# 2005–06 Tampa Bay Lightning season

The 2005–06 Tampa Bay Lightning season was the 14th National Hockey League season in Tampa, Florida. Due to the cancellation of the 2004–05 season, the Lightning entered the season as defending Stanley Cup champions, which they won in 2003–04.

## Regular season
### Final standings

Southeast Division :
| No. | CR | | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 2 | Carolina Hurricanes | 82 | 52 | 22 | 8 | 294 | 260 | 112 |
| 2 | 8 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 82 | 43 | 33 | 6 | 252 | 260 | 92 |
| 3 | 10 | Atlanta Thrashers | 82 | 41 | 33 | 8 | 281 | 275 | 90 |
| 4 | 11 | Florida Panthers | 82 | 37 | 34 | 11 | 240 | 257 | 85 |
| 5 | 14 | Washington Capitals | 82 | 29 | 41 | 12 | 237 | 306 | 70 |
Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime loss; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.
Eastern Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | Z- Ottawa Senators | NE | 82 | 52 | 21 | 9 | 314 | 211 | 113 |
| 2 | Y- Carolina Hurricanes | SE | 82 | 52 | 22 | 8 | 294 | 260 | 112 |
| 3 | Y- New Jersey Devils | AT | 82 | 46 | 27 | 9 | 242 | 229 | 101 |
| 4 | X- Buffalo Sabres | NE | 82 | 52 | 24 | 6 | 242 | 239 | 110 |
| 5 | X- Philadelphia Flyers | AT | 82 | 45 | 26 | 11 | 267 | 259 | 101 |
| 6 | X- New York Rangers | AT | 82 | 44 | 26 | 12 | 257 | 215 | 100 |
| 7 | X- Montreal Canadiens | NE | 82 | 42 | 31 | 9 | 243 | 247 | 93 |
| 8 | X- Tampa Bay Lightning | SE | 82 | 43 | 33 | 6 | 252 | 260 | 92 |
| 8.5 ||||||||||
| 9 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NE | 82 | 41 | 33 | 8 | 257 | 270 | 90 |
| 10 | Atlanta Thrashers | SE | 82 | 41 | 33 | 8 | 281 | 275 | 90 |
| 11 | Florida Panthers | SE | 82 | 37 | 34 | 11 | 240 | 257 | 85 |
| 12 | New York Islanders | AT | 82 | 36 | 40 | 6 | 230 | 278 | 78 |
| 13 | Boston Bruins | NE | 82 | 29 | 37 | 16 | 230 | 266 | 74 |
| 14 | Washington Capitals | SE | 82 | 29 | 41 | 12 | 237 | 306 | 70 |
| 15 | Pittsburgh Penguins | AT | 82 | 22 | 46 | 14 | 244 | 316 | 58 |
Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast, SE – Southeast
Z – Clinched Conference; Y – Clinched Division; X – Clinched Playoff spot

## Playoffs

The Tampa Bay Lightning ended the 2005–06 regular season as the Eastern Conference's eighth seed.

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

2005–06 regular season :
October: 7–3–2 (home: 3–3–1; road: 4–0–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1WOctober 5, 20055–2Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06)1–0–0Recap
2LOctober 7, 20050–2Florida Panthers (2005–06)1–1–0Recap
3WOctober 8, 20052–1Florida Panthers (2005–06)2–1–0Recap
4LOctober 10, 20052–4Boston Bruins (2005–06)2–2–0Recap
5LOctober 13, 20053–4 SOBuffalo Sabres (2005–06)2–2–1Recap
6WOctober 15, 20053–1@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2005–06)3–2–1Recap
7LOctober 16, 20052–3 SO@ Washington Capitals (2005–06)3–2–2Recap
8WOctober 20, 20056–0@ Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06)4–2–2Recap
9LOctober 21, 20051–4Ottawa Senators (2005–06)4–3–2Recap
10WOctober 26, 20056–3@ New Jersey Devils (2005–06)5–3–2Recap
11WOctober 28, 20054–2Washington Capitals (2005–06)6–3–2Recap
12WOctober 29, 20053–2@ Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06)7–3–2Recap :
November: 7–7–1 (home: 4–3–0; road: 3–4–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
13LNovember 1, 20054–6Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06)7–4–2Recap
14LNovember 3, 20052–4@ Ottawa Senators (2005–06)7–5–2Recap
15LNovember 5, 20053–5@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2005–06)7–6–2Recap
16LNovember 8, 20052–3@ Montreal Canadiens (2005–06)7–7–2Recap
17LNovember 10, 20052–5New York Rangers (2005–06)7–8–2Recap
18LNovember 11, 20052–5@ Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06)7–9–2Recap
19WNovember 14, 20055–2Philadelphia Flyers (2005–06)8–9–2Recap
20LNovember 15, 20053–4 SO@ Washington Capitals (2005–06)8–9–3Recap
21WNovember 17, 20053–2New York Islanders (2005–06)9–9–3Recap
22WNovember 20, 20055–2@ Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06)10–9–3Recap
23WNovember 22, 20054–2@ Philadelphia Flyers (2005–06)11–9–3Recap
24WNovember 23, 20054–3 SO@ Washington Capitals (2005–06)12–9–3Recap
25LNovember 25, 20052–8New Jersey Devils (2005–06)12–10–3Recap
26WNovember 27, 20054–1Pittsburgh Penguins (2005–06)13–10–3Recap
27WNovember 30, 20052–1Toronto Maple Leafs (2005–06)14–10–3Recap :
December: 5–7–0 (home: 4–4–0; road: 1–3–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
28WDecember 2, 20053–2 SOChicago Blackhawks (2005–06)15–10–3Recap
29WDecember 8, 20055–4St. Louis Blues (2005–06)16–10–3Recap
30WDecember 10, 20054–3Nashville Predators (2005–06)17–10–3Recap
31LDecember 14, 20052–4@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2005–06)17–11–3Recap
32WDecember 15, 20053–1@ Phoenix Coyotes (2005–06)18–11–3Recap
33LDecember 17, 20053–6Detroit Red Wings (2005–06)18–12–3Recap
34LDecember 20, 20054–6@ Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06)18–13–3Recap
35LDecember 22, 20052–4@ New York Rangers (2005–06)18–14–3Recap
36LDecember 23, 20051–4Buffalo Sabres (2005–06)18–15–3Recap
37WDecember 26, 20055–4 OTCarolina Hurricanes (2005–06)19–15–3Recap
38LDecember 28, 20053–4Montreal Canadiens (2005–06)19–16–3Recap
39LDecember 30, 20051–2Boston Bruins (2005–06)19–17–3Recap :
January: 9–4–1 (home: 3–0–1; road: 6–4–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
40WJanuary 2, 20062–1@ New York Islanders (2005–06)20–17–3Recap
41WJanuary 3, 20061–0 OT@ New York Rangers (2005–06)21–17–3Recap
42LJanuary 5, 20061–3@ Buffalo Sabres (2005–06)21–18–3Recap
43LJanuary 7, 20063–6@ Boston Bruins (2005–06)21–19–3Recap
44WJanuary 13, 20064–2Columbus Blue Jackets (2005–06)22–19–3Recap
45LJanuary 16, 20061–3@ San Jose Sharks (2005–06)22–20–3Recap
46WJanuary 17, 20064–1@ Los Angeles Kings (2005–06)23–20–3Recap
47WJanuary 20, 20066–3@ Dallas Stars (2005–06)24–20–3Recap
48WJanuary 21, 20062–0@ Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06)25–20–3Recap
49LJanuary 24, 20062–3 OTFlorida Panthers (2005–06)25–20–4Recap
50WJanuary 26, 20061–0 OTNew Jersey Devils (2005–06)26–20–4Recap
51WJanuary 28, 20066–0@ Philadelphia Flyers (2005–06)27–20–4Recap
52LJanuary 29, 20061–2@ Washington Capitals (2005–06)27–21–4Recap
53WJanuary 31, 20063–2 SOToronto Maple Leafs (2005–06)28–21–4Recap :
February: 4–2–0 (home: 2–1–0; road: 2–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
54WFebruary 4, 20065–0Washington Capitals (2005–06)29–21–4Recap
55WFebruary 6, 20063–2 OT@ New York Islanders (2005–06)30–21–4Recap
56LFebruary 7, 20064–7@ New Jersey Devils (2005–06)30–22–4Recap
57WFebruary 9, 20065–3Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06)31–22–4Recap
58WFebruary 11, 20066–5@ Boston Bruins (2005–06)32–22–4Recap
59LFebruary 28, 20062–8Florida Panthers (2005–06)32–23–4Recap :
March: 7–6–1 (home: 5–2–0; road: 2–4–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
60LMarch 4, 20062–6Montreal Canadiens (2005–06)32–24–4Recap
61LMarch 6, 20060–4Ottawa Senators (2005–06)32–25–4Recap
62WMarch 7, 20065–4 SO@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2005–06)33–25–4Recap
63LMarch 9, 20065–8@ Buffalo Sabres (2005–06)33–26–4Recap
64LMarch 11, 20061–5@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2005–06)33–27–4Recap
65WMarch 13, 20062–1@ Montreal Canadiens (2005–06)34–27–4Recap
66LMarch 14, 20063–4@ Ottawa Senators (2005–06)34–28–4Recap
67WMarch 17, 20066–3Philadelphia Flyers (2005–06)35–28–4Recap
68WMarch 19, 20065–2New York Islanders (2005–06)36–28–4Recap
69LMarch 20, 20065–6 OT@ Florida Panthers (2005–06)36–28–5Recap
70WMarch 23, 20064–3 OTWashington Capitals (2005–06)37–28–5Recap
71WMarch 25, 20064–3 SONew York Rangers (2005–06)38–28–5Recap
72LMarch 27, 20061–2@ Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06)38–29–5Recap
73WMarch 30, 20064–3Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06)39–29–5Recap :
April: 4–4–1 (home: 4–2–0; road: 0–2–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
74LApril 1, 20062–4@ Florida Panthers (2005–06)39–30–5Recap
75WApril 3, 20064–1Florida Panthers (2005–06)40–30–5Recap
76WApril 6, 20063–2 SOAtlanta Thrashers (2005–06)41–30–5Recap
77WApril 8, 20061–0Pittsburgh Penguins (2005–06)42–30–5Recap
78LApril 9, 20063–6@ Florida Panthers (2005–06)42–31–5Recap
79LApril 11, 20062–6Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06)42–32–5Recap
80LApril 14, 20064–5 SO@ Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06)42–32–6Recap
81WApril 15, 20063–2 OTCarolina Hurricanes (2005–06)43–32–6Recap
82LApril 18, 20061–4Washington Capitals (2005–06)43–33–6Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point) :

### Playoffs

2006 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. (1) Ottawa Senators – Senators win 4–1
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeAttendanceSeriesRecap
1April 21, 2006Tampa Bay1–4Ottawa19,660Senators lead 1–0Recap
2April 23, 2006Tampa Bay4–3Ottawa19,745Series tied 1–1Recap
3April 25, 2006Ottawa8–4Tampa Bay20,815Senators lead 2–1Recap
4April 27, 2006Ottawa5–2Tampa Bay20,682Senators lead 3–1Recap
5April 29, 2006Tampa Bay2–3Ottawa20,004Senators win 4–1Recap :
Legend:
  Win
  Loss :

## Player statistics
### Scoring

* Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Lightning only.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 19 | Brad Richards | C | 82 | 23 | 68 | 91 | 0 | 32 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 8 | −5 | 6 |
| 20 | Vaclav Prospal | LW | 81 | 25 | 55 | 80 | −3 | 50 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 4 | Vincent Lecavalier | C | 80 | 35 | 40 | 75 | 0 | 90 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 7 |
| 26 | Martin St. Louis | RW | 80 | 31 | 30 | 61 | −3 | 38 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 4 | −2 | 2 |
| 33 | Fredrik Modin | LW | 77 | 31 | 23 | 54 | 5 | 56 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −6 | 6 |
| 22 | Dan Boyle | D | 79 | 15 | 38 | 53 | −8 | 38 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 6 |
| 17 | Ruslan Fedotenko | LW | 80 | 26 | 15 | 41 | −4 | 44 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 20 |
| 13 | Pavel Kubina | D | 76 | 5 | 33 | 38 | −12 | 96 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −6 | 26 |
| 34 | Ryan Craig | C | 48 | 15 | 13 | 28 | −4 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 10 |
| 5 | Darryl Sydor | D | 80 | 4 | 19 | 23 | −18 | 30 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −3 | 0 |
| 25 | Dave Andreychuk‡ | LW | 42 | 6 | 12 | 18 | −13 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 54 | Paul Ranger | D | 76 | 1 | 17 | 18 | 5 | 58 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 76 | Evgeny Artyukhin | RW | 72 | 4 | 13 | 17 | −4 | 90 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 18 | Rob DiMaio | RW | 61 | 4 | 13 | 17 | −7 | 30 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| 29 | Dmitri Afanasenkov | LW | 68 | 9 | 6 | 15 | −7 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 2 |
| 21 | Cory Sarich | D | 82 | 1 | 14 | 15 | −2 | 79 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 4 |
| 27 | Tim Taylor | C | 82 | 7 | 6 | 13 | −12 | 22 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 2 |
| 44 | Nolan Pratt | D | 82 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 60 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 8 | Martin Cibak | C | 65 | 2 | 6 | 8 | −9 | 22 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| 14 | Norm Milley | RW | 14 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1 | Sean Burke | G | 35 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 11 | Chris Dingman | LW | 34 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −10 | 22 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 |
| 47 | John Grahame | G | 57 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 2 | Timo Helbling | D | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −3 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 46 | Darren Reid | RW | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 74 | Nick Tarnasky | C | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −3 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 16 | Jim Campbell | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 50 | Gerald Coleman | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 40 | Brian Eklund‡ | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 39 | Doug O'Brien | D | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |

### Goaltending

* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Lightning only.
| No. | Player | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| No. | Player | GP | W | L | OT | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI | GP | W | L | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
| 47 | John Grahame | 57 | 29 | 22 | 1 | 1450 | 161 | 3.06 | .889 | 5 | 3152 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 98 | 15 | 4.78 | .847 | 0 | 188 |
| 1 | Sean Burke | 35 | 14 | 10 | 4 | 764 | 80 | 2.80 | .895 | 2 | 1713 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 57 | 7 | 3.84 | .877 | 0 | 109 |
| 50 | Gerald Coleman | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 2 | 2.77 | .882 | 0 | 43 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 40 | Brian Eklund‡ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 3 | 3.09 | .842 | 0 | 58 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |

## Awards and honors
### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Timo Helbling | October 5, 2005 |
| First game | Paul Ranger | October 15, 2005 |
| First game | Evgeny Artyukhin | October 20, 2005 |
| First game | Nick Tarnasky | October 20, 2005 |
| First game | Brian Eklund | November 8, 2005 |
| First game | Gerald Coleman | November 11, 2005 |
| First game | Ryan Craig | December 17, 2005 |
| First game | Darren Reid | December 17, 2005 |
| First game | Doug O'Brien | January 29, 2006 |
| 1,000th game played | Darryl Sydor | February 28, 2006 |

## Transactions

The Lightning were involved in the following transactions from February 17, 2005, the day after the 2004–05 NHL season was officially cancelled, through June 19, 2006, the day of the deciding game of the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| July 28, 2005 (2005-07-28) | To Phoenix Coyotes Jarrod Skalde | To Tampa Bay Lightning Jason Jaspers |
| July 30, 2005 (2005-07-30) | To San Jose Sharks 5th-round pick in 20054th-round pick in 2006 | To Tampa Bay Lightning 3rd-round pick in 2005 |
| July 30, 2005 (2005-07-30) | To Philadelphia Flyers 2nd-round pick in 2006 | To Tampa Bay Lightning Dallas’ 3rd-round pick in 20054th-round pick in 2005 |
| July 30, 2005 (2005-07-30) | To Dallas Stars 5th-round pick in 2006 | To Tampa Bay Lightning 6th-round pick in 2005 |
| September 9, 2005 (2005-09-09) | To Vancouver Canucks Craig Darby | To Tampa Bay Lightning Future considerations |
| February 8, 2006 (2006-02-08) | To Boston Bruins Brian Eklund | To Tampa Bay Lightning Zdenek Blatny |

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Term | Via |
| August 5, 2005 (2005-08-05) | Mitch Fritz | Springfield Falcons (AHL) | 1-year | Free agency |
| August 9, 2005 (2005-08-09) | Sean Burke | Philadelphia Flyers | 2-year | Free agency |
| August 9, 2005 (2005-08-09) | Rob DiMaio | Dallas Stars | 2-year | Free agency |
| August 18, 2005 (2005-08-18) | Jim Campbell | New York Islanders | | Free agency |
| August 18, 2005 (2005-08-18) | Norm Milley | Buffalo Sabres | | Free agency |
| August 26, 2005 (2005-08-26) | Morgan Cey | University of Notre Dame (CCHA) | multi-year | Free agency |
| September 7, 2005 (2005-09-07) | Todd Rohloff | Buffalo Sabres | 1-year | Free agency |
| June 1, 2006 (2006-06-01) | Johan Holmqvist | Brynas IF (SHL) | 1-year | Free agency |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Via |
| June 22, 2005 (2005-06-22) | Andreas Holmqvist | Linkoping HC (SHL) | Free agency (II) |
| August 4, 2005 (2005-08-04) | Andre Roy | Pittsburgh Penguins | Free agency (V) |
| August 5, 2005 (2005-08-05) | Nikolai Khabibulin | Chicago Blackhawks | Free agency (III) |
| August 11, 2005 (2005-08-11) | Brad Lukowich | New York Islanders | Free agency (UFA) |
| August 12, 2005 (2005-08-12) | Nikita Alexeev | Avangard Omsk (RSL) | Free agency (II) |
| August 22, 2005 (2005-08-22) | Eric Perrin | SC Bern (NLA) | Free agency (II) |
| August 22, 2005 (2005-08-22) | Jamie Storr | Philadelphia Flyers | Free agency (UFA) |
| August 23, 2005 (2005-08-23) | Shane Willis | HC Davos (NLA) | Free agency (II) |
| January 10, 2006 (2006-01-10) | Dave Andreychuk | | Release |
| May 6, 2006 (2006-05-06) | Jim Campbell | EHC Visp (NLA) | Free agency |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term | Contract type |
| July 28, 2005 (2005-07-28) | Jonathan Boutin | 3-year | Entry-level |
| July 28, 2005 (2005-07-28) | Martin Cibak | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 28, 2005 (2005-07-28) | Gerald Coleman | 3-year | Entry-level |
| July 28, 2005 (2005-07-28) | Zbynek Hrdel | 3-year | Entry-level |
| July 28, 2005 (2005-07-28) | Tim Taylor | multi-year | Re-signing |
| July 30, 2005 (2005-07-30) | Ruslan Fedotenko | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 5, 2005 (2005-08-05) | Brandon Elliott | 3-year | Entry-level |
| August 5, 2005 (2005-08-05) | Brady Greco | 2-year | Entry-level |
| August 5, 2005 (2005-08-05) | Timo Helbling | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 5, 2005 (2005-08-05) | Nolan Pratt | 2-year | Re-signing |
| August 9, 2005 (2005-08-09) | Dmitri Afanasenkov | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 9, 2005 (2005-08-09) | Dan Boyle | 3-year | Re-signing |
| August 16, 2005 (2005-08-16) | Vincent Lecavalier | 4-year | Re-signing |
| August 18, 2005 (2005-08-18) | Brian Eklund | | Re-signing |
| August 18, 2005 (2005-08-18) | Jason Jaspers | | Re-signing |
| August 23, 2005 (2005-08-23) | Marek Kvapil | 3-year | Entry-level |
| August 23, 2005 (2005-08-23) | John Toffey | multi-year | Entry-level |
| August 24, 2005 (2005-08-24) | Martin St. Louis | 6-year | Re-signing |
| August 25, 2005 (2005-08-25) | Dave Andreychuk | 2-year | Re-signing |
| August 26, 2005 (2005-08-26) | Jay Rosehill | multi-year | Entry-level |
| October 3, 2005 (2005-10-03) | Andy Rogers | 3-year | Entry-level |
| April 14, 2006 (2006-04-14) | Matt Smaby | 3-year | Entry-level |
| May 12, 2006 (2006-05-12) | Stanislav Lascek | 3-year | Entry-level |
| May 22, 2006 (2006-05-22) | Brad Richards | 5-year | Re-signing |
| May 23, 2006 (2006-05-23) | Justin Keller | 3-year | Entry-level |
| May 30, 2006 (2006-05-30) | Fredrik Norrena | 1-year | Entry-level |
| May 31, 2006 (2006-05-31) | Karri Ramo | 3-year | Entry-level |
| May 31, 2006 (2006-05-31) | Radek Smolenak | 3-year | Entry-level |
| June 14, 2006 (2006-06-14) | Eric Perrin | 1-year | Re-signing |

## Draft picks

Tampa's picks at the 2005 NHL entry draft in Ottawa, Ontario.
| Round | # | Player | Position | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 32 | Vladimir Mihalik | Defense | Slovakia | Pesov II (Slovakia) |
| 3 | 73 | Radek Smolenak | Left wing | Czech Republic | Kingston Frontenacs (OHL) |
| 3 | 89 | Chris Lawrence | Center | Canada | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL) |
| 4 | 92 | Marek Bartanus | Right wing | Slovakia | HC Kosice (Slovakia) |
| 4 | 102 | Blair Jones | Center | Canada | Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL) |
| 5 | 133 | Stanislav Lascek | Right wing | Slovakia | Chicoutimi Saguenéens (QMJHL) |
| 6 | 163 | Marek Kvapil | Right wing | Slovakia | Saginaw Spirit (OHL) |
| 6 | 165 | Kevin Beech | Goaltender | Canada | Sudbury Wolves (OHL) |
| 7 | 225 | John Wessbecker | Defense | United States | Blake School (USHS) |