page_title: Tampa Bay Lightning
section_title: Disappointments and rebuilding
hierarchical_section_title: Tampa Bay Lightning / Franchise history / Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis era (1998–2013) / Disappointments and rebuilding
caption_attribution_description: English: Tampa Bay Lightning forward Steven Stamkos during warm-up prior to a game against the Calgary Flames in Calgary.
context_page_description: The Tampa Bay Lightning are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The club has won one Stanley Cup championship in their history, in 2003–04, and are the southernmost team ever to win it. The team is often referred to as the Bolts, and the nickname was used on the former third jerseys. The Lightning plays home games in Amalie Arena in Tampa.
  The owner of the Lightning is Jeffrey Vinik, while Julien BriseBois serves as general manager. The team is currently coached by Jon Cooper, who has led the team since 2013.
context_section_description: During the off-season, the Lightning traded Fredrik Modin and Fredrik Norrena to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for goaltender Marc Denis in an effort to replace the departing John Grahame, who had signed with the Carolina Hurricanes. However, free agent Johan Holmqvist would eventually receive the majority of playing time and most of the club's wins. The first half of 2006–07 was inconsistent for the Lightning, maintaining an 18–19–2 record throughout the first few months. January and February were far better months for the team, going 9–4–0 in January and 9–2–2 in February, driving them back into the playoff race. Fourteen games in March were split even, and on March 16, 2007, Vincent Lecavalier broke the franchise record for most points in a season, with 95 (finishing with 108). The record was previously held by Martin St. Louis, who had set the record in the 2003–04 Stanley Cup-winning year. Lecavalier also broke the franchise's goal scoring record, finishing with a league-leading 52 goals.
  The Lightning were busy during the final weeks before the NHL's trade deadline, acquiring wingers Kyle Wanvig, Stephen Baby and defenseman Shane O'Brien. Former first round pick Nikita Alexeev was traded on deadline day to the Chicago Blackhawks. Other mid-season additions to the team included Filip Kuba, Luke Richardson and Doug Janik. Veteran Andre Roy, who had won the Stanley Cup with the Lightning in 2004, was claimed off waivers from the Pittsburgh Penguins.
  Throughout March, the Lightning had been competing with the Atlanta Thrashers for first place in the Southeast Division. With a chance to overtake the Thrashers one final time and once again become division champions for the third time in team history, on April 6, 2007, in the final week of the regular season, the Lighting suffered a loss to the Florida Panthers, the night before the season finale in Atlanta. That same night, the Thrashers defeated the Carolina Hurricanes and subsequently clinched the division. For the Lightning, this meant having to settle for the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference with a final record of 44–33–5 (93 points). However, the Lightning were eliminated from playoff competition on April 22 after a 3–2 home loss to the New Jersey Devils in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.
  Following their playoff exit, on August 7, 2007, Absolute Hockey Enterprises, a group led by Doug MacLean, announced it had signed a purchase agreement for the team and the leasehold on the St. Pete Times Forum. MacLean is the former president and general manager of the Columbus Blue Jackets and former head coach for both the Blue Jackets and the Florida Panthers. The group announced it planned to keep the team in Tampa, but the deal collapsed during the 2007–08 season.
  The Lightning struggled to maintain success during the 2007–08 campaign. Although the "Big 3" of Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis and Brad Richards, along with Vaclav Prospal, had performed up to expectations, they had little consistent play from supporting players.
  At the start of the All-Star Break on January 25, 2008, the Lightning had a 20–25–5 record, and with 45 points, were in last place in both the Southeast Division and the Eastern Conference. Only the Los Angeles Kings had a lower point total at this time of the season, with 40 points.
  On February 13, 2008, it was announced that Palace Sports & Entertainment had agreed to sell the Lightning to OK Hockey LLC, a group headed by Oren Koules, a producer of the Saw horror movies, and Len Barrie, a former NHL player and real estate developer.
  The Lightning were active during the trade deadline, similar to the previous season. More notable trades included Vaclav Prospal's trade to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for prospect Alexandre Picard and a conditional draft pick. Additionally, former Conn Smythe Trophy winner Brad Richards and goaltender Johan Holmqvist were traded to the Dallas Stars in exchange for goaltender Mike Smith and forwards Jussi Jokinen and Jeff Halpern, as well as a fourth-round draft pick in 2009. Jan Hl
caption: Steven Stamkos was drafted first overall by the Lightning in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.
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