New Tampa’s Andreychuk HOF Bound

For more than a decade, a familiar face around New Tampa and one of the community’s leaders, long-time area resident Dave Andreychuk, has been greeted by many a local, eager to say hello, to thank him for the Stanley Cup he helped the Tampa Bay Lightning win in 2004, and, of course, to tell him he should be in the National Hockey League (NHL) Hall of Fame.

But now…finally…those same fans have a chance to say this: “It’s about darn time!”

Andreychuk received what many feel was a long-overdue call on June 26, telling him his wait was over. The former Lightning captain is an NHL Hall of Famer.

“It’s a great feeling,’’ Andreychuk says. “I’m happy the call finally came.”

Andreychuk, who moved into Arbor Greene in 1999 after signing with the Lightning, before his family moved to their current home in Hunter’s Green, said he was on his way to the airport when his cell phone rang around 2 p.m.

He looked down and saw a Toronto number. “Can it be?,” Andreychuck thought.

Unsure if it was the media calling to ask him his thoughts on not being selected again, or someone from the NHL, he answered to discover it was Lanny MacDonald, fellow Hall of Famer and currently the chairman of the Hockey Hall of Fame, with good news.

“It was really a surprise,’’ Andreychuk said. “I had no idea. I immediately pulled over to collect my thoughts. It really was very exciting.”

A native of Hamilton, Ontario, Andreychuk says he knew his day would eventually come. He has been eligible since 2009, and he thought each of the last two years might have been his day. This year, he says he hadn’t been giving it nearly as much thought.

He only hoped that he would make it into the Hall while his parents, Roz and Julian, were still around to celebrate it with him.

“That’s really what I wanted,’’ he said. “So, that it happened now, and they can celebrate it with me, is the best thing.”

Andreychuk will be officially inducted on Monday, November 13, in Toronto.

His inclusion into the Hall of Fame comes after a 23-year career that began when he was drafted in the first round by Buffalo in 1982 and made meaningful contributions in Toronto, New Jersey, Boston and Colorado before coming to Tampa Bay.

Andreychuk is the NHL’s all-time leader for career power-play goals with 273 (Brett Hull is second all-time, with 265), and is the 14th-leading all-time scorer with 640 goals. His 1,639 games are seventh all-time, and his 1,338 points tie him with Denis Savard for 29th on the all-time scoring list.

But Andreychuk’s greatest moment was captaining the Lightning Stanley Cup team in 2004. Outside of Amalie Arena, there is a bronze statue of him holding the Cup over his head.

He said he remembers taking the Cup home to Hunter’s Green the night the Lightning clinched their first championship, to party with his teammates, and then bringing it to the clubhouse a few days later to share it with the Hunter’s Green and New Tampa community.

“The support I’ve always gotten up here has been great,’’ Andreychuk said.

Andreychuk is currently the Lightning’s VP of Corporate & Community Affairs, and continues to be active in the community as a hockey ambassador. In fact, the Captain (as many in New Tampa still call him) was on hand as a dignitary for the opening of Florida Hospital Center Ice.