Tampa Bay Lightning: Brad Richards and Their Top 10 NHL Draft Picks of All Time

The Tampa Bay Lightning have only been around since 1992, but they've already found success, winning a Stanley Cup in 2004.

The best way to build a franchise is another debate for another day, but effective drafting serves as the fundamental base for constructing a dynasty.

Such franchises as the Detroit Red Wings have essentially ran a clinic on drafting for the past two decades, finding gems like Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg in later rounds.

Perennial All-Stars like Brad Richards and Vincent Lecavalier are two such players that the Bolts drafted and have gone on to enjoy successful NHL careers thus far. But where do they rank in the all-time list of Tampa Bay draft picks?

10. Bryce Salvador

Bryce Salvador was drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning 138th overall in 1994 after playing his junior hockey with the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the WHL.

A lot like Paul Mara, Salvador won't ever produce offensively like Mike Green of Washington does on a regular basis, but he will provide a lot of stability on your blue line.

Through 610 career games thus far, Salvador has tallied 93 points.

9. Paul Mara

Drafted seventh overall in 1997 by the Tampa Bay Lightning, Paul Mara is truly one of the most traveled journeymen in the NHL, having played for six different teams now in his 12th season.

You won't find Mara on the offensive side of the scoresheet all too often, but he has accumulated 253 points in 734 games, and has been a sturdy defensive rear guard throughout his career.

8. Chris Gratton

Chris Gratton quietly put together a solid 15-year NHL career, the majority of which was spent with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Lightning drafted the Brantford, Ontario native third overall in 1993, where he would play until signing with the Philadelphia Flyers in 1997. From there, Gratton would go on to play in Buffalo, Phoenix and Colorado before signing with Florida following the 2004-05 lockout. In 2007, Gratton was traded back to the Lightning for a second-round pick that the Panthers would use to select their current goaltender of the future, Jacob Markstrom. 

Although he retired in 2009 at age 34, Gratton played a remarkable 1,092 career games, in which he scored 568 points. He wasn't afraid to drop the mitts either, as Gratton also registered 1,638 penalty minutes. 

7. Pavel Kubina

The Tampa Bay Lightning got a real gem when they drafted Pavel Kubina 179th overall in 1996. The Czech-born defenseman has made a career of registering 30 to 40-point seasons while playing big minutes in a shutdown role.

Over the course of 13 seasons in the NHL, split between Tampa Bay, Atlanta and Toronto, Kubina has recorded 371 points in 901 career games.

The longtime Bolt helped the Lightning capture their only Stanley Cup in history, back in 2004. 

6. Victor Hedman

The 6'6" Victor Hedman is evolving into a franchise defenseman for the Tampa Bay Lightning. With 230 pounds to go along with that 6'6" frame, comparisons were drawn to Chris Pronger when he was drafted. To fully justify that similarity, Hedman will have to increase his physical play. 

He's only played two full seasons so far, in which he has recorded 46 points through 153 career games. In his third season now, the towering Swede will undeniably be a staple on the Lightning blue line for years to come.

5. Daymond Langkow

On average, Daymond Langkow has been a very consistent offensive producer, with around 50 to 60 points each season when healthy. 

The Tampa Bay Lightning's fifth overall draft choice in 1995, Langkow has amassed 642 points over the course of 1,017 games. Currently, he's in Phoenix after having spent the previous six seasons with the Calgary Flames, where he was majorly in a top center role alongside Jarome Iginla. 

After his first four seasons with the Lightning, Langkow's career wouldn't take off until he was traded to Philadelphia in part of an exchange that would send former Lightning third-overall pick Chris Gratton back to Tampa.

4. Roman Hamrlik

Arguably the most famous draft selection in Tampa Bay Lightning history, Roman Hamrlik was the first overall choice in 1992, making him the first player the franchise would ever pick.

Never really a standout defenseman, Hamrlik established himself early as a stable defenseman who could handle big minutes for teams.

He spent his first five-and-a-half seasons with the Lightning before being traded to the Edmonton Oilers. Since that deal, Hamrlik would go on to play for the New York Islanders, Calgary Flames, Montreal Canadiens and the Washington Capitals, whom he is currently with.

This season marks Hamrlik's 19th in a 1,311-game career, in which he would record 624 points and 1,366 penalty minutes.

3. Steven Stamkos

Drafted first overall in 2008, Steven Stamkos is the franchise center that the Tampa Bay Lightning will build around for the future.

At only 21, Stamkos has won a Rocket Richard Trophy, when he scored 51 goals in 2008-09, establishing himself as a top center in the league alongside the likes of Sidney Crosby. That made Stamkos the third-youngest player to score at least 50 goals, only behind Wayne Gretzky and Jimmy Carson.

In his young career, "Stammer" already has registered 119 goals and 232 points in 242 games. That near point-per-game pace should be exciting to watch as Stamkos continues to evolve.

2. Brad Richards

Perhaps one of the biggest steals in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, the Tampa Bay Lightning snatched up Brad Richards 64th overall in the same year they took Vincent Lecavalier first overall.

Two franchise centers in one draft year? Not bad.

Richards, now in his 11th season, has been an incredibly consistent source of production his entire career, having scored 716 points in 772 games. He has also won a Lady Byng Trophy in 2004, which his measly 177 career penalty minutes certainly explain. 

What sometimes flies under the radar is his clutch playoff performances. Richards won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP when the Lightning captured the Stanley Cup in 2004. In 63 career playoff games, Richards has tallied 62 points. Talk about stepping up when it matters. 

1. Vincent Lecavalier

Certainly the most important draft selection the Tampa Bay Lightning ever made was picking center Vincent Lecavalier first overall in 1998.

At the end of his second season in 2000, the Lightning named Lecavalier captain at only age 19, becoming the youngest captain since Steve Yzerman at that time.  

The Bolts' longtime captain has been a member of the Lightning for his entire 12-year career thus far. During that time, Lecavalier has amassed 793 points in 934 games. A one-time Rocket Richard Trophy winner in 2007, the 31-year-old certainly has a chance to hit the 500-goal mark, with 351 right now.

Since having shoulder surgery and wrist surgeries following the 2007-2008 season, Lecavalier has seen his production steadily decrease. Now under head coach Guy Boucher, however, Lecavalier has taken on an increased two-way role. Regardless, he's just as vital a part of the organization as ever. 

Lecavalier has not only been a force on the ice, but also off of it. A King Clancy Memorial Trophy winner in 2008, Lecavalier's contributions to charity are truly priceless. He founded the Vincent Lecavalier Foundation that works to build hope for those battling pediatric cancer and blood disorders by funding medical research and patient care. He also donated $3 million to a new and then-under construction All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida, where the pediatric center on-site was named in his honor.

Vincent Lecavalier gets my nod as the best Tampa Bay Lightning draft choice of all time.