Manon Rheaume is a name that is forever etched in Tampa Bay Lightning history. On September 23, 1992 (back when the Tampa Tribune was just 25 cents) she appeared in a pre-season game for the Lightning against the St. Louis Blues, stopping seven of nine shots in one period of play. Her debut marked the first time a woman participated in one of the four major North American sports leagues.
Rheaume would appear in two games for the Atlanta Knights that season, posting a 0-1-1 record with a 6.36 GAA and .806 SV%. She would appear in games in the ECHL, PSHL, and IHL for the next few seasons while also leading Team Canada to Olympic silver and World Championship Gold on the women’s side.
Thirty years after her Lightning debut, she put the pads back on at the 2022 NHL All-Star Game:
Over the last four years she has been in hockey operations for the Los Angeles Kings serving as a consultant and prospects advisor for the Western Conference club. Now, she’ll be running her own franchise as it was announced that she will be the general manager of the Detroit PWHL club that will begin play in the 2026-27 season.
The 54-year-old Quebec native will be responsible for building the club from scratch as she leads them through the revamped expansion process. Detroit, Las Vegas, and Hamilton have already been announced as expansion franchises and it is rumored that San Jose will join them to complete the process for this summer.
Her ties to hockey in Detroit run deep as she has been involved in the Little Caesars AAA Girls Division as a director for many years, while also coaching youth hockey. She’ll also be keeping an eye on the upcoming NHL draft as her son, Dakoda Rheaume-Mullen, is eligible to be selected as an overage player. The 19-year-old spent last season at the University of Michigan where he had 4 goals and 14 assists in 40 games as a defenseman.
Hockey News
John Tortorella fined (again) by NHL, Vegas loses draft pick [Knights on Ice]
The NHL dropped the hammer on Vegas interim head coach John Tortorella as they fined the former Lightning bench boss $100,000 for violating league media rules following the Golden Knights’ Game 6 win over Anaheim. His infraction was refusing to speak with the media while the team also denied access to the locker room after the game. They will surrender their second-round pick in the upcoming draft.
One player each team should target for free agency [The Athletic]
They go with the easy answer and say Darren Raddysh. Boo.
Can the Lightning make these four moves happen [Tampa Bay Times]
Re-sign Darren Raddysh, extend Nikita Kucherov, make a free-agent “splash”, and sign Benjamin Rautiainen to an ELC. Maybe, yes, no, no are our best guesses.
The inside story of the Beer Sabre [ESPN]
Novelty drinking vessels are the new rage in professional sports (better than vuvuzelas). The Beer Sabre helped kick the craze into overdrive. It helps that Buffalonians never turn down an opportunity to guzzle a beer.
Bold predictions for 2026 [Daily FaceOff]
A star on the move? The folks over at DFO ponder some possibilities that might spice up the doldrums of a hockey-less summer.
Spencer Carbery on planning for a season with Ovechkin and one without The Great 8 [RMNB]
NHL coaches really, really don’t like uncertainty. It’s one of the reasons they will usually choose a veteran over a rookie and almost never go with five forwards on a power play. So imagine how uncomfortable the Washington Capitals coach feels as he starts planning for a season where he doesn’t know if the greatest goal scorer in hockey history is coming back or not.
Rays, Tampa, Hillsborough County issue MOU on new stadium deal [DRaysBay]
There are still a million ways for this to go sideways, but it looks like the Rays are crossing the bay and coming to Tampa. Congratulations?
That’s it for the weekend folks. We’ll be back on Monday with more Lightning thoughts.
