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.Lightning Head Coach John Tortorella Will Not Return For 2008-09
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.Oilers sale to Daryl Katz approved by NHL
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.Barry Melrose Named Head Coach of Tampa Bay Lightning
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.Lightning Buy Out Contract of Goaltender Marc Denis
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.Lightning Acquire Rights To Ryan Malone, Gary Roberts 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.
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 	HC Slovan Bratislava	Bratislava, Slovakia 	12:00 pm	3-2 W (SO)
*Note: all times EST and bold games are Home Games.
==Regular season==
===Divisional standings===
===Conference standings===
===Game log===
2008–09 Game Log	2008–09 Game Log	 	 	 	 	 	
October: 3-3-3 (Home 1-2-3, Road 2-1-0)
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" class="wikitable"	 	 	 	 	 	 	
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
===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: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/− = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalty Minutes
Regular season	 	 	 	 	 	
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" class="wikitable sortable" width="100%"	 	 	 	 	 	
Player 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	+/−	PIM
 	82	30	50	80 	+4 	14
 	77	29	38	67 	-9 	54
 	79	23	23	46 	-13	39
 	82	19	26	45 	-20	52
 	62	13	32	45 	-15	20
 	70	26	19	45 	+4 	98
 	50	4 	19	23 	-4 	36
 	71	2 	17	19 	-8 	48
 	52	7 	9 	16 	-13	32
 	73	6 	10	16 	+1 	151
 	52	2 	14	16 	-4 	36
 	46	6 	10	16 	-8 	16
 	59	8 	7 	15 	-14	24
 	25	5 	10	15 	-3 	12
 	42	2 	11	13 	-5 	56
 	74	5 	5 	10 	-9 	29
 	31	4 	5 	9 	-1 	12
 	30	4 	3 	7 	-11	27
 	12	0 	7 	7 	-7 	10
 	18	3 	3 	6 	-1 	8
 	54	2 	4 	6 	-7 	60
 	23	3 	3 	6 	+2 	54
 	42	0 	5 	5 	-3 	36
 	24	0 	5 	5 	+1 	29
 	18	1 	4 	5 	-5 	6
 	43	0 	4 	4 	-11	50
 	11	0 	3 	3 	+5 	21
 	11	0 	3 	3 	-3 	6
 	6 	1 	2 	3 	0 	6
 	18	0 	2 	2 	-3 	10
 	13	0 	2 	2 	-1 	4
 	33	1 	1 	2 	+3 	132
 	12	1 	1 	2 	+1 	6
 	25	0 	2 	2 	-4 	4
 	7 	0 	1 	1 	-3 	2
 	7 	0 	1 	1 	-1 	29
 	6 	0 	1 	1 	+1 	10
 	5 	0 	1 	1 	0 	0
 	6 	0 	1 	1 	0 	0
 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	2
 	2 	0 	0 	0 	-5 	0
 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	1 	0 	0 	0 	-1 	0
 	17	0 	0 	0 	-4 	14
 	1 	0 	0 	0 	-1 	0
===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
Regular season	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" class="wikitable sortable" width="100%"	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Player 	GP	TOI 	W 	L 	OT	GA 	GAA 	SA 	SV 	Sv% 	SO
 	41	2471	14	18	9 	108	2.62	1282	1174	.916 	2
 	24	1311	4 	10	7 	80 	3.66	756 	676 	.894 	0
 	15	775 	4 	8 	1 	46 	3.56	406 	360 	.887 	1
 	8 	410 	2 	4 	1 	25 	3.66	245 	220 	.898 	0
 	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==
===Records===
===Milestones===
Regular Season	Regular Season 	Regular Season 	Regular Season	Regular Season	Regular Season	Regular Season	Regular Season	Regular Season	Regular Season
Player 	Milestone 	Reached 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Steven Stamkos	1st NHL Game 	October 4, 2008 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Steven Stamkos	1st NHL Assist1st 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 BayMatt CarleTy WishartFirst-round pick in 2009Fourth-round pick in 2010 draft 	To San JoseDan BoyleBrad Lukowich
August 29, 2008 	To Tampa BayAndrej Meszaros 	To Ottawa SenatorsFilip KubaAlexandre PicardFirst-round pick in 2009 draft (pick acquired in Matt Carle trade, later traded)
September 29, 2008	To Tampa BayConditional 2009 draft pick (6th round, Jaroslav Janus) 	To Nashville PredatorsNick Tarnasky
October 6, 2008 	To Tampa BayLukas KrajicekJuraj Simek 	To Vancouver CanucksShane O'BrienMichel Ouellet
November 7, 2008 	To Tampa BaySteve EmingerSteve DownieFourth-round pick in 2009 draft(later traded) 	To Philadelphia FlyersMatt CarleThird-round pick in 2009 draft(later traded)
November 25, 2008 	To Tampa BayFuture Considerations 	To Phoenix CoyotesWyatt Smith
November 30, 2008 	To Tampa BayLauri Tukonen 	To Dallas StarsAndrew Hutchinson
February 7, 2009 	To Tampa BayWade BrookbankJosef MelicharFourth-round pick in 2009 draft(later traded for Richard Petiot)	To Carolina HurricanesJussi Jokinen
March 4, 2009 	To Tampa BayMatt LashoffMartin Karsums 	To Boston BruinsMark RecchiSecond-round pick in 2010 draft
===Free Agents===
{|class="wikitable" 	 	
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 RecchiCANOE - SLAM! Sports - Hockey NHL - Tampa Bay - Lightning sign Mark Recchi to one-year deal	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
===Claimed from Waivers===
{|class="wikitable"	 	
Player 	Former team 	Date claimed off waivers
Matt Pettinger	Vancouver Canucks	October 21, 2008
Cory Murphy 	Florida Panthers 	January 19, 2009
==Draft picks==
thumb|right|Steven Stamkos was the first overall selection in 2008
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.CANOE - SLAM! Sports - NHL - Bolts win draft lottery
Tampa Bay's picks at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft in Ottawa, Ontario. 
Round	Pick 	Player 	Position	Nationality	Club Team
1 	1 	Steven Stamkos 	(C) 	 	Sarnia Sting (OHL)
4 	117 (from San Jose) 	James Wright 	(C) 	 	Vancouver Giants (WHL)
5 	122 	Dustin Tokarski	(G) 	 	Spokane Chiefs (WHL)
5 	147 (from San Jose) 	Kyle De Coste 	(RW) 	 	Brampton Battalion (OHL)
6 	152 	Mark Barberio 	(D) 	 	Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL)
6 	160 (from Florida via Chicago)	Luke Witkowski 	(D) 	 	Ohio Junior Blue Jackets (USHL)
7 	182 	Matias Sointu 	(RW) 	 	Ilves Tampere (Finland Jr.)
7 	203 (from Anaheim) 	David Carle 	(D) 	 	Shattuck-Saint Mary's (USHS-Minnesota)
==Roster==
Updated April 2, 2009.
|}
==See also==
*2008–09 NHL season
==Farm teams==
==References==
Category:Tampa Bay Lightning seasons
Category:2008 in hockey
Category:2009 in hockey