In professional sports, it’s rare for a player to stay with one team for their entire career. While most fans of the Tampa Bay Lightning know this to be the case, it still always felt like Alex Killorn was one day going to retire with the franchise. Part of what makes Killorn’s legacy so strong with the Lightning is just how long he was with the team. While he didn’t take the ice for Tampa Bay until 2012-13, he was drafted in the third round back in 2007, which means he was a part of the franchise longer than Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman.
By now, everyone knows that Killorn played at Harvard University for four years before transitioning to professional hockey at the end of the 2011-12 season. He ended up joining the record-setting Norfolk Admirals, the Lightning’s America Hockey League (AHL) affiliate at the time, who were on their way to winning the 2012 Calder Cup. Given how little time he had to transition to the team, he put together a solid effort by posting 12 points in 17 games played.
Following that impressive start, Killorn played half the 2012-13 season with the Lightning’s current AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, before being called up to take on his first NHL ice time by Tampa Bay, who were in the midst of an abysmal lockout-shorted season where they finished third-last in the league. For his part, he looked ready for the NHL, and everyone expected him to start with the team out of training camp for the 2013-14 season.
Once Killorn got a taste of the NHL, he never looked back. While he wasn’t the most proficient scorer like Tyler Johnson or Ondrej Palat, he still played no less an important role. Over the next ten years, Killorn played in 767 games, while missing more than one game per season only once during that timespan. He also played in 140 playoff games for the Lightning, including a career-high nine goals and 18 points during their surprise run to the 2015 Stanley Cup Final.
Killorn Is a Surprise Record Setter
This consistency added up over time, as Killorn slowly crept his way into the Lightning’s history books for scoring and games played. It might be hard to imagine, but he ranks sixth all-time in goalscoring with 198 tallies, eighth for assists with 268, and seventh overall in total points with 466. Also, if you’re interested in this statistic, he has the fourth-highest plus/minus with a plus-96 and he played the fifth-most total games at 805.
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That’s what made Killorn special. He wasn’t ever going to set the NHL on fire with his abilities, but he knew exactly what it took to be successful in the league. He came to the ice, played his brand of two-way hockey, and chipped in key points far more often than you may remember.
However, while he ended up as a hero with the Lightning, there was a time when Killorn was considered, at best, overrated. Before breaking out in the 2019-20 season with 26 goals and 49 points, he was often seen as the team’s worst contract. He was never bad, by any means, but he was incredibly streaking, as he would post four points in three games, then go cold for five games. Many worried that this would be how his career would unfold, and that Tampa Bay would regret signing him to a seven-year, $4.45 million per year contract.
Thankfully, Killorn was able to take that next step in his career, and more than justify his contract. It wasn’t always perfect, as he was rather ineffective in their run to the 2022 Stanley Cup Final by scoring no goals and only four points, but the good times far outweighed the bad.
Killorn Understood That Sports Are Fun
Perhaps the thing that made Killorn so impactful to the Lightning was his personality. Oftentimes, hockey players can come across as a bit bland when they aren’t on the ice, but he had charisma to spare. If there was a camera, Killorn was ready to jump in front of it, put on a show, and make a memory.
I believe this kind of off-ice personality really helped entrench the Lightning into Tampa and made the city a true hockey town. When the franchise started winning on the ice, it had personalities like Killorn that you couldn’t help but cheer for Whether it was Jet Skis, championship belts, or golf tournaments, he always brought life to the organization (and helped raise money along the way for good causes)
The good news is, this part of Killorn’s legacy will live on with the Lightning. In many ways, he helped to write the playbook that other players on the team follow. He may no longer be with the franchise to help guide it both on and off the ice, but his presence will be felt forever, regardless of which jersey he puts on.
No one in Tampa will blame Killorn for taking the contract offered to him by the Anaheim Ducks. However, that doesn’t mean that we all won’t miss him.