2008 – 09 Tampa Bay Lightning season The 2008 – 09 Tampa Bay Lightning season is the 17th season for the franchise in Tampa Bay . Offseason . On June 3 , it was announced that head coach John Tortorella would not return to the team despite having another year left on his contract . The NHL board of governors on Wednesday , June 18 , approved the sale of the Tampa Bay Lightning . The sale of the Tampa Bay Lightning was made to movie and television producer Oren Koules . The deal is pending the closing of the financial deal of $ 200 million US to buy the team and lease the St . Pete Times Forum . Koules , 47 , played in Medicine Hat and Calgary in the Western Hockey League 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 . 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 . Goaltender Marc Denis ' s contract was bought out by the Lightning on June 25 , almost 2 years to the date after his acquisition from the Columbus Blue Jackets . Denis had one year remaining on his contract . The Lightning acquired the rights to left wings Ryan Malone and Gary Roberts from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for a conditional draft pick in 2009 . Malone then agreed to a 7 - 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 . On August 29 , the Lightning acquired defenceman Andrej Meszaros from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for defencemen Filip Kuba , as well as Alexandre Picard , and a first - round pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft ( obtained in an earlier deal with the San Jose Sharks ) . The Lightning would go on to sign Meszaros to a 6 - 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 preseason games before opening the season against the NY 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 preseason game outside North America , playing Eisbaren Berlin in Germany on September 28 . It was announced later that the Lightning would also play against HC Slovan Bratislava of the Slovak Extraliga on September 30 . Regular season . Record vs . Opponents . " 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 " Playoffs . The Tampa Bay Lightning failed to qualify for the 2009 NHL playoffs . Player stats . Skaters . " Note : GP = Games played ; G = Goals ; A = Assists ; Pts = Points ; + / − = Plus / Minus ; PIM = Penalty Minutes " Goaltenders . " Note : GP = Games Played ; TOI = Time On Ice ( minutes ) ; W = Wins ; L = Losses ; OT = Overtime Losses ; GA = Goals Against ; GAA = Goals Against Average ; SA = Shots Against ; SV = Saves ; Sv % = Save Percentage ; SO = Shutouts " Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Lightning . Stats reflect season totals . Traded mid - season Bold / italics denotes franchise record Draft picks . Tampa Bay entered the NHL Draft Lottery with a 48 . 8 - per - cent 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 . Tampa Bay ' s picks at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft in Ottawa , Ontario . Roster . < br >