Snowmobile accident will keep Lightning owner Jeff Vinik from attending Stadium Series

Eduardo A. Encina, Tampa Bay Times on Jan 30, 2026

Published in Hockey

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TAMPA, Fla. — Lightning owner Jeff Vinik, who made it a mission to bring an outdoor hockey game to Tampa, will be unable to attend Sunday’s Stadium Series at Raymond James Stadium after being injured during a snowmobiling accident in Norway.

Vinik suffered a major leg fracture in the accident, according to a statement released by the team on Friday morning. He is expected to make a full recovery, the team said.

“During a recent trip with his children, Jeff Vinik was involved in a snowmobiling accident resulting in a major leg fracture,” the statement said. “He is currently under the care of exceptional medical professionals and is expected to make a full recovery. While we are grateful he is doing well, the extent of his injury means he will unfortunately be unable to attend the Stadium Series game on Sunday.

“As an organization, we are deeply thankful for his resilience and dedication, and although we are heartbroken he will miss this historic moment for the Tampa Bay Lightning, a milestone he tirelessly worked to bring to our community, we know he will be watching and taking immense pride in what Team Tampa Bay has accomplished. Go Bolts!”

Vinik purchased a controlling stake in the Lightning in 2010, taking over a struggling franchise and transforming it into one of the NHL’s model organizations, including back-to-back championships in 2020 and ‘21.

Early on, he began working to bring an outdoor game to Tampa. Gradually, as the Lightning saw on-ice success — and four years ago drew 25,000 fans to Nashville for the team’s outdoor game debut — his dream moved closer to reality.

Vinik endeared himself to the fan base and the Tampa Bay community, and wanted it to be able to experience the grandeur of an outdoor hockey game under the lights at Raymond James Stadium.

The Lightning began a full-court press for an outdoor game after Tampa hosted the NHL All-Star Game in 2018, putting up billboards pitching an outdoor game for league officials to see on their way out of town.

“That timing wasn’t right,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said earlier this month. “Over the last few years, we remained focused, Jeff Vinik remained relentless, and we continued to think about and explore the ways that we could do it. And we think we’ve got it right.”

“You can’t talk about the success this franchise has had on and off the ice, you can’t talk about what has happened to the area around the arena, without talking about Jeff Vinik,” Bettman added. “He has made all the difference in the world. It’s a testament to his passion, his creativity, his vision and his willingness to invest heavily in this community and in this team.”

Vinik’s dedication to getting an outdoor game carried over to his top team officials. General manager Julien BriseBois said this month that not only would Vinik lobby Bettman at every NHL Board of Governors meeting, he and CEO Steve Griggs were constantly in the ears of the league’s top decision makers campaigning for an outdoor game.

“I felt confident we would always get them, because we would wear them down,” BriseBois said. “I brought it up even if it wasn’t on the agenda. ‘Hey, outdoor game! We deserve an outdoor game. What more do we as an organization and our fans as a fan base need to do to get an outdoor game?’”

The concept of a temperature-controlled tent to protect the ice from the elements made an outdoor game in Florida a possibility, and the Lightning were awarded the Stadium Series last January.

With Vinik handing over control of the team to incoming owners Doug Ostrover and Marc Lipschultz (the Blue Owl Capital CEOs who purchased a majority stake in October 2024) at the end of next season, he was able to give the fans an outdoor game under his watch.