Tampa dive team prepared if the Lightning attempt to replicate Tom Brady's trophy toss

Five days after winning the franchise’s second straight Stanley Cup, the Tampa Bay Lightning are following in the footsteps of their NFL counterpart – the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – and celebrating with a boat parade on Monday.

With some interesting antics and tomfoolery on the part of none other than Tom Brady during the Bucs’ Super Bowl parade and a Bud Light-driven press conference with shirtless Tampa forward Nikita Kucherov, no one really knows what to expect from the Lightning’s celebration.

Some are wondering: Will the Lightning celebrate Tampa’s sports success (two Stanley Cups, one Super Bowl) in the last 10 months by paying homage to Brady’s trophy toss?

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Following the Lightning’s Game 5 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday, reporters asked Tampa Mayor Jane Castor if she was concerned about a trophy-toss repeat during the Lightning’s parade.

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“It’s their day,” Mayor Castor said. “We are always prepared. We have divers if Stanley gets wet. We’ll get him back in short order.”

In February, Brady made headlines with video of him tossing the Lombardi Trophy a little over ten feet from his boat to Cameron Brate in another boat. The seven-time Super Bowl champ said the details of the toss are foggy, but he’s joked about the situation in the months since.

Logistically, throwing the Stanley Cup a few yards might not go as smoothly as tossing the Vince Lombardi Trophy. At 22 inches tall, the Lombardi weighs in at only seven pounds. Lord Stanley, on the other hand, is just under 3 feet tall and weighs 34.5 pounds. Add in some alcohol and rocky waters from tropical storm Elsa, and throwing the NHL championship trophy from own boat to another may not be the best means of transfer.

If a toss is attempted, there is no doubt that the Stanley Cup would sink nearly 82 feet, the maximum depth of the Tampa Bay. After the Pittsburgh Penguins won the Cup in 1991, during a team party at Mario Lemieux’s house, Phil Bourque threw the Cup into the pool, where it sank to the bottom.

Regardless of what happens on the water, the Tampa Police Department’s dive team will be ready. Members of that team will be on standby, according to 10 Tampa Bay, and they have been instructed to keep watch on the Stanley Cup while escorting the team and trophy along the parade route.

Still, Officer Chris Audet of the Tampa Dive Team hopes that the Lightning players don’t attempt to repeat Brady’s risky toss.

“My biggest concern for us would be people randomly jumping into the water trying to retrieve it themselves,” Audet said to 10 Tampa Bay. “…If the Stanley Cup does decide to take a swim that day, the TPD dive team is ready to retrieve it.”

The event is set to kick off at 11 a.m. at Tampa Riverwalk, less than a mile from the Lightning’s home base, Amalie Arena. With the team on boats, fans are encouraged to spread out on both sides of the river along the parade route before the celebration continues on land at Julian B. Lane Riverfront Park.

Contact Alyssa Hertel at ahertel@usatoday.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.