Lightning to honor Esposito with sculpture

The Tampa Bay Lightning will kick off a celebration of their 20th year in the National Hockey League by unveiling a bronze sculpture honoring franchise founder Phil Esposito.

On Dec. 31, an hour before the 5 p.m. start of the Lightning's home game against Carolina, the club is inviting fans to witness the unveiling of a sculpture in Esposito's likeness that will be situated on the plaza outside The Forum.

"I'm very excited,'' Esposito said Monday. "I've seen the sculpture and the guy did a real good job. My only regret is we should have put a pair of hockey skates off to the side.''

The life-sized sculpture, created by local artist Steven Dickey, portrays Esposito in a jacket and Lightning tie, grasping a hockey stick. Esposito brandishes a Lightning Stanley Cup ring on the finger of one hand and a ring from Boston's 1969-1970 Stanley Cup champions on the other hand.

In 2008, Dickey crafted a bronze sculpture of former Tampa mayor Dick Greco that sits across from the Tampa Convention Center.

Esposito has invited his original Lightning partners, Mel Lowell and Henry Paul, to participate in the Dec. 31 ceremonies, which will include an in-game presentation to honor the group that landed an NHL franchise for Tampa Bay, beginning in 1992.

"We went through a lot of pain and suffering, but in the end, it was all worth it,'' said Lowell, the former Madison Square Garden executive who now lives in South Florida. "It's one thing to have my business experience and Henry's legal insight, but without Phil, we couldn't have even dreamed about getting a franchise in Tampa.''

Lowell hasn't been back in the building since cheering the Lightning to victory against Calgary in Game 7 of the 2004 Stanley Cup final. Paul, son of long-time baseball executive Gabe Paul, is an attorney based in Tampa.

Esposito, a record-setting Hall of Fame center who played for the Bruins and Rangers, works as a radio analyst for Lightning home games.

"I'll be working the game Dec. 31, too,'' said Esposito, who ran the Lightning's hockey operations for the first six seasons, along with his younger brother, Hall of Fame goaltender Tony Esposito.

"Those 20 years have gone by so quickly and I know one thing – I couldn't have done it without Mel and Henry's support,'' Esposito said. "I'd have to say this sculpture is the fourth greatest thing in my hockey life – behind winning my first Stanley Cup as a player in 1970, having my No. 7 retired in Boston Garden and the awarding of the Lightning franchise. I feel very honored and appreciative.''

The initial concept for the $50,000 sculpture can be traced to Tampa attorney Steve Stuart, an original Lightning season-ticket holder who helped raise funds for the project.

"It's probably the only good, original idea I've ever had,'' Stuart joked. "Phil Esposito deserves to be honored in this way.''

Lowell and Paul will watch the Dec. 31 game from Esposito's suite as the Lightning pay tribute to their past.

"Every time it seemed like things weren't going our way, Phil wouldn't let us give up the chase,'' said Lowell. "He's always been there for the Tampa Bay community. Looking back 20 years, even though the process was difficult at times, there's a Stanley Cup trophy in the Bay area. Twenty years ago, who would have ever thought that could happen?''