An Odd Request

We interrupt this phone call to introduce you to Tampa Mayor Jane Castor. She is officially the 59th mayor of the city of Tampa, Florida, and served as the Chief of Police in the city from 2009-2015. Political leanings aside, Castor is a bit of a role model for women and the LGBTQIA2S+ as well in that she became the first Tampa Police Chief to be a woman and to be LGBTQIA2S+. Needless to say, the 60 year-old Castor smashed through a pile of glass ceilings when she was elected as the first woman mayor of Tampa and just the eighth LGBTQIA2S+ person to be elected mayor of a municipality in Florida. All of that should be celebrated, but her statements today likely won't be celebrated if you're a fan of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

With the Lightning being up 3-0 in the series, Castor made a request that I doubt the team will consider. She said, "What we would like is for the Lightning to take it a little bit easy, to give the Canadiens just the smallest break, allow them to win one at home, and then bring it back to Amalie Arena for the final and the winning of the Stanley Cup."

Yikes. You never want to give your opponent even the slightest glimmer of hope, let alone concede one game to them so you can win the Stanley Cup at home. That request is madness in the sports world despite her good intentions, so this request will likely be denied with prejudice.

It would be akin to asking the Lightning to stretch the series to seven games to allow the city to earn a few more tax dollars on entertainment and hotels. And while it's rare that a team would rally from an 0-3 deficit to win the Stanley Cup - it's happened just once in NHL history in the Stanleu Cup Final - I doubt the Lightning would even entertain the idea of giving Montreal hope for a nanosecond.

I get the idea of presenting and hoisting the Stanley Cup in front of the home crowd of 18,000 fans in Amalie Arena after missing out on last year's opportunity while playing in the bubble, but you take the win if you can earn it. Letting Montreal up off the mat after it looked like they're down and out could be catastrophic, so I'm guessing the Lightning will do everything they can to finish the Canadiens off tomorrow night.

Those 18,000 fans that Mayor Castor is advocating for can join the million other fans who will line the streets for the Stanley Cup parade when the Lightning bring the Stanley Cup back to the Tampa-St. Petersburg area for the second-straight year. Just like a mayoral campaign, Castor should know you can't let your opponent back in the race once you're firmly ahead.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!