 The Lightning drafted Vincent Lecavalier in 1998, a player who would be a cornerstone of the team for years to come.Williams was widely seen as being in over his head and was an easy target for ridicule from his fellow NHL owners, who called him "Jed Clampett" behind his back due to his thick Southern accent and fundamentalist Christian views.Early in the 1998–99 season, the Lightning lost ten games in a row, all but ending any chance of making the playoffs.