Lightning Round: Bolts fans celebrate 19 years since first Stanley Cup championship

June 7th, 2004 was when the Tampa Bay Lightning franchise hoisted the Stanley Cup for the very first time. They were the original "hockey in the south" success story and have added two additional championships to the rafts since that time.

Wishing a very happy June 7 to those who celebrate 🏆 pic.twitter.com/fPJtQhLMd8

19 Years Ago Today…Posters & T-shirts proclaiming "STANLEY NEEDS A TAN" were everywhere in Tampa Bay that year."We play our game. We stick to the system. We can beat anybody. It was the key to the season."Here's a look back..#GoBolts https://t.co/obS2GI44sA

Ok https://t.co/nyYwxslWvS pic.twitter.com/sjdwh0yMzX

Happy 19th "Ruslan Fedotenko is a game 7 hero" Day for those who celebrate! #GoBolts pic.twitter.com/idUY7xbwad

19 years ago tonight, the Lightning won their first Stanley Cup in franchise history.Happy anniversary, Bolts fans.#GoBolts pic.twitter.com/Bdw0sRHH7f

Love the throughline from Fedotenko to Coleman!

I have a bunch but this is one of my top ones I absolutely lost it when Coleman scored this #GoBolts https://t.co/XpGlU7FYeq pic.twitter.com/w1wOFfPw80

Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals is tonight, here's a story about Brandon Montour and Zach Whitecloud, who get to represent their Indigenous nations on hockey's biggest stage.

In transaction news, we got two contracts signed yesterday. First, the expected Vladislav Gavrikov contract that did end up being two years long. I believe with this, Gavrikov will get a chance to sign an "into the sunset" contract in a couple years when the cap has risen when he's still only 28.

Vladislav Gavrikov #GoKingsGo$5.875M x 2 year extensionConfirmed Breakdown:$775k base + $5.725M SB$775k base + $4.475M SB(Max signing bonuses)Full NMC in both yearsRep'd by Dan Milstein @HockeyAgent1 of Gold Star Hockeyhttps://t.co/ymOLThTq0N

Chicago signed Andreas Athanasiou to a two-year contract as well. He's going to help fill out their tanking roster.

Chicago also hired Darren Pang to join their local TV Broadcast.