How Eastern Conference champion Tampa Bay Lightning were built

The Tampa Bay Lightning advanced to the Stanley Cup Final for the third straight season with a 2-1 win against the New York Rangers in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final on Saturday.

The Lightning will play the Colorado Avalanche in the Stanley Cup Final. Game 1 is at Ball Arena in Denver on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; ESPN+, ABC, CBC, SN, TVAS).
The Lightning are the first team to reach the Stanley Cup Final in three consecutive seasons since the Edmonton Oilers from 1983-85.
Sixteen players who have played at least one game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the Lightning this season have won the Cup at least once with them and 13 have won it each of the past two seasons.
Forwards Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Brandon Hagel, Nicholas Paul and Riley Nash are the only players to play in a game this postseason who haven't won the Cup. Forward Corey Perry won it with the Anaheim Ducks in 2007.
Of the 21 players to play at least one postseason game, 10 were selected by Tampa Bay in the NHL Draft, seven were acquired via trade and four were signed in free agency.
Here's how the roster of this Stanley Cup finalist was built, with background on the coaching staff and general manager:
RELATED: [Complete coverage of Stanley Cup Final]

FORWARDS

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, LW: Signed as a free agent July 28, Bellemare had 20 points (nine goals, 11 assists) in 80 regular-season games and has three points (two goals, one assist) in 17 playoff games.
Anthony Cirelli, C: Selected in the third round (No. 72) of the 2015 NHL Draft, Cirelli had 43 points (17 goals, 26 assists) in 76 regular-season games and has five points (one goal, four assists) in 17 playoff games.
Ross Colton, C: Selected in the fourth round (No. 118) of the 2016 NHL Draft, Colton had 39 points (22 goals, 17 assists) in 79 regular-season games and has eight points (five goals, three assists) in 17 playoff games.
Brandon Hagel, LW: Acquired in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks on March 18 with a fourth-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft and 2024 NHL Draft for forwards Boris Katchouk and Taylor Raddysh, and a first-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft and 2024 draft that are top-10 protected, Hagel had 44 points (25 goals, 19 assists) in 77 regular-season games for the Lightning and Blackhawks, including seven points (four goals, three assists) in 22 games for the Lightning. He has five points (two goals, three assists) in 17 playoff games.
Alex Killorn, LW: Selected in the third round (No. 77) of the 2007 NHL Draft, Killorn had 59 points (25 goals, 34 assists) in 82 regular-season games and has four assists in 17 playoff games.
Nikita Kucherov, RW: Selected in the second round (No. 58) of the 2011 NHL Draft, Kucherov had 69 points (25 goals, 44 assists) in 47 regular-season games and has 23 points (seven goals, 16 assists) in 17 playoff games.
Pat Maroon, LW: Signed as a free agent Aug. 24, 2019, Maroon had 27 points (11 goals, 16 assists) in 81 regular-season games and has four points (three goals, one assist) in 17 playoff games.
Riley Nash, C: Acquired in a trade with the Arizona Coyotes on March 21 for future considerations, Nash had four assists in 49 regular-season games with the Lightning, Coyotes and Winnipeg Jets, and did not have a point in 10 games with the Lightning. He has no points in four playoff games.
Ondrej Palat, LW: Selected in the seventh round (No. 208) of the 2011 draft, Palat had 49 points (18 goals, 31 assists) in 77 regular-season games and has 16 points (eight goals, eight assists) in 17 playoff games.
Nicholas Paul, LW: Acquired in a trade with the Ottawa Senators on March 20 for forward Mathieu Joseph and a fourth-round pick in the 2024 draft, Paul had 32 points (16 goals, 16 assists) in 80 games for the Lightning and Senators, including 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 21 games for the Lightning. He has seven points (three goals, four assists) in 17 playoff games.
Corey Perry, RW: Signed as a free agent July 29, Perry had 40 points (19 goals, 21 assists) in 82 regular-season games and has eight points (five goals, three assists) in 17 playoff games.
Brayden Point, C: Selected in the third round (No. 79) of the 2014 NHL Draft, Point had 58 points (28 goals, 30 assists) in 66 regular-season games and has four points (two goals, two assists) in seven playoff games. He has missed the past 10 games with a lower-body injury.
Steven Stamkos, C: Selected with the No. 1 pick in the 2008 NHL Draft, Stamkos led the Lightning with an NHL career-high 106 points (42 goals, 64 assists) in 81 regular-season games and has 15 points (nine goals, six assists) in 17 playoff games. The longest-tenured player on the team, Stamkos has been captain for the past nine seasons.

DEFENSEMEN

Zach Bogosian: Signed as a free agent July 28, Bogosian had eight points (three goals, five assists) in 48 regular-season games and has two assists in 16 playoff games. He won the Cup with the Lightning in 2020.
Erik Cernak: Acquired in a trade with the Los Angeles Kings on Feb. 26, 2017, with goalie Peter Budaj and a seventh-round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft for goalie Ben Bishop and a fifth-round pick in 2017, Cernak had 13 points (one goal, 12 assists) in 55 regular-season games and has one goal in 17 playoff games.
Cal Foote:Selected with the No. 14 pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, Foote had nine points (two goals, seven assists) in 56 regular-season games and has two assists in 13 playoff games.
Victor Hedman: Selected with the No. 2 pick in the 2009 NHL Draft, Hedman had 85 points (20 goals, 65 assists) in 82 regular-season games and has 14 points (two goals, 12 assists) in 17 playoff games.
Ryan McDonagh: Acquired in a trade with the New York Rangers on Feb. 26, 2018, with forward J.T. Miller for forwards Vladislav Namestnikov and Brett Howden, defenseman Libor Hajek, a first-round draft pick in the 2018 NHL Draft and a second-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, McDonagh had 26 points (four goals, 22 assists) in 71 regular-season games and has four points (one goal, three assists) in 17 playoff games.
Jan Rutta: Acquired in a trade with the Blackhawks on Jan. 11, 2019, with a seventh-round pick in the 2019 draft for defenseman Slater Koekkoek and a fifth-round pick in 2019, Rutta had 18 points (three goals, 15 assists) in 76 regular-season games and has three assists in 11 playoff games.
Mikhail Sergachev: Acquired in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens on June 15, 2017, with a second-round pick in the 2018 draft for forward Jonathan Drouin and a sixth-round pick in 2018, Sergachev had 38 points (seven goals, 31 assists) in 78 regular-season games and has seven points (one goal, six assists) in 17 playoff games.

GOALIES

Andrei Vasilevskiy: Selected with the No. 19 pick in the 2012 NHL Draft, Vasilevskiy was 39-18-5 with a 2.49 goals-against average, .916 save percentage and two shutouts in 63 regular-season games and is 12-5 with a 2.27 GAA, .928 save percentage and one shutout in 17 playoff games. He has played every minute for the Lightning in the past three playoffs (65 games).
Brian Elliott: Signed as a free agent July 28, Elliott was 11-4-3 with a 2.43 GAA and .912 save percentage in 19 regular-season games (17 starts). He has not played in the postseason.

COACHING STAFF

Jon Cooper, coach: Hired on March 25, 2013, to replace Guy Boucher, Cooper is the longest-tenured coach in the NHL. He is 434-220-61 in the regular season and 81-51 in the playoffs, having guided the Lightning to the playoffs in eight of his nine full NHL seasons. Cooper previously coached Tampa Bay's American Hockey League affiliate in Norfolk (2010-12) and Syracuse (2012-13).
Jeff Halpern, assistant: Promoted on June 22, 2018, Halpern joined the Lightning in 2015-16 as player development coach and was an assistant with Syracuse (AHL) for two seasons (2016-18).
Derek Lalonde, assistant: Hired on July 12, 2018, Lalonde previously spent two seasons as coach of Iowa (AHL) from 2016-18.
Rob Zettler, assistant: Hired on Dec. 7, 2020, Zettler spent two seasons as an assistant with the San Jose Sharks (2017-19) and was Syracuse coach from 2013-16.
Frantz Jean, goaltending coach: Hired on Sept. 7, 2010, Lightning goalies have been Vezina Trophy finalists six times in his 12 seasons (Vasilevskiy, 2017-21; Bishop 2013-14, 2015-16).

GENERAL MANAGER

Julien BriseBois: Promoted to general manager on Sept. 11, 2018 to replace Steve Yzerman, BriseBois guided the Lightning to a League-record-tying 62 wins in his first season (2018-19). He previously served as assistant GM of the Lightning for eight seasons (2010-18) and spent nine seasons in the Canadiens organization (2001-10).