TAMPA — There were many times in Gary Bettman’s 22-year tenure as commissioner of the National Hockey League when the question would have seemed ludicrous.
Should the Tampa Bay Lightning be considered a model sports franchise?
But on the brink of the Stanley Cup Final against the Chicago Blackhawks, Bettman’s fresh response suggests the hockey club founded by Phil Esposito in 1992 has earned the admiration of its peers as a dynamic organization, one led by owner Jeff Vinik.
“Any model franchise starts with a model owner, and from the outset Jeff Vinik was clear that he was committed and passionate about NHL hockey, the Lightning and greater Tampa,” Bettman said by telephone from his New York office.