Sixteen years ago, I arrived in Tampa Bay not knowing what to expect.

I was in my mid-20s and had just finished my second cross-country move in three years. I had spent the previous couple of years in Modesto, Calif., for my first professional newspaper job at the Modesto Bee. I covered rodeos, minor league baseball and high school football. I did first-person stories on adventure races and Hold ’em poker tournaments and even tried out for an Arena Football League team. It was the kind of stuff you can do at small papers. I loved it.

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But this was my big break, getting a chance to work for a major daily newspaper: the St. Petersburg Times. I was hired to cover high school sports, with the dream to get the call to the big leagues.

I spent my first night in my South St. Pete apartment sleeping on a black futon mattress I’d bought at Target. I had sold most of my furniture before the move and booked the apartment online without seeing it (not suggested). I didn’t know anyone within 1,500 miles.

I thought to myself, “What the hell was I thinking?”

It turned out to be the best decision I ever made, aside from proposing to my wife, Caitlin.

Tampa Bay became our home. In some ways, it always will be. It’s where I first got to live my dream of covering pro sports, from the World Series to the Super Bowl to multiple Stanley Cup Finals. It’s where I met Caitlin, where we got married, where I bought my first home. It’s where we’ve met friends who have become family.

That’s what makes this next sentence so difficult to write:

We’re leaving.

I’m staying with The Athletic but will be heading to Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn., for our next big adventure. I’ll be teaming up with one of our company’s best writers, Michael Russo, to cover the Minnesota Wild. I’ll also spend a good portion of my time writing stories for our NHL vertical — the kind of features and enterprise pieces I’ve enjoyed bringing to the Lightning beat.

Why leave?

For one, it was time for a change. I’ve covered the Lightning for parts of the past dozen years, including the past eight as a primary beat writer. It’s been a wonderful experience, with everyone from the organization to the fans being so gracious with their time and support. I covered most of Steven Stamkos’ and Victor Hedman’s careers. I’ve spent time in players’ hometowns, from Massena, N.Y., to Ovik, Sweden. I was there from Brayden Point’s draft to his rise to stardom. I wrote every single Jon Cooper story I could think of. I’ve covered four Stanley Cup Finals and five Eastern Conference finals.

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Now, I get to take a look at a fresh organization, the Minnesota Wild, which has one of the largest and most passionate fan bases in the league. This is a top NHL market for a reason, and I can’t wait to engage with readers and subscribers up there.

Plus, I get to work with Russo, a good friend and the standard among hockey beat writers. We can only learn from each other, make each other better. We’ll collaborate on Wild stories and NHL stories.

Russo: Introducing Joe Smith and the future of #mnwild and national #nhl coverage at @TheAthletic

Please give @JoeSmithNHL a warm welcome to Minny (although he vows to never use that word like me)

— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) September 8, 2022

I’ll continue to challenge and push myself while writing national stories, doing the kind of work subscribers expect at The Athletic. And we’ll be closer to family, as both Caitlin (Indiana) and I (Michigan) grew up in the midwest.

Yes, I realize it is really, really cold up there in the winter. But I’ve also heard how awesome the Twin Cities are to live in.

I want to thank the Lightning and their fans, for all their time and support over the past decade, especially the past four since I moved over to The Athletic. I’ve loved interacting with you on Twitter, in Thunder Alley, at local bars. We’ve done meetups from Tampa to Stockholm to Nashville. Your comments have inspired me and pushed me to keep trying to find new stories.

Once I knew I was leaving, I reached out to people with the Lightning, from GM Julien BriseBois to owner Jeff Vinik and coach Jon Cooper, whom I’ve covered since his first day on the job, back in the spring of 2013. We’ve shared countless conversations, a few beers and plenty of barbs over the years.

“Can’t believe I’m going to say this,” Cooper said, “But I’m going to miss you.”

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We’ll miss you too, Tampa Bay.

And Minnesota, we can’t wait to get to know you.

(Photo: Geoff Burke / USA Today)