The 2015–16 Tampa Bay Lightning season was the 24th season for the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise that was established on December 16, 1991. The Lightning entered the season as the defending Eastern Conference champions.
The regular season began on October 8, 2015 against the Philadelphia Flyers with a 3–2 victory, with Jason Garrison scoring the first 3-on-3 overtime goal in NHL history.
Off-season
June The off season for the Lightning began on June 15, 2015, when the Lightning lost in the Stanley Cup Finals in six games to the Chicago Blackhawks. On June 17, 2015, during exit interviews, Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman stated that his number one priority was to sign Steven Stamkos to a long-term contract. Stamkos also expressed his desire to remain with the team when stated that "I've said it all along, I want to win a championship with this group. It's been a great ride this year. I know we'll have some talks, whether it's in the next day or weeks, I don't know. But we'll definitely be getting something worked out hopefully shortly." Yzerman stated that Stamkos had fulfilled all the team's expectations and had played through an undisclosed injury during the latter stages of the playoffs. The nature and the extent of the injury were not revealed during exit interviews. Yzerman also addressed the teams goaltending and expected roster changes in his interview. Yzerman stated that he would be really comfortable with Ben Bishop and Andrei Vasilevskiy as the goalies heading into the season. Yzerman also added that he was not looking to move either goalies, and that he'd like to enjoy the tandem for another year or two. When answering questions on the roster, Yzerman said that he did not expect a lot of roster changes by pointing out that Vladislav Namestnikov, Jonathan Drouin, and Nikita Nesterov will get more opportunities with the team in the coming season. On the injury front, Lightning center Tyler Johnson revealed that he was not sure if his broken right wrist would require surgery in the off season. He said that he got hurt in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals when he landed on it after getting checked at mid-ice by Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook. Goalie Ben Bishop said that his groin tear suffered in the final will not require surgery, just rest in the off season.
On June 22, 2015, the Lightning released its preseason schedule for the 2015–16 NHL season. The Lightning will be playing the Nashville Predators, Florida Panthers, and Dallas Stars at Amalie Arena and at their opponents venue. In addition to these opponents, the Lightning will face the Pittsburgh Penguins in the inaugural Kraft Hockeyville USA game in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The game will be nationally televised on NBC Sports Network. Johnstown was selected "Kraft Hockeyville USA" through a public voting system at www.krafthockeyville.com. Along with being the host arena, the Johnstown Cambria County War Memorial Arena will receive $150,000 in upgrades. Fans may be familiar with the arena, because it was the inspiration for Charestown and the Chiefs in the 1977 Paul Newman film Slap Shot. Later in the same day, assistant coach George Gwozdecky announced that he was leaving the team to pursue other opportunities. Gwozdecky said that he felt this decision coming for "a while," and that after his two-year deal expired, he and the team mutually agreed to part ways. He also stated that "I have nothing but great memories, great things to say about the team, about the organization," and that "it was a great learning experience. In his phone interview, Gwozdecky said he does not have anything lined up, other than some rest and relaxation. George will be attending this week's NHL draft with the Lightning, and taking part in the coaches association meetings before making his annual drive back home to Denver.
On June 23, 2015, the Lightning announced that they will continue their partnership with the Lyon Hockey Club Lions for the 2015–16 season. The affiliation will last the entire season, which includes business and marketing elements for the clubs. The key component is that the Lightning's AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, will hold training camp and play preseason games versus the Utica Comets in Lyon, France. The games will take place at Charlemagne Skating Rink, which has been home to the Lions since 1967.
On June 24, 2015, the National Hockey League held its annual awards ceremony in Las Vegas. The lone member of the team nominated for an award was General Manager Steve Yzerman. Yzerman was voted the winner of the award, and became the first Lightning General Manager to win the award in team history. In Yzerman's first season as general manager, the team reach the Conference finals in 2010-11. From there Yzerman oversaw the rebuild of the roster that reached the 2015 Stanley Cup Finals, with only two holdovers from the 2011 team (Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman). Yzerman bolstered the roster with draft acquisitions (Nikita Kucherov, Ondrej Palat), free agency (Brian Boyle, Valtteri Filppula, Tyler Johnson, Anton Stralman), and trades (Ben Bishop, Ryan Callahan, Braydon Coburn, Jason Garrison). This resulted in the Lightning setting franchise records with 50 wins and 108 points during the regular season. The Lightning led the league with 262 goals and 32 home wins. In the playoffs the Lightning captured their second Prince of Wales Trophy in franchise history, which earned them a berth in their second Stanley Cup Finals.
The Lightning are set to host a four team rookie tournament at Germain Arena in Estero, Florida, which takes place from September 12–15. The arena is the home of the Lightning's ECHL affiliate, the Florida Everblades. The teams participating will be the Nashville Predators, the Florida Panthers and the Washington Capitals. This is the first time in franchise history that the Lightning has hosted a rookie tournament. As with previous tournaments the team participated in, the tournament will feature some of the top young talent the respective teams have to offer.
On June 28, 2015, the Lightning announced the signing of forward Jonathan Marchessault to a one-year, two way contract. Marchessault appeared in two Stanley Cup Playoff games with the Lightning this past postseason. He also appeared in two games during the regular season, recording one goal. This was first career goal, which was scored on April 11, 2015. In addition, Marchessault played in 68 AHL games with the Syracuse Crunch last season, ranking sixth in the league in assists(43). The Lightning also announced the signing of Brian Hart to a three-year, two-way contract. Hart appeared in 37 games with the Harvard Crimson during the 2014-15 season, recording seven goals and 17 points. Hart has played in 98 career games with Harvard over three seasons, recording 18 goals and 50 points.
On June 29, 2015, the Lightning announced the signing of forward Mike Blunden to a one-year, two-way contract. Blunden appeared in two regular season games with the Lightning last season, recording two penalty minutes. He also played in 33 games with the Syracuse Crunch, recording 13 goals and 22 points. Over his professional career, Blunden has appeared in 104 NHL games with the Lightning, the Montreal Canadiens, the Columbus Blue Jackets and Chicago Blackhawks. Blunden has also appeared in 412 career AHL games, posting 96 goals and 209 points.
On June 30, 2015, the Lightning re-signed Andrej Sustr to a two-year, one-way contract. Sustr played in 72 regular season games, recording 13 assists and 34 penalty minutes. These were all career highs for Sustr. Sustr also appeared in 26 Stanley Cup Playoff games with the Lightning, registering one goal and two points. Sustr has played in 117 career NHL games, all with Tampa over the past three seasons, collecting one goal and 21 points. Sustr was fourth in blocked shots on the team (84), and he set the Lightning franchise record for the best plus/minus (+7) in a playoff series in the first round of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Detroit Red Wings. The team also announced the re-signing of Syracuse Crunch captain, Mike Angelidis, to a one-year contract. Angelidis appeared in three games with the Lightning last season, recording 12 penalty minutes. He also played in 64 games for the Crunch in 2014-15, recording 20 goals and 38 points.
July On July 1, 2015, the Lightning signed free agent forward Erik Condra to a three-year contract with a $1.25 million average. Condra had played the previous five seasons with the Ottawa Senators, which is the team he was originally drafted by in the 2006 NHL Draft in the 7th round. Condra had 9 goals and 14 assists in 68 games. Condra is known for his strong work on the penalty kill, which could make Condra a key third/fourth-line player and penalty killer for the Lightning. Condra also has ties to Lightning head coach Jon Cooper, who played for him while Cooper was coach of Texarkana of the USHL. The signing of Condra likely means that Brenden Morrow's tenure with the team is coming to an end. Later in the day, the Lightning announced the signing of free agent defensemen Matt Taormina to a one-year, two-way contract. Taormina played 76 games with the Worcester Sharks of the AHL, notching 11 goals and 38 points. This will be Taromina's second stint with the organization, having previously played with both the Lightning and the Crunch over two seasons.
On July 5, 2015, the Lightning signed forward Jeff Tambellini to a one-year, two-way contract. Tambellini has skated in 242 NHL games over six season, recording 27 goals and 63 points. He played his last NHL season with the Vancouver Canucks during the 2010-11 season. In the 2014-15 season, Tambellini skated in 30 games with Fribourg-Gotteron of the Swiss-A league, registering five goals and 13 points. He also played in 20 games with Vaxjo Lakers in the Swedish Hockey League, recording six goals and nine points.
On July 8, 2015, the Lightning re-signed Philippe Paradis to a one-year, two-way contract. Paradis skated in 34 games with the Syracuse Crunch during the 2014-15 season, posting 8 goals and 15 points to go along with 49 penalty minutes. Paradis missed the final three months of the season due to an injury. Despite missing three months, he recorded a career best in goals.
On July 17, 2015, the Lightning announced the re-signing of forward Vladislav Namestnikov and defenseman Luke Witkowski one-year, two-way contract. Namestnikov skated in 43 games with the Lightning during the 2014-15 NHL season, posting nine goals and 16 points (9-7-16), which were all career highs. Namestnikov appeared in 12 Stanley Cup playoff games in 2015, recording one assist. In addition, he played in 34 games with the Syracuse Crunch during the 2014-15 season, registering 14 goals and 35 points. Namestnikov represented the Crunch at the 2015 AHL All-Star Classic. Witkowski played in 16 games with the Lightning during the 2014015 season, recording 15 penalty minutes. He had 37 hits and blocked 20 shots during his sixteen-game stint with the team. Witkowski skated in 50 games with the Crunch last season, collecting two goals and eight points along with 91 penalty minutes. He also skated in three Calder Cup Playoff games with Syracuse in 2015, posting one assist and four penalty minutes.
On July 21, 2015, the Lightning announced the signing of forward Tye McGinn to a one-year, two-way contract. McGinn skated in 51 games in the NHL last season, between the San Jose Sharks and the Arizona Coyotes, posting two goals and seven points. McGinn has appeared in 87 career NHL games over three seasons, recording nine goals and 17 points to go along with 44 penalty minutes. McGinn has also skated in 163 career AHL games over three seasons, collecting 46 goals and 79 points.