2008–09 Tampa Bay Lightning season
2008–09 Tampa Bay Lightning | |
---|---|
Division | 5th Southeast |
Conference | 13th Eastern |
2008–09 record | 24–40–18 |
Home record | 12–18–11 |
Road record | 12–22–7 |
Goals for | 210 |
Goals against | 279 |
Team information | |
General manager | Brian Lawton |
Coach | Barry Melrose (Oct.–Nov.) Rick Tocchet (Nov.–Apr.) interim |
Captain | Vincent Lecavalier |
Alternate captains | Andrej Meszaros (Oct.–Nov.) Jeff Halpern (Nov.–Apr.) Martin St. Louis |
Arena | St. Pete Times Forum |
Average attendance | 16,054 (82.3% total) |
Team leaders | |
Goals | Martin St. Louis (30) |
Assists | Martin St. Louis (50) |
Points | Martin St. Louis (80) |
Penalty minutes | Evgeny Artyukhin (151) |
Plus/minus | Richard Petiot (+5) |
Wins | Mike Smith (14) |
Goals against average | Mike Smith (2.62) |
The 2008–09 Tampa Bay Lightning season was the 17th season for the franchise in Tampa Bay. After a season of turnover in ownership, management and players, the team had a turbulent regular season. The Lightning failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Off-season
On June 3, it was announced that head coach John Tortorella would not return to the team despite having one year remaining on his contract.[1]
On June 18, 2008, the NHL Board of Governors approved the sale of the Tampa Bay Lightning. The sale of the Lightning was made to movie and television producer Oren Koules. The deal depended the closing of the financial deal of US$200 million to buy the team and lease the St. Pete Times Forum. Koules, 47, played in Medicine Hat and Calgary in the Western Hockey League (WHL) 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.[2]
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.[3]
Goaltender Marc Denis' contract was bought-out by the Lightning on June 25, almost two years to the date after his acquisition from the Columbus Blue Jackets. Denis had one year remaining on his contract.[4]
The Lightning acquired the rights to left wingers Ryan Malone and Gary Roberts from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for a conditional draft pick in 2009.[5] Malone then agreed to a seven-year contract with the Lightning two days before he was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent.[citation needed]
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.
The whirlwind 32 days of questionable moves by new ownership came to a head on July 4 when, despite coming off a recent contract extension, Dan Boyle was traded along with Brad Lukowich to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Matt Carle (who would be traded in early November), Ty Wishart, a first-round draft pick in 2009 (which was traded in August) and a fourth round draft pick in 2010. Boyle was pressured to waive his no-trade clause by Tampa Bay's ownership, who said they would otherwise place him on waivers where he would likely be claimed by the Atlanta Thrashers. Frustrated at interference in the team's hockey operations by owners Len Barrie and Oren Koules, seven days later, general manager Jay Feaster resigned, despite having three years remaining on his contract.[6] Indeed, Brian Lawton had already taken over the position, though not officially until October 2. John Tortorella would later go on to label the new owners as "cowboys" for these and other dubious moves,[7] a moniker that would stick with them.
On August 29, the Lightning acquired defenceman Andrej Meszaros from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for defenceman Filip Kuba, as well as Alexandre Picard, and a first-round pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft (obtained in the Dan Boyle deal with the San Jose Sharks). The Lightning would go on to sign Meszaros to a six-year contract worth $24 million.
On September 18, the Lightning announced that their new team captain would be Vincent Lecavalier.
Preseason
The Tampa Bay Lightning will be playing five pre-season games before opening the season against the New York 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 pre-season game outside North America, playing Eisbären Berlin in Germany on September 28. It was announced later that the Lightning would also play against 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 | Eisbären Berlin | Berlin, Germany | 10:00 pm | 4-1 W |
Tuesday, September 30 | Slovan Bratislava | Bratislava, Slovakia | 12:00 pm | 3-2 W (SO) |
- Note: all times EST and bold games are home games.
Regular season
The Lightning struggled on the penalty kill, finishing the regular season with the most power-play opportunities against (405) and the most power-play goals allowed (89).[8]
Divisional standings
GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | y – Washington Capitals | 82 | 50 | 24 | 8 | 272 | 245 | 108 |
2 | Carolina Hurricanes | 82 | 45 | 30 | 7 | 239 | 226 | 97 |
3 | Florida Panthers | 82 | 41 | 30 | 11 | 234 | 231 | 93 |
4 | Atlanta Thrashers | 82 | 35 | 41 | 6 | 257 | 280 | 76 |
5 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 82 | 24 | 40 | 18 | 210 | 279 | 66 |
Conference standings
R | Div | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | z – Boston Bruins | NE | 82 | 53 | 19 | 10 | 274 | 196 | 116 | ||
2 | y – Washington Capitals | SE | 82 | 50 | 24 | 8 | 272 | 245 | 108 | ||
3 | y – New Jersey Devils | AT | 82 | 51 | 27 | 4 | 244 | 209 | 106 | ||
4 | Pittsburgh Penguins | AT | 82 | 45 | 28 | 9 | 264 | 239 | 99 | ||
5 | Philadelphia Flyers | AT | 82 | 44 | 27 | 11 | 264 | 238 | 99 | ||
6 | Carolina Hurricanes | SE | 82 | 45 | 30 | 7 | 239 | 226 | 97 | ||
7 | New York Rangers | AT | 82 | 43 | 30 | 9 | 210 | 218 | 95 | ||
8 | Montreal Canadiens | NE | 82 | 41 | 30 | 11 | 249 | 247 | 93 | ||
8.5 | |||||||||||
9 | Florida Panthers | SE | 82 | 41 | 30 | 11 | 234 | 231 | 93 | ||
10 | Buffalo Sabres | NE | 82 | 41 | 32 | 9 | 250 | 234 | 91 | ||
11 | Ottawa Senators | NE | 82 | 36 | 35 | 11 | 217 | 237 | 83 | ||
12 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NE | 82 | 34 | 35 | 13 | 250 | 293 | 81 | ||
13 | Atlanta Thrashers | SE | 82 | 35 | 41 | 6 | 257 | 280 | 76 | ||
14 | Tampa Bay Lightning | SE | 82 | 24 | 40 | 18 | 210 | 279 | 66 | ||
15 | New York Islanders | AT | 82 | 26 | 47 | 9 | 201 | 279 | 61 |
bold – qualified for playoffs, y – division winner, z – placed first in conference (and division)
AT – Atlantic Division, NE – Northeast Division, SE – Southeast Division
Game log
2008–09 Game Log | |
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October: 3-3-3 (Home 1-2-3, Road 2-1-0)
| |
November: 3-7-4 (Home 2-2-2, Road 1-5-2)
| |
December: 4-6-3 (Home 1-2-2, Road 3-4-1)
| |
January: 7-7-0 (Home 4-3-0, Road 3-4-0)
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February: 3-7-2 (Home 3-3-1, Road 0-4-1)
| |
March: 4-6-5 (Home 1-4-3, Road 3-2-2)
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April: 0-4-1 (Home 0-2-0, Road 0-2-1)
| |
Schedule |
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
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Goaltenders
Regular season | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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†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 | |||||||||
Player | Milestone | Reached | |||||||
Steven Stamkos | 1st NHL Game | October 4, 2008 | |||||||
Steven Stamkos | 1st NHL Assist 1st 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 Bay Matt Carle Ty Wishart 1st-round pick in 2009 – Kyle Palmieri 4th-round pick in 2010 – James Mullin |
To San Jose Dan Boyle Brad Lukowich |
August 29, 2008 | To Tampa Bay Andrej Meszaros |
To Ottawa Senators Filip Kuba Alexandre Picard 1st-round pick in 2009 – Kyle Palmieri |
September 29, 2008 | To Tampa Bay Conditional 6th-round pick in 2009 – Jaroslav Janus |
To Nashville Predators Nick Tarnasky |
October 6, 2008 | To Tampa Bay Lukas Krajicek Juraj Simek |
To Vancouver Canucks Shane O'Brien Michel Ouellet |
November 7, 2008 | To Tampa Bay Steve Eminger Steve Downie 4th-round pick in 2009 – Alex Hutchings |
To Philadelphia Flyers Matt Carle 3rd-round pick in 2009 – Simon Bertilsson |
November 25, 2008 | To Tampa Bay Future Considerations |
To Phoenix Coyotes Wyatt Smith |
November 30, 2008 | To Tampa Bay Lauri Tukonen |
To Dallas Stars Andrew Hutchinson |
February 7, 2009 | To Tampa Bay Wade Brookbank Josef Melichar 4th-round pick in 2009 (pick ultimately forfeited) |
To Carolina Hurricanes Jussi Jokinen |
March 4, 2009 | To Tampa Bay Matt Lashoff Martins Karsums |
To Boston Bruins Mark Recchi 2nd-round pick in 2010 – Alex Petrovic |
Free agents
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Claimed from waivers
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Draft picks
Tampa Bay entered the NHL Draft Lottery with a 48.8% 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.[10]
Tampa Bay's picks at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft[11] 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 (Finland Jr.) |
7 | 203 (from Anaheim) | David Carle | (D) | ![]() |
Shattuck-Saint Mary's (USHS-MN) |
Roster
Updated April 2, 2009.[12]
See also
Farm teams
![]() | This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (July 2010) |
References
- ^ "Lightning Head Coach John Tortorella Will Not Return For 2008-09" (Press release). Tampa Bay Lightning. Archived from the original on 2008-07-01. Retrieved 29 June 2008.
- ^ Oilers sale to Daryl Katz approved by NHL
- ^ Barry Melrose Named Head Coach of Tampa Bay Lightning Archived July 1, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Lightning Buy Out Contract of Goaltender Marc Denis Archived July 1, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Lightning Acquire Rights To Ryan Malone, Gary Roberts Archived July 1, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ http://lightning.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=484635
- ^ https://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Tortorella-calls-new-Tampa-owners-cowboys-rip?urn=nhl-105778
- ^ https://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_2009.html
- ^ CANOE - SLAM! Sports - Hockey NHL - Tampa Bay - Lightning sign Mark Recchi to one-year deal[permanent dead link]
- ^ CANOE - SLAM! Sports - NHL - Bolts win draft lottery Archived April 13, 2008, at archive.today
- ^ "NHL.com – Stats". 2008-06-21. Retrieved 2008-06-21. [dead link]
- ^ "Tampa Bay Lightning – Team – Roster". Tampa Bay Lightning. Archived from the original on 28 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-02.