2009–10 Tampa Bay Lightning season

The 2009–10 Tampa Bay Lightning season was the 18th season for the National Hockey League (NHL) team. Unlike the previous off-season, the Lightning did not make many roster changes. Second-year winger Steve Stamkos emerged from obscurity in which would turn out to be a breakout season that saw him score 10 goals in his first 11 games. Through the months of January and February, Stamkos had an 18-game point streak and he was ranked in the top five in the NHL in scoring by the time he turned 20, challenging the likes of established NHL superstars such as Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby. On April 10, 2010, Stamkos reached the 50-goal mark for the first time in his career when he scored two goals against the Florida Panthers. He ended the season with 51 goals, tied for most in the NHL with Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, with the two sharing the Rocket Richard Trophy as the NHL's goal-scoring leaders. He tied Crosby in the final minute of the last game of the season with an empty-net goal while also becoming the third-youngest player in NHL history to score 50 goals in a season, after Wayne Gretzky and Jimmy Carson.^[1] Despite Stamkos's individual successes, the team's poor seasonal record prompted team owner Jeffrey Vinik to terminate Brian Lawton and Rick Tocchet's contracts as general manager and head coach, respectively.

2009–10 Tampa Bay Lightning
Division	4th Southeast
Conference	12th Eastern
2009–10 record	34–36–12
Home record	21–14–6
Road record	13–22–6
Goals for	217
Goals against	260
Team information
General manager	Brian Lawton
Coach	Rick Tocchet
Captain	Vincent Lecavalier
Alternate captains	Mattias Ohlund Martin St. Louis
Arena	St. Pete Times Forum
Average attendance	15,497 (78.4%)
Team leaders
Goals	Steven Stamkos (51)
Assists	Martin St. Louis (65)
Points	Steven Stamkos (95)
Penalty minutes	Zenon Konopka (265)
Plus/minus	Steve Downie (+14)
Wins	Antero Niittymaki (21)
Goals against average	Antero Niittymaki (2.87)
← 2008–09 2010–11 →

The Lightning improved on their regular season record but failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the third season in a row. The team was sold during the season to Boston-based investor Jeff Vinik. After the season, Vinik fired the Lightning's management team.

Off-season

On May 11, the Lightning gave Rick Tocchet a multi-year contract to make him their full-time head coach, removing the interim tag he held after taking over the position from Barry Melrose, who was fired during the previous season after 16 games.^[2]

On June 23, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman met with Lightning co-owners Oren Koules and Len Barrie due to philosophical and financial differences over how to build the team. More details were not available to the public because Bettman imposed a "gag-order" over the meetings.^[3][4] By February, the team was sold and both Koules and Barrie were no longer involved. It was also in this time period that Bettman reportedly vetoed a trade between the Lightning and the Montreal Canadiens that would have sent center Vincent Lecavalier to the Canadiens in exchange for goaltender Carey Price, center Tomas Plekanec and an unnamed prospect.^[5]

With the second overall pick in the Entry Draft, the Lightning selected defenseman Victor Hedman from Modo Hockey of the Elitserien. Hedman was considered the top European prospect available.^[6] Having acquired a second first-round pick from the Detroit Red Wings, the Lightning used the 29th overall selection on Carter Ashton from the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the Western Hockey League (WHL).

Among several of the free agent signings the Lightning made included defenseman Mattias Ohlund,^[7] goaltender Antero Niittymaki^[8] and veteran left winger Alex Tanguay.^[9]

Preseason

2009 Pre-season Game Log: 3–1–3 (Home: 0–0–0; Road: 1–0–2; Neutral: 2–1–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Attendance Record Recap 1 September 16 Tampa Bay Lightning 4 – 3 Dallas Stars SO 15,214 0–0–1 [10] 2 September 18 Atlanta Thrashers 2 – 1 Tampa Bay Lightning OT 16,223 0–0–2 [11] 3 September 21 (in Regina, SK) Ottawa Senators 3 – 1 Tampa Bay Lightning 0–1–2 [12] 4 September 22 (in Everett, Washington) Phoenix Coyotes 2 – 1 Tampa Bay Lightning 1–1–2 [13] 5 September 23 (in Loveland, Colorado) Tampa Bay Lightning 4 – 3 Phoenix Coyotes SO 1–1–3 [14] 6 September 24 (in Winnipeg, MB) Edmonton Oilers 4 – 3 Tampa Bay Lightning OT 2–1–3 [15] 7 September 27 Tampa Bay Lightning 5 – 1 Atlanta Thrashers 7,179 3–1–3 [16]

Regular season

The Lightning ended the regular season having scored the fewest shorthanded goals in the League, with just 2.^[17]

After the regular season finished with Tampa Bay missing the playoffs, the Lightning fired both General Manager Brian Lawton and Head Coach Rick Tocchet on April 12, 2010.^[9]

For the third consecutive year, the Lightning failed to qualify for the playoffs.

Divisional standings

Southeast Division^[18]

		GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	p – Washington Capitals	82	54	15	13	318	233	121
2	Atlanta Thrashers	82	35	34	13	234	256	83
3	Carolina Hurricanes	82	35	37	10	230	256	80
4	Tampa Bay Lightning	82	34	36	12	217	260	80
5	Florida Panthers	82	32	37	13	208	244	77

Conference standings

Eastern Conference^[19]

R		Div	GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	p – Washington Capitals	SE	82	54	15	13	318	233	121
2	y – New Jersey Devils	AT	82	48	27	7	222	191	103
3	y – Buffalo Sabres	NE	82	45	27	10	235	207	100
4	Pittsburgh Penguins	AT	82	47	28	7	257	237	101
5	Ottawa Senators	NE	82	44	32	6	225	238	94
6	Boston Bruins	NE	82	39	30	13	206	200	91
7	Philadelphia Flyers	AT	82	41	35	6	236	225	88
8	Montreal Canadiens	NE	82	39	33	10	217	223	88
8.5
9	New York Rangers	AT	82	38	33	11	222	218	87
10	Atlanta Thrashers	SE	82	35	34	13	234	256	83
11	Carolina Hurricanes	SE	82	35	37	10	230	256	80
12	Tampa Bay Lightning	SE	82	34	36	12	217	260	80
13	New York Islanders	AT	82	34	37	11	222	264	79
14	Florida Panthers	SE	82	32	37	13	208	244	77
15	Toronto Maple Leafs	NE	82	30	38	14	214	267	74

bold – Qualified for playoffs; y – Won division; p – Won Presidents' Trophy (and division)

AT – Atlantic Division, NE – Northeast Division, SE – Southeast Division

Game log

2009–10 Game Log
October: 4–3–4 (Home: 4–0–3; Road 0–3–1) Game Date Opponent Score Location Attendance Record Points 1 October 3 Atlanta Thrashers 6 – 3 Philips Arena 18,545 0–1–0 0 2 October 6 Carolina Hurricanes 2 – 1 (SO) RBC Center 16,186 0–1–1 1 3 October 8 New Jersey Devils 4 – 3 (SO) St. Pete Times Forum 17,454 0–1–2 2 4 October 10 Carolina Hurricanes 5 – 2 St. Pete Times Forum 14,212 1–1–2 4 5 October 12 Florida Panthers 3 – 2 St. Pete Times Forum 14,126 2–1–2 6 6 October 15 Ottawa Senators 7 – 1 Scotiabank Place 17,732 2–2–2 6 7 October 17 Pittsburgh Penguins 4 – 1 Mellon Arena 17,132 2–3–2 6 8 October 22 San Jose Sharks 5 – 2 St. Pete Times Forum 13,343 3–3–2 8 9 October 24 Buffalo Sabres 3 – 2 (SO) St. Pete Times Forum 15,804 3–3–3 9 10 October 29 Ottawa Senators 5 – 2 St. Pete Times Forum 13,213 4–3–3 11 11 October 31 New Jersey Devils 2 – 1 (SO) St. Pete Times Forum 12,154 4–3–4 12
November: 6–4–4 (Home: 2–2–1; Road 4–2–3) Game Date Opponent Score Location Attendance Record Points 12 November 2 Philadelphia Flyers 6 – 2 Wachovia Center 18,667 4–4–4 12 13 November 3 Toronto Maple Leafs 2 – 1 (OT) Air Canada Centre 19,301 5–4–4 14 14 November 5 Ottawa Senators 3 – 2 (OT) Scotiabank Place 17,511 5–4–5 15 15 November 7 Montreal Canadiens 3 – 1 Bell Centre 21,273 6–4–5 17 16 November 12 Minnesota Wild 4 – 3 (SO) St. Pete Times Forum 14,530 7–4–5 19 17 November 14 Los Angeles Kings 2 – 1 (SO) St. Pete Times Forum 16,612 7–4–6 20 18 November 16 Phoenix Coyotes 4 – 1 Jobing.com Arena 9,503 8–4–6 22 19 November 19 Anaheim Ducks 4 – 3 (OT) Honda Center 14,555 8–4–7 23 20 November 21 Carolina Hurricanes 3 – 1 RBC Center 13,224 8–5–7 23 21 November 22 Atlanta Thrashers 4 – 3 (OT) Philips Arena 13,342 9–5–7 25 22 November 25 Toronto Maple Leafs 4 – 3 St. Pete Times Forum 15,333 9–6–7 25 23 November 27 New York Rangers 5 – 1 St. Pete Times Forum 17,608 10–6–7 27 24 November 28 Dallas Stars 4 – 3 (OT) American Airlines Center 17,334 10–6–8 28 25 November 30 Colorado Avalanche 3 – 0 St. Pete Times Forum 12,214 10–7–8 28
December: 5–8–2 (Home: 3–3–1; Road 2–5–1) Game Date Opponent Score Location Attendance Record Points 26 December 2 Boston Bruins 4 – 1 TD Garden 16,533 10–8–8 28 27 December 4 New Jersey Devils 3 – 2 Prudential Center 15,336 10–9–8 28 28 December 5 New York Islanders 4 – 0 St. Pete Times Forum 13,577 11–9–8 30 29 December 7 Washington Capitals 3 – 0 St. Pete Times Forum 12,400 11–10–8 30 30 December 9 Edmonton Oilers 3 – 2 St. Pete Times Forum 13,477 11–11–8 30 31 December 11 Colorado Avalanche 2 – 1 (SO) Pepsi Center 12,188 11–11–9 31 32 December 13 Chicago Blackhawks 4 – 0 United Center 21,081 11–12–9 31 33 December 15 Nashville Predators 7 – 4 Sommet Center 15,804 11–13–9 31 34 December 17 Detroit Red Wings 3 – 0 Joe Louis Arena 19,474 11–14–9 31 35 December 18 St. Louis Blues 6 – 3 Scottrade Center 19,150 12–14–9 33 36 December 21 New York Islanders 4 – 2 Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum 10,864 13–14–9 35 37 December 23 Philadelphia Flyers 5 – 2 St. Pete Times Forum 16,177 13–15–9 35 38 December 26 Atlanta Thrashers 4 – 3 St. Pete Times Forum 15,437 14–15–9 37 39 December 28 Boston Bruins 2 – 1 St. Pete Times Forum 16,926 15–15–9 39 40 December 30 Montreal Canadiens 2 – 1 (OT) St. Pete Times Forum 18,441 15–15–10 40
January: 7–6–1 (Home: 5–1–1; Road 2–5–0) Game Date Opponent Score Location Attendance Record Points 41 January 2 Pittsburgh Penguins 3 – 1 St. Pete Times Forum 20,109 16–15–10 42 42 January 6 Buffalo Sabres 5 – 3 HSBC Arena 18,690 16–16–10 42 44 January 8* New Jersey Devils 4 – 2 Prudential Center 15,129 17–16–10 44 43 January 9 Philadelphia Flyers 4 – 1 Wachovia Center 19,678 16–17–10 44 45 January 12 Washington Capitals 7 – 4 St. Pete Times Forum 13,891 18–17–10 46 46 January 14 Florida Panthers 3 – 2 St. Pete Times Forum 13,516 18–18–10 46 47 January 16 Florida Panthers 5 – 2 BankAtlantic Center 15,971 18–19–10 46 48 January 18 Carolina Hurricanes 3 – 2 RBC Center 16,031 19–19–10 48 49 January 19 New York Rangers 8 – 2 Madison Square Garden 18,200 19–20–10 48 50 January 21 Toronto Maple Leafs 3 – 2 (OT) St. Pete Times Forum 13,691 20–20–10 50 51 January 23 Atlanta Thrashers 2 – 1 (SO) St. Pete Times Forum 16,212 21–20–10 52 52 January 27 Montreal Canadiens 3 – 0 St. Pete Times Forum 14,404 22–20–10 54 53 January 29 Anaheim Ducks 2 – 1 (SO) St. Pete Times Forum 15,230 22–20–11 55 54 January 31 Washington Capitals 3 – 2 Verizon Center 18,277 22–21–11 55 *Originally scheduled for January 8, but suspended during the 2nd period due to a lighting failure. Play resumed on January 10 from the moment it was stopped.[20]
February: 4–3–0 (Home: 3–1–0; Road 1–2–0) Game Date Opponent Score Location Attendance Record Points 55 February 2 Atlanta Thrashers 2 – 1 Philips Arena 11,390 23–21–11 57 56 February 4 New York Islanders 5 – 2 St. Pete Times Forum 13,891 24–21–11 59 57 February 6 Calgary Flames 2 – 1 (OT) St. Pete Times Forum 15,859 25–21–11 61 58 February 9 Vancouver Canucks 3 – 1 St. Pete Times Forum 14,226 26–21–11 63 59 February 11 Boston Bruins 5 – 4 St. Pete Times Forum 15,826 26–22–11 63 60 February 13 New York Islanders 5 – 4 Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,337 26–23–11 63 61 February 14 New York Rangers 5 – 2 Madison Square Garden 18,200 26–24–11 63 League-wide break for 2010 Winter Olympics (February 15–28)
March: 5–10–1 (Home: 2–5–0; Road 3–5–1) Game Date Opponent Score Location Attendance Record Points 62 March 2 Philadelphia Flyers 7 – 2 St. Pete Times Forum 17,812 26–25–11 63 63 March 4 Washington Capitals 5 – 4 Verizon Center 18,277 26–26–11 63 64 March 6 Atlanta Thrashers 6 – 2 St. Pete Times Forum 19,926 27–26–11 65 65 March 9 Montreal Canadiens 5 – 3 Bell Centre 21,273 27–27–11 65 66 March 11 Toronto Maple Leafs 4 – 3 (OT) Air Canada Centre 19,110 27–27–12 66 67 March 12 Washington Capitals 3 – 2 Verizon Center 18,277 28–27–12 68 68 March 14 Pittsburgh Penguins 2 – 1 St. Pete Times Forum 20,230 28–28–12 68 69 March 16 Phoenix Coyotes 2 – 1 St. Pete Times Forum 14,517 28–29–12 68 70 March 18 Buffalo Sabres 6 – 2 St. Pete Times Forum 16,868 28–30–12 68 71 March 20 Washington Capitals 3 – 1 St. Pete Times Forum 19,844 28–31–12 68 72 March 21 Florida Panthers 5 – 2 BankAtlantic Center 14,831 28–32–12 68 73 March 23 Carolina Hurricanes 3 – 2 (OT) St. Pete Times Forum 13,009 29–32–12 70 74 March 25 Boston Bruins 5 – 3 TD Garden 17,565 30–32–12 72 75 March 27 Buffalo Sabres 7 – 1 HSBC Arena 18,690 30–33–12 72 76 March 30 Columbus Blue Jackets 3 – 2 Nationwide Arena 15,760 30–34–12 72 77 March 31 Pittsburgh Penguins 2 – 0 Mellon Arena 17,132 31–34–12 74
April: 3–2–0 (Home: 2–2–0; Road 1–0–0) Game Date Opponent Score Location Attendance Record Points 78 April 2 New York Rangers 5 – 0 St. Pete Times Forum 17,909 31–35–12 74 79 April 6 Carolina Hurricanes 8 – 5 St. Pete Times Forum 12,454 31–36–12 74 80 April 8 Ottawa Senators 4 – 3 (SO) St. Pete Times Forum 15,876 32–36–12 76 81 April 10 Florida Panthers 4 – 3 (SO) St. Pete Times Forum 17,050 33–36–12 78 82 April 11 Florida Panthers 3 – 1 BankAtlantic Center 15,884 34–36–12 80
Schedule   Win   Loss   Overtime/Shootout Loss

Player stats

Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/− = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes

Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM Steven Stamkos 82 51 44 95 -2 38 Martin St. Louis 82 29 65 94 -8 12 Vincent Lecavalier 82 24 46 70 -16 63 Ryan Malone 69 21 26 47 -8 68 Steve Downie 79 22 24 46 14 208 Kurtis Foster 71 8 34 42 -5 48 Alex Tanguay 80 10 27 37 -2 32 Victor Hedman 74 4 16 20 -3 79 Andrej Meszaros 81 6 11 17 -14 50 Jeff Halpern‡ 55 9 8 17 -13 27 Mattias Ohlund 67 0 13 13 -8 59 Brandon Bochenski 28 4 9 13 -1 2 Mike Lundin 49 3 10 13 -4 18 Stephane Veilleux 77 3 6 9 -14 48 Teddy Purcell† 19 3 6 9 -8 6 Paul Szczechura 52 5 2 7 -15 18 Todd Fedoruk 50 3 3 6 -12 54 James Wright 48 2 3 5 -9 18 Matt Walker 66 2 3 5 -11 90 Zenon Konopka 74 2 3 5 -11 265 David Hale 39 0 4 4 -2 25 Nate Thompson† 32 1 3 4 -3 17 Mark Parrish 16 0 2 2 -5 4 Paul Ranger 8 1 1 2 -2 6 Matt Smaby 33 0 2 2 -4 27 Lukas Krajicek‡ 23 0 1 1 -4 21 Ryan Craig 3 0 0 0 0 5 Vladimir Mihalik 4 0 0 0 -4 2 Blair Jones 14 0 0 0 -5 10 Matt Lashoff 5 0 0 0 -2 21 Scott Jackson 1 0 0 0 0 0 Drew Miller‡ 14 0 0 0 -3 2

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

Player GP Min W L OT GA GAA SA Sv% SO G A PIM Antero Niittymaki 49 2657 21 18 5 127 2.87 1388 .909 1 0 1 0 Mike Smith 42 2273 13 18 7 117 3.09 1165 .900 2 0 0 14 Dustin Tokarski 2 44 0 0 0 3 4.09 16 .813 0 0 0 0

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Lightning. Stats reflect time with Lightning only.
^‡Traded mid-season
Bold/italics denotes franchise record

Awards and records

Awards

Regular Season
Player	Award	Awarded
Mike Smith[21]	NHL Second Star of the Week	January 4, 2010
Steven Stamkos[22]	NHL First Star of the Week	February 15, 2010
Steven Stamkos[23]	NHL Second Star of the Week	March 8, 2010
Steven Stamkos[24]	Maurice Richard Trophy (Shared with Sidney Crosby)	April 11, 2010
Martin St. Louis[9]	Lady Byng Trophy winner	June 23, 2010

Records

Milestones

Regular Season
Player	Milestone	Reached
Victor Hedman	1st Career NHL Game 1st Career NHL Assist 1st Career NHL Point	October 3, 2009
James Wright	1st Career NHL Game	October 3, 2009
James Wright	1st Career NHL Goal 1st Career NHL Point	October 22, 2009
James Wright	1st Career NHL Assist	October 24, 2009

Transactions

The Lightning have been involved in the following transactions during the 2009–10 season.

Trades

Date	Details
June 26, 2009[9]	To Detroit Red Wings 2nd-round pick (32nd overall) in 2009 3rd-round pick (75th overall) in 2009	To Tampa Bay Lightning 1st-round pick (29th overall) in 2009
July 21, 2009[9]	To Phoenix Coyotes Radim Vrbata	To Tampa Bay Lightning Todd Fedoruk David Hale
August 13, 2009[25]	To Anaheim Ducks Evgeny Artyukhin	To Tampa Bay Lightning Drew Miller 3rd-round pick in 2010
March 3, 2010[9]	To Los Angeles Kings Jeff Halpern	To Tampa Bay Lightning Teddy Purcell 3rd-round pick in 2010

Free agents acquired Player Former team Contract terms Mattias Ohlund[7] Vancouver Canucks 7 years, $26.25 million Matt Walker[26] Chicago Blackhawks 4 years, $6.8 million Stephane Veilleux[27] Minnesota Wild 1 year, $750,000 Kurtis Foster[28] Minnesota Wild 1 year, $600,000 Antero Niittymaki[8] Philadelphia Flyers 1 year, $600,000 Alex Tanguay[9] Montreal Canadiens 1 year, $2.5 million Mitch Fritz[9] New York Islanders 1 year Mark Parrish[9] Dallas Stars 1 year, 2-way contract

Free agents lost Player New team Contract terms David Koci[29] Colorado Avalanche 1 year, $575,000 Cory Murphy[30] New Jersey Devils undisclosed Richard Petiot[31] Chicago Blackhawks 1 year Geoff Kinrade[32] Ottawa Senators 1 year, 2-way contract Noah Welch[33] Atlanta Thrashers undisclosed Jason Ward[34] Philadelphia Flyers 1 year Brandon Segal[35] Los Angeles Kings 2 years Vaclav Prospal[36] New York Rangers 1 year, $1.1 million Matt Pettinger[37] Vancouver Canucks undisclosed Lukas Krajicek[34] Philadelphia Flyers undisclosed

Claimed via waivers Player Former team Date claimed off waivers Radek Smolenak[9] Chicago Blackhawks October 10, 2009 Nate Thompson[9] New York Islanders January 21, 2010

Lost via waivers Player New team Date claimed off waivers Radek Smolenak[38] Chicago Blackhawks September 25, 2009 Drew Miller[39] Detroit Red Wings November 11, 2009

Player signings Player Contract terms Mitch Fadden[9] 3 years Lukas Krajicek[40] 1 year, $1.475 million Victor Hedman[9] 3 years Blair Jones[41] undisclosed Lauri Tukonen[41] undisclosed Matt Smaby[9] 2 years, $1.05 million Martins Karsums[42] 1 year Matt Lashoff[43] 2 years Mike Lundin[9] 1 year Radek Smolenak[9] 1 year James Wright[9] 3-year entry-level contract Carter Ashton[9] 3-year entry-level contract Jaroslav Janus[9] 3-year entry-level contract Johan Harju[9] 1 year

Draft picks

Tampa Bay's picks at the 2009 NHL entry draft in Montreal.

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	Club Team
1	2	Victor Hedman	(D)	Sweden	Modo Hockey (Elitserien)
1	29 (from Detroit)	Carter Ashton	(RW)	Canada	Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL)
2	52 (from Philadelphia)	Richard Panik	(RW)	Slovakia	Ocelari Trinec (Czech Extraliga)
4	93	Alex Hutchings	(LW)	Canada	Barrie Colts (OHL)
5	148 (from Carolina via Nashville)	Michael Zador	(G)	Canada	Oshawa Generals (OHL)
6	162 (from Nashville)	Jaroslav Janus	(G)	Slovakia	Erie Otters (OHL)
7	183	Kirill Gotovets	(D)	Belarus	Shattuck-Saint Mary's (USHS-MN)

See also

• 2009–10 NHL season