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.


 * Note: all times EST and bold games are Home Games.

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

= 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.

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
Updated April 2, 2009.


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