2014–15 Tampa Bay Lightning season

The 2014–15 Tampa Bay Lightning season was the 23rd season for the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise that was established on December 16, 1991.
==Off-season==
===April===
The off-season for the Tampa Bay Lightning began on April 22, 2014, when they were eliminated in a four-game sweep by the Montreal Canadiens. On May 6, 2014, the first off-season transaction involved the Lightning signing their highly touted goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy to a three-year, entry level contract. Coming into the 2014–15 season, Vasilevskiy is rated as team's top goaltending prospect. On May 21, 2014, the Lightning signed 2012 draft pick defensemen Dylan Blujus to a three-year, entry level contract. Blujus had four goals and 30 points in 55 games with the North Bay Battalion of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). He also had four goals and 10 points in 22 playoff games, while helping the Battalion reach the OHL finals.
===May===
On May 23, 2014, the Lightning announced the re-signing of Calder Memorial Trophy finalist Tyler Johnson to a three-year contract extension. Johnson had 24 goals, 26 assists and a plus-23 rating in 82 games. Johnson led all rookies in total playing time, and was used heavily on the penalty kill. Additionally, Johnson put up five shorthanded goals, which tied for the NHL lead. Johnson was also named to the NHL All-Rookie Team for the 2013–14 season.
===June===
On June 9, 2014, the Lightning announced the re-signing of co-Calder Trophy finalist Ondrej Palat to a three-year, $10 million contract extension. Palat had 23 goals and a team-high 59 points during the 2013–14 season. Among all NHL rookies, he ranked second in points and third in goals. Like Johnson, Palat was also named to the NHL All-Rookie Team for the 2013–14 season.
On June 25, 2014, the Lightning signed Ryan Callahan to a six-year, $34.8 million contract. Callahan was acquired by the team in the previous season in the trade that sent Martin St. Louis to the New York Rangers, along with acquiring what would become a first round pick in both the 2014 and 2015 NHL Entry Drafts. Callahan had six goals and five assists in 20 regular season games with the Lightning. On the same day, the Lighting elected to use their final compliance buyout on forward Ryan Malone. Malone had dealt with injury problems during his stint with the Lightning, and saw his numbers dip to five goals and ten assists in 57 games. Additionally, Malone was involved in an arrest for DUI and cocaine possession. The team continued its busy day by re-signing forward J. T. Brown to a two-year, one-way contract. Brown appeared in 63 games with the Lightning last season, scoring four goals and 19 points while averaging 13:02 in ice time per game. Brown also appeared in all four Stanley Cup playoff games in 2014, notching two assists.
On June 27, 2014, the Lightning announced the re-signing of Mark Barberio to one-year, one-way contract. Barberio skated in 49 games, recording five goals and 10 points during the 2013–14 season. He was tied for fourth in the NHL among rookie defensemen with a plus-10 rating. Barberio has appeared in 51 total games for the Lightning, and has recorded a plus or even rating in 40 of his career games. On the same day, the Lighting acquired defensemen Jason Garrison from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for their second round draft pick (50th overall). In addition to Garrison, the Lightning received the rights to left winger Jeff Costello and the Canuck's seventh round pick in 2015. In 2013–14, Garrison had 33 points in 81 games, but saw his possession numbers fall under former Vancouver Canucks head coach John Tortorella.
On June 29, 2014, the Lightning pulled off a series of trades to free up salary cap and acquire several draft picks. First, the Lightning traded Teddy Purcell to the Edmonton Oilers for center Sam Gagner. Purcell played five seasons for Tampa Bay after being acquired from the Los Angeles Kings in March 2010. Purcell's breakout year was in 2011–12, when he had 24 goals and 41 assists, along with a great playoff run that saw the Lightning reach the Eastern Conference Final. However, in recent years, Purcell has been somewhat disappointing for the team in terms of production; over the past two seasons, he has had 23 goals combined. The Lightning then quickly flipped Sam Gagner and forward B. J. Crombeen to the Arizona Coyotes for a sixth round draft pick in 2015. The Lightning also had to retain one-third of Gagner's remaining salary ($1.6 million). Crombeen, a fourth-line grinder and fighter, had four goals and 14 assists in 99 games over two seasons in Tampa Bay. At midnight, on June 1, 2014, the Lightning traded forward Nate Thompson to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for a fourth and sixth round pick in the 2015 Draft. As a depth player, Thompson had become a key contributor the past five seasons, including being one of team's top penalty killers. On the same day, the Lightning re-signed Syracuse Crunch captain Mike Angelidis to a one-year, two-way contract. Angelidis skated in 75 games with the Crunch, recording 12 goals and 33 points to go along with 161 penalty minutes. He ranked second on the Crunch in penalty minutes and fifth in points. Angelidis has played in 515 career American Hockey League (AHL) games with the Norfolk Admirals, Albany River Rats and Crunch, collecting 99 goals and 207 points to go with 1,079 penalty minutes. In 2012, he was a member of the Norfolk Admirals team that won the Calder Cup championship, skating in 18 games and recording a goal and six points.
===July===
After freeing up cap space (approximately $13 million), the Lightning looked to the start of free agency. On July 1, the Lightning inked defensemen Anton Stralman to a $22.5 million, five-year contract. Stralman had one goal and 13 assists last season with the New York Rangers, and had five assists in 25 playoff games. A few hours later, the Lightning signed forward Brian Boyle to a three-year contract. Both Stralman and Boyle helped the Rangers capture the Eastern Conference Championship, and reach the Stanley Cup Final last season. Later in day, the Lightning signed goaltender Evgeni Nabokov to a one-year contract. Nabokov will serve as backup to starting goalie Ben Bishop, after team elected not to qualify an offer to goalie Anders Lindback, who signed with the Dallas Stars. In 2013–14 with the New York Islanders, Nabokov posted a .905 save percentage as their starting goaltender.
On July 4, the Lightning announced the re-signing of defensemen Andrej Sustr to a one-year, one-way contract. Sustr appeared in 43 games with the Lightning last season, posting one goal and eight points to go along with 16 penalty minutes. Sustr made his Stanley Cup playoffs debut against the Montreal Canadiens in 2014, skating in three games. In addition, he played in 12 games with the Syracuse Crunch, recording a goal and three assists. In total, Sustr has appeared in 45 NHL games, all with the Lightning over the past two seasons, recording one goal and eight points.
On July 8, the Lightning signed free agent defensemen Matt Corrente to a one-year, two-way contract. He has appeared in 34 career NHL games, all with the New Jersey Devils, over parts of two seasons, posting six assists and 68 penalty minutes. He also appeared in two playoff games during the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs. This signing provides some depth and experience for the Crunch in the coming season, which will have several first-year players on defense. On the same day, the Lightning re-signed forward Cody Kunyk to a one-year, two-way contract. Kunyk signed by the Lightning last season as an undrafted free agent. He made his NHL debut, logging 10:12 of ice time, on April 13 against the Washington Capitals. Kunyk skated in over four seasons for the University of Alaska Fairbanks, where he had 60 goals and 133 points.
On July 10, the Lightning signed free agent forward Jerome Samson to a one-year, two-way contract. Samson played in 68 games for the St. John's IceCaps last season. He had 27 goals with 56 points. Samson has played in 424 AHL games with 160 goals and 336 points. Samson has also played in 46 career NHL games, all with the Carolina Hurricanes, over parts of three seasons. Samson will likely serve as veteran forward depth for Tampa's AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. On the same day, the Lightning re-signed forward Brett Connolly to a one-year, two-way contract. Connolly has played in 11 games for the Lightning last season, and had one goal. He has played in 84 career NHL games, all with the Lightning over three seasons. During that time, he has earned six goals and 17 points. Connolly has played in 137 AHL games, earning 52 goals and 120 points. He appeared in 66 games with the Crunch last season, totaling 21 goals and 57 points.
On July 11, 2014, the Lightning signed Brenden Morrow to a one-year contract. Morrow recorded 13 goals and 25 points in 71 games with the St. Louis Blues last season. Over his career, he has skated in 921 career NHL games with the Dallas Stars, Pittsburgh Penguins and the Blues. He has 262 goals and 567 points with a plus-108 rating. The Lightning also announced the signing of Philippe Paradis to a one-year, two-way contract. Paradis played in 56 games for the Crunch last season. He had six goals and 15 points. He has played 166 career AHL games with 13 goals and 43 points. Later in the day, the Lightning announced the re-signing of forward Richard Panik to a one-year, two-way contract. Panik played in 50 games with the Lightning last season and had three goals with 13 points. Additionally, he skated in 13 games with Syracuse and had three goals and 11 points.
===August===
On August 2, the Lightning re-signed starting goaltender Ben Bishop to a two-year contract extension. Bishop had a breakout season with the Lightning last year, posting a 37–14–7 record in 63 games. He had a .924 save percentage and a 2.23 goals against average (GAA). He set the Tampa Bay single season records for victories, save percentage and GAA, and was nominated for the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goaltender. Bishop has played in 108 career NHL games with the Lightning, Ottawa Senators and St. Louis Blues. He has a career record of 55–31–11 with eight shutouts, and a .920 save percentage and a 2.40 GAA.
== Training camp ==
On September 16, the Lightning announced their initial training camp roster, which contained 64 players. Goalie Leland Irving had signed a PTO to participate in the camp as a goalie invitee. However, Irving elected to sign with Salavat Yulaev Ufa of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) instead of participating in camp. The Lightning invited goalie Peter Mannino in Irving's place. The training camp roster also contained 24 players who participated in the rookie tournament in Tennessee. Some of the notable prospects from that tournament were Jonathan Drouin, Kristers Gudlevskis, Slater Koekkoek and Andrei Vasilevskiy. The training camp roster this year also contains the free agents acquired over the summer, as well as the returning cast from last years strong regular season performance.
On September 18, during practice, forward Jonathan Drouin fell during practice sustaining an "upper body injury." The team did not consider the injury to be serious, and he was expected to undergo further evaluation the following Monday. Despite the injury, Drouin was expected to make the opening night roster with the team.
On September 21, the Lightning released right winger Cameron Maclise from his training camp invite. Two days later, the Lightning released Michael Aviani and Kodie Curran from their training invites. In addition, the Lightning reassigned four 2014 draft picks to their respective junior hockey clubs (Digiacinto, Point, Masin and Thomas). Two days later, the Lightning announced that forward Jonathan Drouin is expected to miss three-to-four weeks with a thumb fracture. Drouin will continue to skate on his own until he is cleared to resume practicing with the team again.
On September 27, the Lightning held their Fan Fest event. During the event, the team unveiled their new third jersey for the upcoming season. This design retained the "Bolts" word mark logo, but brought back black as the primary color. Around the same time, the Lightning reduced their training camp roster by six players. The group of players consisted of AHL veteran players, which included Syracuse Crunch captain Mike Angelidis. All six players would have to clear waivers before being assigned to the Crunch. Later in the day, 27 players were reassigned to Syracuse or to their junior hockey club. As well, Peter Mannino was released from his training camp tryout. Some of the notable players in the group demoted were Kristers Gudlevskis, Andrei Vasilevskiy and Slater Koekkoek. A few notable prospects remained on the roster, including Vladislav Namestnikov, Cedric Paquette, Jonathan Drouin and defenseman Luke Witkowski.
==Standings==
===Divisional standings===
===Conference standings===
== Schedule and results ==
===Preseason===
2014 Preseason game log: 5–1–0 (Home: 3–0–0; Road: 2–1–0)
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" class="wikitable"	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Game	Date 	Opponent 	Score	OT	Decision 	Location 	Attendance	Record	Recap
1 	September 23	Nashville Predators 	4–2 	 	Vasilevskiy	Amalie Arena 	10,442 	1–0–0 	
2 	September 25	@ Nashville Predators	0–1 	 	Gudlevskis 	Bridgestone Arena 	13,107 	1–1–0 	
3 	September 26	Dallas Stars 	6–3 	 	Bishop 	Amalie Arena 	13,635 	2–1–0 	
4 	September 30	@ Dallas Stars 	5–1 	 	Bishop 	American Airlines Center	14,212 	3–1–0 	
5 	October 2 	@ Florida Panthers 	3–0 	 	Nabokov 	BB&T Center 	2,859 	4–1–0 	
6 	October 4 	Florida Panthers 	4–1 	 	Bishop 	Amalie Arena 	15,411 	5–1–0 	
===Regular season===
2014–15 Game Log	2014–15 Game Log	2014–15 Game Log 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
October: 7–3–1, 15 Points (Home: 4–1–1; Road: 3–2–0)
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" class="wikitable"	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Game 	Date 	Opponent 	Score	OT	Decision	Location 	Attendance	Record	Points	Recap
1 	October 9 	Florida Panthers 	3–2 	OT	Bishop 	Amalie Arena 	19,204 	1–0–0 	2 	
2 	October 11 	Ottawa Senators 	2–3 	SO	Bishop 	Amalie Arena 	19,204 	1–0–1 	3 	
3 	October 13 	Montreal Canadiens 	7–1 	 	Bishop 	Amalie Arena 	17,622 	2–0–1 	5 	
4 	October 14 	New Jersey Devils 	1–2 	 	Nabokov 	Amalie Arena 	18,064 	2–1–1 	5 	
5 	October 18 	@ Vancouver Canucks	4–2 	 	Bishop 	Rogers Arena 	18,647 	3–1–1 	7 	
6 	October 20 	@ Edmonton Oilers 	2–3 	 	Bishop 	Rexall Place 	16,839 	3–2–1 	7 	
7 	October 21 	@ Calgary Flames 	2–1 	OT	Nabokov 	Scotiabank Saddledome	19,289 	4–2–1 	9 	
8 	October 24 	@ Winnipeg Jets 	4–2 	 	Bishop 	MTS Centre 	15,016 	5–2–1 	11 	
9 	October 25 	@ Minnesota Wild 	2–7 	 	Nabokov 	Xcel Energy Center 	18,884 	5–3–1 	11 	
10 	October 28 	Arizona Coyotes 	7–3 	 	Bishop 	Amalie Arena 	17,511 	6–3–1 	13 	
11 	October 30 	Philadelphia Flyers	4–3 	 	Bishop 	Amalie Arena 	18,642 	7–3–1 	15 	
===Playoffs===
2015 Stanley Cup playoffs	2015 Stanley Cup playoffs	2015 Stanley Cup playoffs	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Eastern Conference First Round vs. Detroit Red Wings (A3) – Tampa Bay won series 4–3
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" class="wikitable"	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Game 	Date 	Opponent 	Score	OT 	Decision	Location 	Attendance	Series	Recap
1 	April 16 	Detroit Red Wings 	2–3 	 	Bishop 	Amalie Arena 	19,204 	0–1 	
2 	April 18 	Detroit Red Wings 	5–1 	 	Bishop 	Amalie Arena 	19,204 	1–1 	
3 	April 21 	@ Detroit Red Wings 	0–3 	 	Bishop 	Joe Louis Arena	20,027 	1–2 	
4 	April 23 	@ Detroit Red Wings 	3–2 	2:25 OT	Bishop 	Joe Louis Arena	20,027 	2–2 	
5 	April 25 	Detroit Red Wings 	0–4 	 	Bishop 	Amalie Arena 	19,204 	2–3 	
6 	April 27 	@ Detroit Red Wings 	5–2 	 	Bishop 	Joe Louis Arena	20,027 	3–3 	
7 	April 29 	Detroit Red Wings 	2–0 	 	Bishop 	Amalie Arena 	19,204 	4–3 	
==Player stats==
Final stats
;Skaters
 Regular Season
Player	 	 	 	 	 	
 	82	43	29	72	2 	49
 	77	29	43	72	33 	24
 	82	29	36	65	38 	37
 	75	16	47	63	31 	24
 	77	24	30	54	9 	41
 	82	12	36	48	−14	24
 	82	9 	30	39	22 	26
 	71	15	23	38	8 	36
 	59	10	28	38	12 	40
 	70	4 	28	32	3 	34
 	70	4 	26	30	27 	19
 	82	15	9 	24	3 	54
 	64	12	7 	19	4 	51
 	59	4 	14	18	12 	26
 	43	9 	7 	16	1 	13
‡ 	50	12	3 	15	4 	38
 	72	0 	13	13	10 	34
 	52	3 	6 	9 	−2 	30
 	70	3 	5 	8 	−1 	64
 	52	1 	6 	7 	−4 	16
 	27	2 	5 	7 	6 	16
‡ 	31	2 	3 	5 	−5 	34
‡ 	17	0 	4 	4 	5 	18
† 	4 	0 	2 	2 	3 	9
 	2 	1 	0 	1 	1 	0
 	2 	0 	0 	0 	−1 	2
 	3 	0 	0 	0 	0 	12
 	16	0 	0 	0 	0 	15
 	3 	0 	0 	0 	0 	2
 Playoffs
Player	 	 	 	 	 	
 	26	13	10	23	7 	24
 	26	10	12	22	7 	14
 	26	9 	9 	18	3 	12
 	26	7 	11	18	2 	20
 	26	8 	8 	16	5 	12
 	26	4 	10	14	−6 	4
 	26	1 	13	14	11 	6
 	26	1 	8 	9 	1 	8
 	25	2 	6 	8 	3 	14
 	23	2 	5 	7 	−2 	8
 	17	1 	5 	6 	5 	8
 	26	1 	3 	4 	−6 	21
 	25	0 	3 	3 	−10	4
 	24	3 	0 	3 	−6 	28
 	25	1 	1 	2 	−3 	10
 	24	1 	1 	2 	−5 	0
 	26	1 	1 	2 	4 	18
 	12	0 	1 	1 	−2 	4
 	24	0 	0 	0 	−2 	22
 	1 	0 	0 	0 	−1 	0
 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	6 	0 	0 	0 	−6 	2
;Goaltenders
 Regular Season
Player	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	62	60	3519	40	13	5	136	2.32	1620	.916	4	0	4	4
 	16	13	864 	7 	5 	1	34 	2.36	415 	.918	1	0	0	0
‡ 	11	9 	553 	3 	6 	2	29 	3.15	232 	.882	0	0	1	2
 Playoffs
Player	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	25	25	1459	13	11	53	2.18	669	.921	3	0	3	4
 	4 	1 	113 	1 	1 	6 	3.19	57 	.895	0	0	0	0
†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Tampa Bay. Stats reflect time with Tampa Bay only.
‡Traded from Tampa Bay mid-season.
Bold/italics denotes franchise record
==Awards and honors==
===Awards===
 Regular Season
Player	Award 	Awarded
 	NHL Third Star of the Week 	October 20, 2014
 	NHL Second Star of the Week 	December 1, 2014
 	NHL All-Star game selection 	January 10, 2015
 	NHL All-Star game selection 	January 10, 2015
 	NHL All-Star game rookie selection 	January 10, 2015
 	NHLPA Player of the Week 	January 12, 2015
 	NHL Second Star of the Week 	February 2, 2015
 	NHL Third Star of the Week 	March 23, 2015
 	NHL General Manager of the Year Award	June 24, 2015
===Milestones===
 Regular Season
Player 	Milestone 	Reached
Vladislav Namestnikov	1st career NHL assist1st career NHL point1st career NHL goal	October 13, 2014
Tyler Johnson 	100th career NHL game 	October 14, 2014
Ondrej Palat 	100th career NHL game 	October 18, 2014
Jonathan Drouin 	1st career NHL game 	October 20, 2014
Anton Stralman 	400th career NHL game 	October 20, 2014
Jonathan Drouin 	1st career NHL assist1st career NHL point 	October 21, 2014
Jonathan Drouin 	1st career NHL goal 	October 24, 2014
Brian Boyle 	400th career NHL game 	October 25, 2014
Radko Gudas 	100th career NHL game 	October 25, 2014
Anton Stralman 	100th career NHL assist 	October 25, 2014
Nikita Kucherov 	1st career NHL hat trick 	October 28, 2014
Cedric Paquette 	1st career NHL goal 	November 6, 2014
Steven Stamkos 	200th career NHL assist 	November 11, 2014
Valtteri Filppula 	200th career NHL assist 	December 1, 2014
Brett Connolly 	100th career NHL game 	December 6, 2014
Steven Stamkos 	250th career NHL goal 	December 9, 2014
Andrei Vasilevskiy 	1st career NHL game1st career NHL win 	December 16, 2014
Ryan Callahan 	500th career NHL game 	December 20, 2014
Nikita Nesterov 	1st career NHL game 	December 31, 2014
Valtteri Filppula 	600th career NHL game 	January 6, 2015
Nikita Nesterov 	1st career NHL assist1st career NHL point 	January 13, 2015
Luke Witkowski 	1st career NHL game 	January 20, 2015
Nikita Kucherov 	100th career NHL game 	January 20, 2015
Cedric Paquette 	1st career NHL hat trick 	January 29, 2015
J. T. Brown 	100th career NHL game 	February 5, 2015
Ondrej Palat 	100th career NHL point 	February 5, 2015
Andrej Sustr 	100th career NHL game 	February 16, 2015
Nikita Nesterov 	1st career NHL goal 	February 16, 2015
Andrei Vasilevskiy 	1st career NHL Shutout 	March 3, 2015
Slater Koekkoek 	1st career NHL Game 	March 31, 2015
Mark Barberio 	100th career NHL Game 	April 2, 2015
Jonathan Marchessault	1st career NHL Goal1st career NHL Point 	April 11, 2015
 Playoffs
Player 	Milestone 	Reached
Vladislav Namestnikov	1st Career Playoff Game 	April 16, 2015
Nikita Nesterov 	1st Career Playoff Game1st Career Playoff Goal1st Career Playoff Point	April 16, 2015
Ben Bishop 	1st Career Playoff Game 	April 16, 2015
Nikita Nesterov 	1st Career Playoff Assist 	April 18, 2015
Nikita Kucherov 	1st Career Playoff Assist 	April 18, 2015
Andrej Sustr 	1st Career Playoff Goal1st Career Playoff Point 	April 18, 2015
Vladislav Namestnikov	1st Career Playoff Assist1st Career Playoff Point 	April 18, 2015
Ben Bishop 	1st Career Playoff Win 	April 18, 2015
Jonathan Drouin 	1st Career Playoff Game 	April 23, 2015
Cedric Paquette 	1st Career Playoff Goal 	April 27, 2015
Ben Bishop 	1st Career Playoff Shutout 	April 29, 2015
Andrej Sustr 	1st Career Playoff Assist 	May 1, 2015
J. T. Brown 	1st Career Playoff Goal 	May 3, 2015
Jonathan Marchessault	1st career NHL Game 	May 12, 2015
Tyler Johnson 	1st Career Playoff hat trick 	May 18, 2015
Andrei Vasilevskiy 	1st Career Playoff Win 	June 6, 2015
* First in Franchise History
==Transactions==
The Lightning have been involved in the following transactions during the 2014–15 season.
===Trades===
June 27, 2014 	To Vancouver Canucks 2nd-round pick in 2014 	To Tampa Bay Lightning Jason Garrison Jeff Costello (rights)7th-round pick in 2015
June 27, 2014 	To New York Islanders NYR's 1st-round pick in 2014 	To Tampa Bay Lightning 2nd-round pick in 2014MTL's 2nd-round pick in 2014
June 28, 2014 	To Minnesota Wild 3rd-round pick in 20147th-round pick in 2015 	To Tampa Bay Lightning 3rd-round pick in 2014
June 28, 2014 	To New York Rangers 5th-round pick in 2014STL's 5th-round pick in 2014 	To Tampa Bay Lightning 4th-round pick in 2014
June 28, 2014 	To New York Islanders 7th-round pick in 20147th-round pick in 2015 	To Tampa Bay Lightning 7th-round pick in 2014
June 29, 2014 	To Edmonton Oilers Teddy Purcell 	To Tampa Bay Lightning Sam Gagner
June 29, 2014 	To Arizona Coyotes Sam GagnerB. J. Crombeen 	To Tampa Bay Lightning 6th-round pick in 2015
June 30, 2014 	To Anaheim Ducks Nate Thompson 	To Tampa Bay Lightning 4th-round pick in 20157th-round pick in 2015
November 28, 2014	To Anaheim Ducks Eric Brewer 	To Tampa Bay Lightning EDM's 3rd-round pick in 2015
February 6, 2015 	To Toronto Maple Leafs conditional 7th-round pick in 2016 	To Tampa Bay Lightning David BrollCarter Ashton
February 9, 2015 	To San Jose Sharks Evgeni Nabokov 	To Tampa Bay Lightning Future Considerations
March 2, 2015 	To Philadelphia Flyers Radko Gudas Conditional 1st-round pick in 2015 3rd-round pick in 2015	To Tampa Bay Lightning Braydon Coburn
March 2, 2015 	To Boston Bruins Brett Connolly 	To Tampa Bay Lightning 2nd-round pick in 2015 2nd-round pick in 2016
June 1, 2015 	To New York Rangers NYR's 7th-round pick in 2015 	To Tampa Bay Lightning Daniel Walcott
=== Free agents acquired ===
Date 	Player 	Former team 	Contract terms(in U.S. dollars)	Ref
July 1, 2014 	Anton Stralman	New York Rangers 	5 years, $22.5 million 	LIGHTNING SIGN ANTON STRALMAN
July 1, 2014 	Mike Blunden 	Montreal Canadiens 	1 year, $600,000 	LIGHTNING SIGN FORWARD MIKE BLUNDEN TO ONE-YEAR CONTRACT
July 1, 2014 	Brian Boyle 	New York Rangers 	3 years, $6 million 	LIGHTNING SIGN FORWARD BRIAN BOYLE
July 1, 2014 	Evgeni Nabokov	New York Islanders 	1 year, $1.55 million 	LIGHTNING SIGN GOALIE EVGENI NABOKOV TO ONE-YEAR CONTRACT
July 8, 2014 	Matt Corrente 	Carolina Hurricanes	1 year, $550,000 	LIGHTNING SIGN DEFENSEMAN MATT CORRENTE
July 10, 2014 	Jerome Samson 	Winnipeg Jets 	1 year, $650,000 	LIGHTNING SIGN FREE AGENT FORWARD JEROME SAMSON
July 11, 2014 	Brenden Morrow	St. Louis Blues 	1 year, $1.55 million 	LIGHTNING SIGN BRENDEN MORROW AND PHILIPPE PARADIS
February 23, 2015	Allen York 	Syracuse Crunch 	Remainder of 2014-15 season 	LIGHTNING SIGN GOALTENDER ALLEN YORK TO NHL CONTRACT
=== Free agents lost ===
Date 	Player 	New team 	Contract terms(in U.S. dollars)	Ref
July 1, 2014 	Keith Aulie 	Edmonton Oilers 	1 year, $800,000 	BLOG: Oilers add Aulie
July 1, 2014 	Anders Lindback 	Dallas Stars 	1 year, $925,000 	Dallas Stars Sign Goaltender Anders Lindback
July 1, 2014 	Pierre-Cedric Labrie	Chicago Blackhawks	1 year, $550,000 	Blackhawks agree to terms with three
July 1, 2014 	Mike Kostka 	New York Rangers 	1 year, $650,000 	Rangers Agree To Terms With Free Agent Defenseman Mike Kostka
July 1, 2014 	Cedrick Desjardins 	New York Rangers 	2 years, $1.2 million 	Rangers Agree To Terms With Free Agent Goaltender Cedrick Desjardins
August 4, 2014 	Tom Pyatt 	Genève-Servette HC	undisclosed 	Bolts’ Pyatt joins brother in Swiss league
September 11, 2014	Ryan Malone 	New York Rangers 	1 year, $700,000 	
===Claimed via waivers===
Player	Previous team	Date
=== Lost via waivers ===
Player 	New team 	Date
Richard PanikLeafs Claim Richard Panik, Assign Leivo, Bodie To Marlies	Toronto Maple Leafs	October 9, 2014
=== Lost via retirement ===
Player
=== Players released ===
Date 	Player 	Via 	Ref
June 25, 2014	Ryan Malone	Compliance buyout	http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=723798
===Player signings===
Date 	Player 	Contract terms(in U.S. dollars) 	Ref
June 27, 2014 	Mark Barberio 	1 year, $874,125 	LIGHTNING RE-SIGN DEFENSEMAN MARK BARBERIO
July 1, 2014 	Mike Angelidis 	1 year, $650,000 	LIGHTNING RE-SIGN FORWARD MIKE ANGELIDIS
July 4, 2014 	Andrej Sustr 	1 year, $874,125 	LIGHTNING RE-SIGN DEFENSEMAN ANDREJ SUSTR
July 8, 2014 	Cody Kunyk 	1 year, $874,125 	LIGHTNING RE-SIGN FORWARD CODY KUNYK TO A ONE-YEAR CONTRACT
July 10, 2014 	Brett Connolly 	1 year, $850,500 	LIGHTNING RE-SIGN BRETT CONNOLLY
July 11, 2014 	Philippe Paradis	1 year, $850,500 	
July 11, 2014 	Richard Panik 	1 year, $735,000 	LIGHTNING RE-SIGN FORWARD RICHARD PANIK
August 2, 2014 	Ben Bishop 	2 years, $11.9 million contract extension 	LIGHTNING SIGN BEN BISHOP TO TWO-YEAR CONTRACT EXTENSION
December 2, 2014	Anthony DeAngelo	3 years, $2.7 million entry level contract	LIGHTNING SIGN ANTHONY DEANGELO TO ENTRY-LEVEL CONTRACT
March 26, 2015 	Brayden Point 	3 years, entry level contract 	LIGHTNING SIGN BRAYDEN POINT TO ENTRY-LEVEL CONTRACT
April 1, 2015 	Matthew Peca 	2 years, entry level contract 	LIGHTNING SIGN MATTHEW PECA TO TWO-YEAR CONTRACT
April 1, 2015 	Adam Wilcox 	2 years, entry level contract 	Adam Wilcox signs with Tampa Bay Lightning, is already in Syracuse to join Crunch
April 9, 2015 	Cameron Darcy 	3 years, entry level contract 	Lightning Sign Cam Darcy To Three-Year Contract
==Draft picks==
Below are the Tampa Bay Lightning' selections made at the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, held on June 27–28, 2014 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.http://www.litterboxcats.com/2014/4/15/5618872/panther-win-panthers-win-the-draft-lottery-that-is 
Round	# 	Player 	Pos	Nationality 	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1 	19 	Anthony DeAngelo 	D 	United States 	Sarnia Sting (OHL)
2 	35 	Dominik Masin 	D 	Czech Republic	Slavia Praha (ELH)
2 	57 	Johnathan MacLeod 	D 	United States 	USA U-18 (USHL)
3 	79 	Brayden Point 	C 	Canada 	Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL)
4 	119	Ben Thomas 	D 	Canada 	Calgary Hitmen (WHL)
6 	170	Cristiano Digiacinto	LW 	Canada 	Windsor Spitfires (OHL)
6 	185	Cameron Darcy 	C 	United States 	Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (QMJHL)
;Draft notes
* The New York Islanders' second-round pick went to the Tampa Bay Lightning as the result of a trade on June 27, 2014, that sent the Rangers first-round pick in 2014 (28th overall) to New York in exchange for Montreal's second-round pick in 2014 (57th overall) and this pick.
* The Tampa Bay Lightning's second-round pick went to the Los Angeles Kings as the result of a trade on June 28, 2014, that sent Linden Vey to Vancouver in exchange for this pick.
* The Montreal Canadiens' second-round pick went to the Tampa Bay Lightning as the result of a trade on June 27, 2014, that sent the Rangers first-round pick in 2014 (28th overall) to the New York Islanders in exchange for the Islanders second-round pick in 2014 (35th overall) and this pick.      The Islanders previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on March 5, 2014 that sent Thomas Vanek and a conditional fifth-round pick in 2014 to Montreal in exchange for Sebastian Collberg and this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade). The condition – New York will receive a second-round pick in 2014 if Montreal qualifies for the 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs – was converted on April 1, 2014.
* The Minnesota Wild's third-round pick went to the Tampa Bay Lightning as the result of a trade on June 28, 2014, that sent a third-round pick in 2014 (80th overall) and a seventh-round pick in 2015 to Minnesota in exchange for this pick.
* The Tampa Bay Lightning's third-round pick went to the Minnesota Wild as the result of a trade on June 28, 2014, that sent a third-round pick in 2014 (79th overall) to Tampa Bay in exchange for a seventh-round pick in 2015 and this pick.
* Tampa Bay's fourth-round pick went to St. Louis, as the result of a trade on July 10, 2012, that sent B. J. Crombeen, and a fifth-round pick in 2014 to Tampa Bay in exchange for a fourth-round pick in 2013, and this pick.
* The New York Rangers' fourth-round pick went to the Tampa Bay Lightning as the result of a trade on June 28, 2014, that sent a fifth-round pick in 2014 (140th overall) and St. Louis' fifth-round pick in 2014 (142nd overall) to New York in exchange for this pick.
* The Tampa Bay Lightning's fifth-round pick went to the New York Rangers as the result of a trade on June 28, 2014, that sent a fourth-round pick in 2014 (119th overall) to Tampa Bay in exchange for St. Louis' fifth-round pick in 2014 (142nd overall) and this pick.
* The New York Islanders' seventh-round pick went to the Tampa Bay Lightning as the result of a trade on June 28, 2014, that sent a seventh-round pick in 2014 (200th overall) and a seventh-round pick in 2015 to New York in exchange for this pick.
* The Tampa Bay Lightning's seventh-round pick went to the New York Islanders as the result of a trade on June 28, 2014, that sent a seventh-round pick in 2014 (185th overall) to Tampa Bay in exchange for a seventh-round pick in 2015 and this pick.
==References==
Category:Tampa Bay Lightning seasons
Tampa
Tampa Bay Lightning season, 2014-15
Category:Eastern Conference (NHL) championship seasons
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