2008–09 Tampa Bay Lightning season

2008–09 Tampa Bay Lightning
Division	5th Southeast
Conference	13th Eastern
2008–09 record	24–40–18
Home record	12–18–11
Road record	12–22–7
Goals for	210
Goals against	279
Team information
General Manager	Brian Lawton
Coach	Barry Melrose (Oct/Nov) Rick Tocchet (Nov-Apr) interim
Captain	Vincent Lecavalier
Alternate captains	Andrej Meszaros (Oct/Nov) Jeff Halpern (Nov-Apr) Martin St. Louis
Arena	St. Pete Times Forum
Average attendance	16,054 (82.3% total)
Team leaders
Goals	Martin St. Louis (30)
Assists	Martin St. Louis (50)
Points	Martin St. Louis (80)
Penalties in minutes	Evgeny Artyukhin (151)
Plus/minus	Richard Petiot (+5)
Wins	Mike Smith (14)
Goals against average	Mike Smith (2.62)
<2007–08 2009–10>

The 2008–09 Tampa Bay Lightning season was the 17th season for the franchise in Tampa Bay. After a season of turnover in ownership, management and players, the team had a turbulent regular season. The Lightning failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Off-season

On June 3, it was announced that Head Coach John Tortorella would not return to the team despite having one year remaining on his contract.^[1]

The NHL Board of Governors on June 18 approved the sale of the Tampa Bay Lightning. The sale of the Lightning was made to movie and television producer Oren Koules. The deal depended the closing of the financial deal of US$200 million to buy the team and lease the St. Pete Times Forum. Koules, 47, played in Medicine Hat and Calgary in the Western Hockey League (WHL) in the early 1980s. In more recent years, he achieved success with the Saw movie franchise and the television sitcom Two and a Half Men. Among his business partners in the Lightning deal is former NHL player Len Barrie.^[2]

On June 24, the Lightning announced that Barry Melrose was hired as the team's new head coach. Melrose had not coached in the NHL since 1995 with the Los Angeles Kings. Since that time, he had served as an analyst for the ESPN networks.^[3]

Goaltender Marc Denis' contract was bought-out by the Lightning on June 25, almost two years to the date after his acquisition from the Columbus Blue Jackets. Denis had one year remaining on his contract.^[4]

The Lightning acquired the rights to left wingers Ryan Malone and Gary Roberts from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for a conditional draft pick in 2009.^[5] Malone then agreed to a seven-year contract with the Lightning two days before he was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent.

The Lightning acquired the rights to right wing Brian Rolston from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for a conditional draft pick in 2009 or 2010. Rolston would later sign with the New Jersey Devils.

The whirlwind 32 days of questionable moves by new ownership came to a head on July 4 when, despite coming off a recent contract extension, Dan Boyle was traded along with Brad Lukowich to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Matt Carle (who would be traded in early November), Ty Wishart, a first-round draft pick in 2009 (which was traded in August) and a fourth round draft pick in 2010. Boyle was pressured to waive his no-trade clause by Tampa Bay's ownership, who said they would otherwise place him on waivers where he would likely be claimed by the Atlanta Thrashers. Frustrated at interference in the team's hockey operations by owners Len Barrie and Oren Koules, seven days later, General Manager Jay Feaster resigned, despite having three years remaining on his contract.^[6] Indeed, Brian Lawton had already taken over the position, though not officially until October 2. John Tortorella would later go on to label the new owners as "cowboys" for these and other dubious moves,^[7] a moniker that would stick with them.

On August 29, the Lightning acquired defenceman Andrej Meszaros from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for defenceman Filip Kuba, as well as Alexandre Picard, and a first-round pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft (obtained in the Dan Boyle deal with the San Jose Sharks). The Lightning would go on to sign Meszaros to a six-year contract worth $24-million.

On September 18, the Lightning announced that their new team captain would be Vincent Lecavalier.

Pre-season

The Tampa Bay Lightning will be playing five pre-season games before opening the season against the New York Rangers on October 4 in Prague. Of special note, this is the first time that Tampa Bay will be opening the season outside of North America. This will also be the first time that the Lightning will play a pre-season game outside North America, playing Eisbaren Berlin in Germany on September 28. It was announced later that the Lightning would also play against Slovan Bratislava of the Slovak Extraliga on September 30.

Date	Opponent	Location	Time	Result
Saturday, September 20	Pittsburgh	Mellon Arena	7:30pm	5-4 W (SO)
Monday, September 22	Pittsburgh	St. Pete Times Forum	7:30pm	3-2 L
Tuesday, September 23	NY Rangers	St. Pete Times Forum	7:30 pm	3-2 W
Thursday, September 25	NY Rangers	Madison Square Garden	7:00 pm	4-2 W
Sunday, September 28	Eisbaren Berlin	Berlin, Germany	10:00 pm	4-1 W
Tuesday, September 30	Slovan Bratislava	Bratislava, Slovakia	12:00 pm	3-2 W (SO)

• Note: all times EST and bold games are home games.

Regular season

The Lightning struggled on the penalty kill, finishing the regular season with the most power-play opportunities against (405) and the most power-play goals allowed (89).^[8]

Divisional standings

Southeast Division

		GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	y – Washington Capitals	82	50	24	8	272	245	108
2	Carolina Hurricanes	82	45	30	7	239	226	97
3	Florida Panthers	82	41	30	11	234	231	93
4	Atlanta Thrashers	82	35	41	6	257	280	76
5	Tampa Bay Lightning	82	24	40	18	210	279	66

Conference standings

Eastern Conference

R		Div	GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	z – Boston Bruins	NE	82	53	19	10	274	196	116
2	y – Washington Capitals	SE	82	50	24	8	272	245	108
3	y – New Jersey Devils	AT	82	51	27	4	244	209	106
4	Pittsburgh Penguins	AT	82	45	28	9	264	239	99
5	Philadelphia Flyers	AT	82	44	27	11	264	238	99
6	Carolina Hurricanes	SE	82	45	30	7	239	226	97
7	New York Rangers	AT	82	43	30	9	210	218	95
8	Montreal Canadiens	NE	82	41	30	11	249	247	93
8.5
9	Florida Panthers	SE	82	41	30	11	234	231	93
10	Buffalo Sabres	NE	82	41	32	9	250	234	91
11	Ottawa Senators	NE	82	36	35	11	217	237	83
12	Toronto Maple Leafs	NE	82	34	35	13	250	293	81
13	Atlanta Thrashers	SE	82	35	41	6	257	280	76
14	Tampa Bay Lightning	SE	82	24	40	18	210	279	66
15	New York Islanders	AT	82	26	47	9	201	279	61

bold – qualified for playoffs, y – division winner, z – placed first in conference (and division)

AT – Atlantic Division, NE – Northeast Division, SE – Southeast Division

Game log

2008–09 Game Log
October: 3-3-3 (Home 1-2-3, Road 2-1-0) Game Date Opponent Score Location Attendance Record Points 1 October 4 New York Rangers 1 - 2 Prague† 17,085 0-1-0 0 2 October 5 New York Rangers 1 - 2 Prague‡ 17,085 0-2-0 0 3 October 11 Carolina Hurricanes 3 - 4 OT St. Pete Times Forum 18,552 0-2-1 1 4 October 16 New York Islanders 3 - 4 OT St. Pete Times Forum 14,420 0-2-2 2 5 October 18 Minnesota Wild 0 - 1 SO St. Pete Times Forum 15,191 0-2-3 3 6 October 21 Atlanta Thrashers 3 - 2 OT St. Pete Times Forum 13,922 1-2-3 5 7 October 25 San Jose Sharks 0 - 3 St. Pete Times Forum 16,831 1-3-3 5 8 October 28 Toronto Maple Leafs 3 - 2 Air Canada Centre 19,348 2-3-3 7 9 October 30 Buffalo Sabres 5 - 2 HSBC Arena 18,690 3-3-3 9 † Tampa Bay was the designated 'home' team on October 4. ‡ New York Rangers were the designated 'home' team on October 5.
November: 3-7-4 (Home 2-2-2, Road 1-5-2) Game Date Opponent Score Location Attendance Record Points 10 November 1 Ottawa Senators 3 - 2 St. Pete Times Forum 16,104 4-3-3 11 11 November 5 New Jersey Devils 3 - 4 SO Prudential Center 11,619 4-3-4 12 12 November 6 New York Rangers 2 - 5 Madison Square Garden 18,200 4-4-4 12 13 November 8 Philadelphia Flyers 2 - 1 Wachovia Center 19,412 5-4-4 14 14 November 10 Washington Capitals 2 - 4 Verizon Center 17,932 5-5-4 14 15 November 12 Florida Panthers 0 - 4 BankAtlantic Center 12,104 5-6-4 14 16 November 13 Detroit Red Wings 3 - 4 St. Pete Times Forum 20,544 5-7-4 14 17 November 16 Carolina Hurricanes 2 - 3 SO RBC Center 13,781 5-7-5 15 18 November 18 Florida Panthers 3 - 4 SO St. Pete Times Forum 16,176 5-7-6 16 19 November 21 Nashville Predators 4 - 1 St. Pete Times Forum 16,444 6-7-6 18 20 November 23 New Jersey Devils 3 - 7 St. Pete Times Forum 14,222 6-8-6 18 21 November 26 New York Rangers 2 - 3 SO St. Pete Times Forum 16,991 6-8-7 19 22 November 28 Minnesota Wild 2 - 4 Xcel Energy Center 18,568 6-9-7 19 23 November 29 Colorado Avalanche 3 - 4 Pepsi Center 18,007 6-10-7 19
December: 4-6-3 (Home 1-2-2, Road 3-4-1) Game Date Opponent Score Location Attendance Record Points 24 December 2 Philadelphia Flyers 3 - 4 OT Wachovia Center 19,227 6-10-8 20 25 December 4 Boston Bruins 1 - 3 St. Pete Times Forum 15,598 6-11-8 20 26 December 6 Buffalo Sabres 3 - 4 St. Pete Times Forum 17,154 6-12-8 20 27 December 8 Boston Bruins 3 - 5 TD Banknorth Garden 16,973 6-13-8 20 28 December 10 Buffalo Sabres 2 - 4 HSBC Arena 18,431 6-14-8 20 29 December 11 Montreal Canadiens 3 - 1 Bell Centre 21,273 7-14-8 22 30 December 13 Ottawa Senators 0 - 2 Scotiabank Place 18,446 7-15-8 22 31 December 18 Colorado Avalanche 1 - 2 SO St. Pete Times Forum 16,333 7-15-9 23 32 December 20 Atlanta Thrashers 3 - 4 Philips Arena 14,395 7-16-9 23 33 December 23 Pittsburgh Penguins 2 - 0 Mellon Arena 17,064 8-16-9 25 34 December 26 Florida Panthers 4 - 3 SO BankAtlantic Center 16,961 9-16-9 27 35 December 27 Florida Panthers 6 - 4 St. Pete Times Forum 18,226 10-16-9 29 36 December 30 Montreal Canadiens 1 - 2 SO St. Pete Times Forum 20,454 10-16-10 30
January: 7-7-0 (Home 4-3-0, Road 3-4-0) Game Date Opponent Score Location Attendance Record Points 37 January 1 Washington Capitals 4 - 7 Verizon Center 18,227 10-17-10 30 38 January 3 Carolina Hurricanes 2 - 3 St. Pete Times Forum 15,873 10-18-10 30 39 January 4 Atlanta Thrashers 4 - 1 Philips Arena 10,750 11-18-10 32 40 January 8 Phoenix Coyotes 1 - 4 Jobing.com Arena 13,736 11-19-10 32 41 January 9 Anaheim Ducks 4 - 3 Honda Center 17,174 12-19-10 34 42 January 12 Los Angeles Kings 3 - 1 Staples Center 16,511 13-19-10 36 43 January 13 San Jose Sharks 1 - 7 HP Pavilion at San Jose 17,496 13-20-10 36 44 January 15 Philadelphia Flyers 4 - 1 St. Pete Times Forum 15,604 14-20-10 38 45 January 17 Florida Panthers 3 - 4 St. Pete Times Forum 17,217 14-21-10 38 46 January 19 Dallas Stars 4 - 2 St. Pete Times Forum 13,991 15-21-10 40 47 January 21 Buffalo Sabres 5 - 3 St. Pete Times Forum 15,611 16-21-10 42 48 January 27 Montreal Canadiens 5 - 3 St. Pete Times Forum 15,912 17-21-10 44 49 January 29 Carolina Hurricanes 2 - 3 RBC Center 16,405 17-22-10 44 50 January 30 Philadelphia Flyers 1 - 6 St. Pete Times Forum 18,120 17-23-10 44
February: 3-7-2 (Home 3-3-1, Road 0-4-1) Game Date Opponent Score Location Attendance Record Points 51 February 3 New York Islanders 1 - 3 Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum 9,808 17-24-10 44 52 February 4 Pittsburgh Penguins 3 - 4 OT Mellon Arena 16,977 17-24-11 45 53 February 7 New York Islanders 1 - 0 St. Pete Times Forum 14,810 18-24-11 47 54 February 10 Atlanta Thrashers 1 - 3 St. Pete Times Forum 13,490 18-25-11 47 55 February 12 Toronto Maple Leafs 6 - 4 St. Pete Times Forum 16,526 19-25-11 49 56 February 14 Washington Capitals 1 - 5 St. Pete Times Forum 17,249 19-26-11 49 57 February 17 Chicago Blackhawks 3 - 5 St. Pete Times Forum 15,431 19-27-11 49 58 February 19 New Jersey Devils 2 - 3 SO St. Pete Times Forum 14,408 19-27-12 50 59 February 20 Carolina Hurricanes 1 - 4 RBC Center 17,711 19-28-12 50 60 February 22 Boston Bruins 4 - 3 St. Pete Times Forum 18,454 20-28-12 52 61 February 24 Edmonton Oilers 3 - 5 Rexall Place 16,839 20-29-12 52 62 February 27 Vancouver Canucks 1 - 2 General Motors Place 18,630 20-30-12 52
March: 4-6-5 (Home 1-4-3, Road 3-2-2) Game Date Opponent Score Location Attendance Record Points 63 March 1 Calgary Flames 8 - 6 Pengrowth Saddledome 19,289 21-30-12 54 64 March 3 Pittsburgh Penguins 1 - 3 St. Pete Times Forum 19,908 21-31-12 54 65 March 6 St. Louis Blues 3 - 4 OT St. Pete Times Forum 13,831 21-31-13 55 66 March 7 Carolina Hurricanes 3 - 9 St. Pete Times Forum 15,692 21-32-13 55 67 March 11 Ottawa Senators 2 - 3 OT Scotiabank Place 19,231 21-32-14 56 68 March 12 Toronto Maple Leafs 4 - 1 Air Canada Centre 19,209 22-32-14 58 69 March 14 Florida Panthers 4 - 3 SO BankAtlantic Center 17,734 23-32-14 60 70 March 17 Toronto Maple Leafs 3 - 4 SO St. Pete Times Forum 18,793 23-32-15 61 71 March 19 Washington Capitals 2 - 5 St. Pete Times Forum 16,541 23-33-15 61 72 March 21 Atlanta Thrashers 3 - 4 SO St. Pete Times Forum 15,391 23-33-16 62 73 March 24 Columbus Blue Jackets 2 - 1 OT St. Pete Times Forum 14,454 24-33-16 64 74 March 26 Montreal Canadiens 2 - 3 OT Bell Centre 21,273 24-33-17 65 75 March 27 Washington Capitals 3 - 5 Verizon Center 18,277 24-34-17 65 76 March 29 Ottawa Senators 0 - 3 St. Pete Times Forum 16,427 24-35-17 65 77 March 31 Boston Bruins 1 - 3 TD Banknorth Garden 16,996 24-36-17 65
April: 0-4-1 (Home 0-2-0, Road 0-2-1) Game Date Opponent Score Location Attendance Record Points 78 April 3 New Jersey Devils 4 - 5 OT Prudential Center 17,625 24-36-18 66 79 April 4 New York Islanders 1 - 3 Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,809 24-37-18 66 80 April 7 Pittsburgh Penguins 4 - 6 St. Pete Times Forum 19,538 24-38-18 66 81 April 9 Washington Capitals 2 - 4 St. Pete Times Forum 18,891 24-39-18 66 82 April 11 Atlanta Thrashers 2 - 6 Philips Arena 17,122 24-40-18 66
Schedule

Record vs. Opponents

Team	Points	Record
New Jersey*	106	0–1–3
NY Islanders	61	1–2–1
NY Rangers	95	0–3–1
Philadelphia	99	1–2–1
Pittsburgh	99	1–2–1
Boston*	116	1–3–0
Buffalo	91	2–2–0
Montreal	93	2–0–2
Ottawa	83	1–2–1
Toronto	81	3–0–1
Atlanta	76	2–3–1
Florida	93	3–2–1
Carolina	97	0–4–2
Washington*	108	0–6–0
Chicago	104	0–0–1
Columbus	92	1–0–0
Detroit*	112	0–1–0
Nashville	88	0–1–0
St. Louis	92	0–0–1
Calgary	98	1–0–0
Colorado	69	0–1–1
Edmonton	85	0–1–0
Minnesota	89	0–1–1
Vancouver*	100	0–1–0
Anaheim	91	1–0–0
Dallas	83	1–0–0
Los Angeles	79	1–0–0
Phoenix	79	1–0–0
San Jose*	117	0–2–0

Notes: * denotes division winner; teams in bold are in the Southeast Division; teams in italics qualified for the playoffs; points refer to the points achieved by the team whom the Thrashers played against

     = Member of the Atlantic Division
     = Member of the Northeast Division
     = Member of the Southeast Division
     = Member of the Central Division
     = Member of the Northeast Division
     = Member of the Pacific Division

Playoffs

The Tampa Bay Lightning failed to qualify for the 2009 NHL playoffs.

Player stats

Skaters

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals 

Regular season Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM St. Louis, MartinMartin St. Louis 82 30 50 80 +4 14 Lecavalier, VincentVincent Lecavalier 77 29 38 67 -9 54 Stamkos, StevenSteven Stamkos 79 23 23 46 -13 39 Prospal, VaclavVaclav Prospal 82 19 26 45 -20 52 Recchi, MarkMark Recchi^‡ 62 13 32 45 -15 20 Malone, RyanRyan Malone 70 26 19 45 +4 98 Eminger, SteveSteve Eminger^†^‡ 50 4 19 23 -4 36 Krajicek, LukasLukas Krajicek 71 2 17 19 -8 48 Halpern, JeffJeff Halpern 52 7 9 16 -13 32 Artyukhin, EvgenyEvgeny Artyukhin 73 6 10 16 +1 151 Meszaros, AndrejAndrej Meszaros 52 2 14 16 -4 36 Jokinen, JussiJussi Jokinen^‡ 46 6 10 16 -8 16 Pettinger, MattMatt Pettinger 59 8 7 15 -14 24 Murphy, CoryCory Murphy^† 25 5 10 15 -3 12 Ranger, PaulPaul Ranger 42 2 11 13 -5 56 Hall, AdamAdam Hall 74 5 5 10 -9 29 Szczechura, PaulPaul Szczechura 31 4 5 9 -1 12 Roberts, GaryGary Roberts 30 4 3 7 -11 27 Lashoff, MattMatt Lashoff^† 12 0 7 7 -7 10 Vrbata, RadimRadim Vrbata 18 3 3 6 -1 8 Craig, RyanRyan Craig 54 2 4 6 -7 60 Downie, SteveSteve Downie^† 23 3 3 6 +2 54 Malik, MarekMarek Malik 42 0 5 5 -3 36 Melichar, JosefJosef Melichar^† 24 0 5 5 +1 29 Karsums, MartinsMartins Karsums^† 18 1 4 5 -5 6 Smaby, MattMatt Smaby 43 0 4 4 -11 50 Petiot, RichardRichard Petiot 11 0 3 3 +5 21 Mihalik, VladimirVladimir Mihalik 11 0 3 3 -3 6 Niskala, JanneJanne Niskala 6 1 2 3 0 6 Gratton, ChrisChris Gratton^‡ 18 0 2 2 -3 10 Heward, JamieJamie Heward^‡ 13 0 2 2 -1 4 Koci, DavidDavid Koci^† 33 1 1 2 +3 132 Carle, MattMatt Carle^‡ 12 1 1 2 +1 6 Lundin, MikeMike Lundin 25 0 2 2 -4 4 Bochenski, BrandonBrandon Bochenski 7 0 1 1 -3 2 Konopka, ZenonZenon Konopka 7 0 1 1 -1 29 Smolenak, RadekRadek Smolenak 6 0 1 1 +1 10 Wishart, TyTy Wishart 5 0 1 1 0 0 Quick, KevinKevin Quick 6 0 1 1 0 0 Ward, JasonJason Ward 1 0 0 0 0 2 Hutchinson, AndrewAndrew Hutchinson^‡ 2 0 0 0 -5 0 Segal, BrandonBrandon Segal 2 0 0 0 0 0 O'Brien, ShaneShane O'Brien^‡ 1 0 0 0 -1 0 Welch, NoahNoah Welch^† 17 0 0 0 -4 14 Kinrade, GeoffGeoff Kinrade 1 0 0 0 -1 0

Goaltenders

Note:  Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Regular season
Player GP Min W L OT GA GAA SA SV Sv% SO Smith, MikeMike Smith 41 2471 14 18 9 108 2.62 1282 1174 .916 2 Ramo, KarriKarri Ramo 24 1311 4 10 7 80 3.66 756 676 .894 0 McKenna, MikeMike McKenna 15 775 4 8 1 46 3.56 406 360 .887 1 Kolzig, OlafOlaf Kolzig^‡ 8 410 2 4 1 25 3.66 245 220 .898 0 Helenius, RikuRiku Helenius 1 6 0 0 0 0 0.00 2 2 1.000 0

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Lightning. Stats reflect season totals.
^‡Traded mid-season
Bold/italics denotes franchise record

Awards and records

Milestones

Regular Season
Player	Milestone	Reached
Steven Stamkos	1st NHL Game	October 4, 2008
Steven Stamkos	1st NHL Assist 1st NHL Point	October 28, 2008
Steven Stamkos	1st NHL Goal	October 30, 2008
Steven Stamkos	1st NHL Hat Trick	February 17, 2009

Transactions

Trades

July 4, 2008	To Tampa Bay Matt Carle Ty Wishart First-round pick in 2009 Fourth-round pick in 2010 draft	To San Jose Dan Boyle Brad Lukowich
August 29, 2008	To Tampa Bay Andrej Meszaros	To Ottawa Senators Filip Kuba Alexandre Picard First-round pick in 2009 draft (pick acquired in Matt Carle trade, later traded)
September 29, 2008	To Tampa Bay Conditional 2009 draft pick (6th round, Jaroslav Janus)	To Nashville Predators Nick Tarnasky
October 6, 2008	To Tampa Bay Lukas Krajicek Juraj Simek	To Vancouver Canucks Shane O'Brien Michel Ouellet
November 7, 2008	To Tampa Bay Steve Eminger Steve Downie Fourth-round pick in 2009 draft(later traded)	To Philadelphia Flyers Matt Carle Third-round pick in 2009 draft(later traded)
November 25, 2008	To Tampa Bay Future Considerations	To Phoenix Coyotes Wyatt Smith
November 30, 2008	To Tampa Bay Lauri Tukonen	To Dallas Stars Andrew Hutchinson
February 7, 2009	To Tampa Bay Wade Brookbank Josef Melichar Fourth-round pick in 2009 draft(later traded for Richard Petiot)	To Carolina Hurricanes Jussi Jokinen
March 4, 2009	To Tampa Bay Matt Lashoff Martins Karsums	To Boston Bruins Mark Recchi Second-round pick in 2010 draft

Free Agents

Player Former team Contract Terms Adam Hall Pittsburgh Penguins 3 years, $1.8 million Olaf Kolzig Washington Capitals 1 year, $1.5 million Radim Vrbata Phoenix Coyotes 3 years, $9 million Mark Recchi[9] Atlanta Thrashers 1 year, $1.25 million David Koci Chicago Blackhawks 1 year, $525,000 Brandon Bochenski Nashville Predators 2 years Marek Malik New York Rangers 1 year, $1.25 million

Player New team Marc Denis Montreal Canadiens Junior Lessard Atlanta Thrashers Craig MacDonald Columbus Blue Jackets Doug Janik Chicago Blackhawks

Claimed from waivers

Player Former team Date claimed off waivers Matt Pettinger Vancouver Canucks October 21, 2008 Cory Murphy Florida Panthers January 19, 2009

Draft picks

Steven Stamkos was the first overall selection in 2008

Tampa Bay entered the NHL Draft Lottery with a 48.8% chance of winning the lottery after stumbling to a 31–42–9 record in the regular season. The Lightning finished last in the league just four years after winning their first Stanley Cup.^[10]

Tampa Bay's picks at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft^[11] in Ottawa, Ontario.

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	Club Team
1	1	Steven Stamkos	(C)	Canada	Sarnia Sting (OHL)
4	117 (from San Jose)	James Wright	(C)	Canada	Vancouver Giants (WHL)
5	122	Dustin Tokarski	(G)	Canada	Spokane Chiefs (WHL)
5	147 (from San Jose)	Kyle De Coste	(RW)	Canada	Brampton Battalion (OHL)
6	152	Mark Barberio	(D)	Canada	Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL)
6	160 (from Florida via Chicago)	Luke Witkowski	(D)	United States	Ohio Junior Blue Jackets (USHL)
7	182	Matias Sointu	(RW)	Finland	Ilves (Finland Jr.)
7	203 (from Anaheim)	David Carle	(D)	United States	Shattuck-Saint Mary's (USHS–MN)

Roster

Updated April 2, 2009.^[12]

#	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace
76		Artyukhin, EvgenyEvgeny Artyukhin	RW	L	32	2001	Moscow, Soviet Union
27		Bochenski, BrandonBrandon Bochenski	RW	R	33	2008	Blaine, Minnesota
34		Craig, RyanRyan Craig	C	L	33	2002	Abbotsford, British Columbia
18		Hall, AdamAdam Hall	RW	R	35	2008	Kalamazoo, Michigan
11		Halpern, JeffJeff Halpern (A)	C	R	39	2008	Potomac, Maryland
44		Karsums, MartinsMartins Karsums	RW	R	29	2009	Riga, Soviet Union
33		Koci, DavidDavid Koci	LW/D	L	34	2008	Prague, Czechoslovakia
2		Krajicek, LukasLukas Krajicek	D	L	32	2008	Prostějov, Czechoslovakia
55		Lashoff, MattMatt Lashoff	D	L	29	2009	East Greenbush, New York
4		Lecavalier, VincentVincent Lecavalier (C)	C	L	35	1998	L'Île-Bizard, Quebec
22		Malik, MarekMarek Malik	D	L	40	2008	Ostrava, Czechoslovakia
12		Malone, RyanRyan Malone	LW	L	36	2008	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
30		McKenna, MikeMike McKenna	G	L	32	2008	St. Louis, Missouri
6		Melichar, JosefJosef Melichar	D	L	36	2009	České Budějovice, Czechoslovakia
14		Meszaros, AndrejAndrej Meszaros	D	L	30	2008	Považská Bystrica, Czechoslovakia
21		Murphy, CoryCory Murphy	D	L	37	2009	Kanata, Ontario
50		Petiot, RichardRichard Petiot	D	L	33	2009	Daysland, Alberta
24		Pettinger, MattMatt Pettinger	LW	L	35	2008	Edmonton, Alberta
20		Prospal, VaclavVaclav Prospal	LW	L	40	2008	České Budějovice, Czechoslovakia
31		Ramo, KarriKarri Ramo	G	L	29	2004	Asikkala, Finland
54		Ranger, PaulPaul Ranger	D	L	31	2002	Whitby, Ontario
32		Smaby, MattMatt Smaby	D	L	31	2003	Minneapolis, Minnesota
41		Smith, MikeMike Smith	G	L	33	2008	Kingston, Ontario
52		Smolenak, RadekRadek Smolenak	LW	L	29	2005	Prague, Czechoslovakia
26		St. Louis, MartinMartin St. Louis (A)	RW	L	40	2000	Laval, Quebec
91		Stamkos, StevenSteven Stamkos	C	R	25	2008	Markham, Ontario
38		Szczechura, PaulPaul Szczechura	C	R	30	2008	Brantford, Ontario
7		Welch, NoahNoah Welch	D	L	33	2009	Brighton, Massachusetts

See also

• 2008–09 NHL season

References

1. "Lightning Head Coach John Tortorella Will Not Return For 2008-09" (Press release). Tampa Bay Lightning. Retrieved 29 June 2008.
2. Oilers sale to Daryl Katz approved by NHL
3. Barry Melrose Named Head Coach of Tampa Bay Lightning
4. Lightning Buy Out Contract of Goaltender Marc Denis
5. Lightning Acquire Rights To Ryan Malone, Gary Roberts
6. http://lightning.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=484635
7. http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Tortorella-calls-new-Tampa-owners-cowboys-rip?urn=nhl-105778
8. http://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_2009.html
9. CANOE - SLAM! Sports - Hockey NHL - Tampa Bay - Lightning sign Mark Recchi to one-year deal
10. CANOE - SLAM! Sports - NHL - Bolts win draft lottery
11. "NHL.com - Stats". 2008-06-21. Retrieved 2008-06-21.
12. "Tampa Bay Lightning - Team - Roster". Tampa Bay Lightning. Archived from the original on 28 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-02.