor Maroon had been teammates with Bellemare, who battled against Perry during the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Bellemare was a member of the Colorado Avalanche at the time, a team that fell to Dallas in the Game 7 of the second round.
"I hated him," said Bellemare with a smile when asked about Perry. "I think he's really good at taking the entire focus of an entire team on his back, so that other players can shine.
"At the end of the day, you can get so focused on how much you hate the guy that you forget about the other guys that can score goals or make plays. Guys can end putting too much energy into thinking that every time he's on the ice, you have to make him pay."
A player that has gotten under the skin of countless opponents, Perry has long been regarded as one of the toughest players in the NHL to play against. There have been so many memorable moments of agitating from Perry, whether it's the stealing of Alexander Semin's stick as he skated past the Washington Capitals bench or filling Jeff Carter's gloves with water during a TV timeout. Despite all the frustration Perry can cause on the ice for his opponents, Bellemare had a hunch that the former 50-goal scorer would be a great teammate.
"Most of the guys that are a nightmare on the ice against you are the best teammates," Bellemare said. "I knew that he was going to be a good teammate and a fun guy. Nobody makes it that long in the league without having something special.
"What I wasn't expecting was how polite the guy is. I value that a lot, just being a nice and polite person. I thought that was shocking. I can tell you all about his skills on the ice and everything that everybody already knows. We all know that, but he's always just a genuinely good person. I wasn't ready for that, just because of the fact that he can be an absolute ass on the ice when you play against him."
Maroon has been watching Perry toe that line on the ice for a long time. The two kept contact and remained friends well after Maroon's days with Anaheim were finished. When the NHL season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Perry made the drive from Dallas all the way back to his home in Ontario. With a drive that long, Perry had to split the trip into two days and find a good halfway point to take a break.
That halfway point was found in St. Louis, Missouri, where Perry met up with Maroon to catch up before spending the night at his house, both on the way to Ontario and on the trip back to Dallas.
"When I was a young kid coming in, he'd already been in the league for six, seven, eight years," said Maroon. "He kind of took me in and we hung out a lot. He was a guy that really helped make me who I am today. I've learned so much from him."
There's plenty to learn from a veteran like Perry, who has seen it all throughout his 16-year NHL career. He's skated in 1,171 games and picked up 856 points along the way with 403 goals and 453 assists. He's gone on multiple deep playoff runs, skating in 167 career playoff games with 45 goals and 63 assists for 108 points. Of all active NHL players, only Zdeno Chara (200 GP), Joe Thornton (186 GP), Sidney Crosby (174 GP), and Evgeni Malkin (170 GP) have skated in more playoff games than Perry.
"He's won everything," said Maroon. "He's won big awards. He's won a Stanley Cup. The last two years he's been in the Stanley Cup Final with two teams that a lot of people thought shouldn't be there, but they got there. And there's a reason why they got there.
"You have to have veterans like that on your team. You need veterans who can be approachable for young guys and I think he can teach a lot of kids, but he can also teach other veteran players, too. He's another voice that we need in this room. He's another veteran that we need here.
"He's been a huge addition to this team and I'm happy he's on our side."
While Perry may not have walked away from either of the past two seasons with a second Stanley Cup ring on his finger, he knows there's still a lot of valuable experience to take away from playing in those games. The experience holds a lot of value for Perry, and he tries to take the lessons he learned and pass them on to the younger players in the room. Despite making it to the Stanley Cup Final in two consecutive years, the 36-year-old forward knows those opportunities don't come around very often, if ever, for some players.
"As you go through ups and downs in your career, you can learn from those experiences," Perry said. "You pick out the highs that worked and you try to change what didn't work. Those are things you keep with you and try to pass down to the younger guys, because you can't take it for granted. I said it last year in Montreal, 'This could be your only chance to play for a Stanley Cup.' Who knows? I played with guys that never even got a chance. When we ended up winning in Anaheim, you see the thrill on guys' faces at 36, 37, or 38 years old. They're like little kids in a candy shop. You just never know when you might get that chance again."
Perry may have lost to Tampa Bay in each of the last two Stanley Cup Finals, but he still has one ring from the Ducks Stanley Cup victory in 2007 when he recorded 15 postseason points with six goals and nine assists. Maroon, of course, has his ring from the Blues' victory in 2019, along with his two rings from the past couple years with the Bolts.
The one player who has yet to get that ring is Bellemare, who fell just short after going all the way to the Stanley Cup Final with the Vegas Golden Knights in the team's inaugural 2017-18 season. Like Perry, Bellemare knows that, despite the loss, there are still a lot of valuable lessons that can come from deep playoff runs.
"I've played in the playoffs and lived those moments that are live or die kind of moments," Bellemare said. "When you go to a team that has a lot of players with playoff experience, you can tell right away. That playoff experience is huge. Making the playoffs every year is difficult, but you always get a different kind of experience.
"I went to the Cup Final and we lost it. Those are moments that you have to remember what happened and try to make sure you'll never do that again because those experiences, you can't fake them. There's experience that you can only get by going to the playoffs. There's experience you can only get by going far - winning Cups, losing Cups, losing a devastating series. Those are the things that shape an individual, but you can't know that until you get to the playoffs."
It was a long, winding road all the way to that Stanley Cup Final for Bellemare, a player who never takes a day in the NHL for granted after working to make his debut at 29. Bellemare climbed a ladder that not many players would be willing to climb to get to where he is. There's been hard work, dedication, patience, and commitment, amongst many other things.
"Five years before I even signed to the NHL, I was in the second league in Sweden," Bellemare said. "I was able to earn some ice time by playing PK and then I started scoring some goals. I moved up to the top league and then - WHAM. Back to ground zero. I'm on the fourth line. I'm almost not even playing.
"I could go one of two ways. I could crumble down and be like, 'I deserve to play more. I won the scoring title in the league underneath. This is the coach's fault.' All of that is BS. The other option is to look at yourself in the mirror and say, 'Alright, if the coach doesn't play you, they've established that you're not doing things the right way.' So, find them. Go ask what you're doing wrong, work on it, and be patient."
Patience is a very important quality in the NHL. There has to be patience from management when developing young prospects before the jump to the big club. There has to be patience from players, whether they're recovering from injury or coming to a new team and finding their role. There has to be patience from coaches when trying to implement their system and style of play. Sometimes, it's very hard to be patient. Bellemare has accepted that grind and ran with it.
"This is what I think my strongest quality has been. I've been really patient. I've just been grinding, and I wasn't even trying to reach here. I never dreamed about this life. The end of the road for me was supposed to be as a professional hockey player in the French league. Now that I've climbed up all those steps, it's really easy for me to recognize that a lot of us don't realize how spoiled we are. We're sitting in the lounge of the Tampa Bay Lightning locker room. How sick is this? This is what guys can forget at times. I know where I grew up and I try to remember it literally every day and that's why I work the way I do. I grind to achieve small steps, whether it's being a bit more reliable defensively for my team or working on my faceoffs to help the team. It was never about doing it for myself to have better stats because, at the end of the day, I don't have the talent to look good by myself. But if the team looks amazing, I will be part of a team that looks amazing, so eventually, I will look amazing too."
It's all about the grind and the reward for Bellemare, who tries to work at getting a little bit better every single day. With consistent hard work and dedication, the rewards will come. That could take time or it could be quick, but it's those rewards, both big and small, that keep the 37-year-old going.
"From second league to the top league, then suddenly the NHL is talking about me. I make the NHL and I just can't stop," Bellemare said. "I can't cheat on this process because this is working for me. I got to Philly and I got some praise. I was able to stick and signed a bigger contract. Then there's a brand-new team coming into the league, and they pick me. Out of all of those players to pick, they picked me. So something I'm doing must be right and now I'm going to work harder because there's big responsibility with that. Then I get to the open market. A bunch of teams are interested, which I didn't think would happen because I'm a fourth liner. Then a team that wants to win the Cup wants me and I go to Colorado. Then I hit open market again and the team that just won two Cups is interested in me and I'm like, 'Okay, time to work even harder.' I never thought that Tampa was going to be a team that was going to be interested in me, but it happened and I'm pretty proud and pretty happy.
"I talk to people and they're like, 'Oh, you work so hard and you made it to the league when you were 29. How did you have that drive?' When you put yourself in my shoes and you see the moments where I'm like, 'Wow, this is like a little reward. Let's do a little bit better then.' It's been really simple to just go with the flow and the only thing I had to do is go to the gym when nobody was there. It's not complicated. I mean, people go to the gym and pay to be there. I get paid to go exercise. I'm 37. I don't know how long this is going to go for. I may be tired today, but heck, there are kids that don't even have a chance to be here. There are people that would love to be in this spot. Wake the heck up and put a smile on your face - this is the mentality I've had."
With an outlook like that, it's easy to see why so many of Bellemare's teammates have great things to say about him. Some players get drafted in the first round and skill their way into the NHL. Bellemare worked his way to the league, and that work ethic and determination is showcased every time he's on the ice.
"I really didn't know much about Bells coming in," Perry said. "I'd obviously played against him a little bit, but he is sneaky skilled, and that guy works as hard as anybody on the ice. He'll do anything. You see it on the penalty kill. He blocks shots. He jumps in front of pucks. He wins those crucial faceoffs at big moments, and he's been chipping in offensively too."
Maroon echoed Perry's comments about their linemate. Like Perry, Maroon didn't know much about Bellemare before this season. But he sees the dedication and commitment with every shift the three play together.
"He keeps us engaged every single shift and when we're on the bench," Maroon said. "I really enjoy that about Belly. He's a very intense guy. He never wants to have a bad game and he always wants to have success out there. I love that about him. He challenges us to focus every single day. He challenges us to be better. I think that's why we have chemistry because he's kind of the driver on our line. He's navigating everyone through what we need to do and what he wants to do. He's always coming in, having a big smile on his face, enjoying every day. It's been good to get to know him. He's a ball of energy. He's a great guy. He's a great guy for a locker room. I love his energy every single day. It's been great."
The admiration is mutual between Bellemare and Maroon. While Maroon enjoys the challenges and leadership that his centerman brings to the table, Bellemare sees a lot of those exact same qualities in Maroon. This falls back into the value of having a locker room with plenty of leadership, experience, and veterans.
"Patty is great," said Bellemare. "He's going to come into the locker room and create a good vibe where guys are able to chirp him, and he's going to chirp back and create some big laughs. But when you get down to seriousness, when he opens his mouth, it's really, really, really, really, really rare that he's off. He's right way more often than he's wrong.
"It's crazy how he assesses the game the right way and what he says in the locker room is right on, every single time. If you need the team to get a little loose, he's going to loosen it up and what he says is going to be accurate. If the team needs more of a harsh message, then he's going to be harsh and he's going to be good at it. That's something that I didn't know about him because when you play against him, you hear him chirp and joke and fight. You think like, 'This guy's kind of a goofball.' And he is. He's a goofball. But at the end of the day, hockey-wise, he's great in the locker room. He doesn't have a letter on his jersey, but the words he says are as good as a captain's words, for sure."
Perry has seen Maroon grow from a newcomer in the NHL to the valuable leader and player that he is today. Beyond the leadership aspect of Maroon, of course, is what he brings on the ice. His style of play below the goal line has made for a great connection with Perry, who has scored a ton of goals from right at the top of the opposing team's crease throughout his career.
"He really is a smart hockey player," Perry explained. "He's big. He's physical. He's tough to take the puck from down in the offensive zone. If you've watched my career, that's kind of where I play is below the top of circles. We can pull out a lot of pucks, go to the front of the net, and do all those things. We've really complemented each other over the years that way."
As individuals, each player on the 'School Bus' line brings something to the table. But what makes them work as a collective unit?
"Make sure you be as reliable as possible and understand the strong suit of each guy," Bellemare said. "Patty is a big boy, but he can move. He's strong on the puck, so if you can get the puck to him, maybe behind the net, you know he's going to be able to win on the forecheck.
"Then you have Perrs, who, now he's on the fourth line, everybody can kind of forget that this guy is a really high-skilled, talented player. He can go through pretty much any defenseman, but because he's on the fourth line, the mentality can be like, 'Oh, maybe he doesn't have the hands.' But he absolutely has the hands to be on the top line.
"Then I'm a little bit more reliable defensively, so that allows those two guys to be a little bit more free range and go in on the forecheck, which makes our line a little more aggressive because they know that at any time, I'm going to try to back them up."
Once again echoing Perry's earlier comments, Maroon can also feel the strong chemistry on the ice with the former 50-goal scorer after their time together with the Ducks. Having a safety net in Bellemare as the third high forward, Maroon and Perry know that they can work that chemistry below the goal line with confidence that Bellemare is in the best position to support and get back when needed.
"It's good because I played with Perrs in Anaheim, so we've kind of had that chemistry there for a while," Maroon explained. "I kind of know how he likes to play. I sense where he is at times, and we read off each other a lot in the O-zone. He's highly skilled. I mean, he's a 50-goal scorer and has over 400 goals. He knows how to get to the dirty areas. He knows how to create offense for himself, and I think we're both really, really strong below the top of the circles, so we create a lot of stress on the D and our skill and hands can take over. We do a good job of that.
"Then you add in Belly, who's a little bit more of a defensive forward and plays the PK. He's great on draws and has that defensive-minded kind of game. He kind of lets us freelance down low and he's usually the third man high. He's responsible. He's having a career year, and I think his skills and offense are starting to take over a little bit too because we're all playing responsible hockey. Belly's teaching us to be responsible, and he holds us accountable. I think that's why we do such a good job of creating off each other and that's why we've had success because we're three kind of big guys that do have skill and we have a guy that's in the middle between us that plays responsible and plays the right way while helping us do the same."
Then there's the coach, an orchestrator of sorts with the responsibility of pairing players together and re-adjusting lines when necessary. Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper has made adjustments to the lines throughout the regular season, but the 'School Bus' line has remained intact for nearly the entire year.
Bellemare and Perry didn't have much experience with Cooper before joining the Lightning, but the history between Maroon and the head coach dates all the way back to when the 'Big Rig' was 16 years old.
"When I was 16, he took an opportunity on me when I was tendered," Maroon explained. "He was in the early stages of junior hockey, just like me, and I was young guy just trying to go to college and hopefully make a career out of it. But I had no idea. I was just having fun with it.
"He approaches things the same way now that he did then. He understands when to say things at the right time. He knows when to lay back and when to get on us. He's very approachable and some coaches aren't approachable. He tries to make it fun, but we're a work environment as much as possible. It's fun to come to the rink every single day, and he pushes us at the right time, which is a really good thing. He senses things and he says things that get the players' attention, and it goes a long way. I think that plays a huge impact on this team and the players in the locker room. Our relationship has obviously grown over the years and that made it a lot easier for me to come sign here because I knew Coop in the past. Coop and I have a unique relationship that a lot of people aren't fortunate to have, but I think he holds me accountable and I think that's why we do a good job of creating that chemistry."
With a lengthy career like that of Perry, you will likely play for a number of head coaches. There's different styles and different personalities, but the veteran right winger has enjoyed his time in Tampa under Cooper.
"He's a really smart coach," said Perry. "I've played for few coaches, but he's right at the top. He just knows how to get the most out of his guys. Coming in here, I knew it was a first-class organization right from the start. The way the room is, the dynamic in that room. It's a family in there."
Players and coaches are going to bump heads throughout the grind of an 82-game season. Sometimes, there can be too much pride involved with each party feeling the need to be right. With Cooper, that isn't the case.
"Playing for Coop has been quite easy because he's willing to understand that each player has a different brain," Bellemare explained. "When you make a mistake, he doesn't assume that you made it on purpose just for the sake of your own pride. He gives you the benefit of the doubt, the idea that maybe that's what you saw at that time and thought was the best play. When he comes to talk to you about a mistake, there is always a little bit of positivity before the negative stuff or after that negative is over, there's always a little bit of positivity. You don't come out of a meeting hanging your head and thinking you're the worst player in the world. It's not that old-school mentality. It's much more new-aged, where you're trying to pull out 100% of your players by being kind of an advocate. He's not just going to yell at you. Instead, he's going to show you what's wrong and show you how to do it right. Do what's right and then the team is going to be good."
The 'School Bus' line is filled with three players who simply 'get it.' The three of them all have a great appreciation for the game. They all know that the ride won't last forever and they're enjoying every step along the way before it's over.
"I tell people all the time, there's never a bad day in the NHL," Maroon said. "We're fortunate to do what we love. A lot of people don't get the opportunity to live out their dream every single day and we do. As players, you're obviously going to have bad days and you're going to have good days. You just have to come in and try to make light of it every single day. Have fun with it and enjoy it, because when it's over, it's over. You legit hang up your skates and there's no more joking around in the locker room, there's no more hanging out after the game. That's gone. Every day, I try to get up, enjoy it, and put a smile on my face. No matter what, there's always going to be dark days and dark times throughout the year, but just try to not to let it affect you and go enjoy it because when it's done, it's done."
For now, it's not done. The Lightning are heading to the playoffs for the fifth-straight season, the eighth time in Cooper's nine full seasons as head coach, and the 14th time in franchise history. It's important that Tampa Bay has their game in a good place for the start of the playoffs and the 'School Bus' line will play a big role in that.
They're itching and ready to go. When the puck gets dropped for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, that's when the real fun begins.
"Once playoffs start, it's a different ballgame," Perry said. "During the regular season, you have to pick and choose your spots for certain things. It's a long season. It's seven or eight months, 82 games. It's a long season, but once the playoffs start, everything's for keeps. It's starting to ramp up a little bit and you can tell that teams are getting ready. It doesn't matter how tired you are, how sore you are, how banged up you are, you've got to go out there and continue to help your team and we're ready for that."