The Tampa Bay Lightning are a professional hockey team in the National Hockey League (the NHL). The Tampa Bay Lightning play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference with four other teams: the Carolina Panthers, the Washington Capitals, the Florida Panthers, and the Atlanta Thrashers.  Lightning tickets will be a hot item during the 2009-2010 NHL hockey schedule.

Tampa Bay Lightning 2009-2010 Outlook

The Tampa Bay Lightning won the final Stanley Cup title before the 2004-2005 NHL lockout when no hockey was played, but they have had little playoff success since then.  The Lightning lost in the Conference Quarterfinals in each of 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 and then failed to qualify for post-season play in each of the last 2 NHL seasons.  Goaltenders Mike Smith and Antero Niittymaki will each split time manning the net for the Lightning.  While neither is a superstar, each is a solid playmaker and each should be able to keep the team in most games during the long NHL season.  The Lightning picked up 2 great defensemen in the off-season in Kurtis Foster and Mattias Ohlund.  Foster and Ohlund are solid defenders and also have the ability to set up scoring chances for the Lightning front lines.  They should also complement current defenders Victor Hedman and Andrej Meszaros and give the team a little more depth on the defensive end.  Scoring enough goals will be the key for the Lightning in 2009-2010.  Center Steven Stamkos and Left Winger Ryan Malone know how to put the puck in the net, but they will also need consistent scoring strikes from centers Vincent Lecavalier and Jeff Halpern as well as wingers Martin St. Louis, Alex Tanquay and Steve Downie. 

After a partial season as the "interim" head coach of the Lightning after the firing of Barry Melrose in November 2008, legendary player Rick Tocchet is now officially the new head coach of the Tampa Bay NHL franchise.  Tocchet has some learning to do on the job, but if he can earn the respect of his players early on and get them to buy into his team oriented style of offense and defense, it will only mean good things for the Lightning.  With so many new faces on the squad, the team will really need to gel quickly if they expect to qualify for the playoffs in 2009-2010.  If that happens, look out for the Lightning as a team that could make a surprise run during the 2009-2010 post-season.  Get your Lightning hockey tickets at the St. Pete Times Forum before it's too late.

History

The Tampa Bay Lightning franchise was originally founded in 1992.  The franchise was originally owned by two Hall of Fame hockey player brothers – Phil and Tony Esposito – who were awarded an NHL expansion franchise for the 1992-1993 NHL season over a St. Petersburg-based investment group fronted by the current owners of the Hartford Whalers – Carolina Hurricanes franchise Jim Rutherford and Peter Karmanos.  William Davidson, the owner of the Detroit Pistons, currently owns the team but is in negotiations to sell the franchise to OK Hockey LLC, an investment group headed by Hollywood movie producer Oren Koules. 

The Tampa Bay Lightning have not retired any players’ numbers.  Wayne Gretzky's #99 was retired league-wide by the NHL on February 6, 2000.  Denis Savard played for the Tampa Bay Lightning from 1993-1995 and he was inducted into the NHL Hall of Fame as a player in 2000.

Tampa Bay Lightning TV/Radio

All Tampa Bay Lightning hockey games can be seen on the Sun Sports television network and on WTOG-TV locally in the greater St. Petersburg/Tampa Bay area.  ESPN also has television rights to Tampa Bay Lightning games based on the popularity of the game. Tune into WDAE 620 on your AM dial to catch each Tampa Bay Lightning hockey game on the radio.

The Tampa Bay Lightning play their home games in the St. Pete Times Forum.  The St. Pete Times Forum opened in 1996 as the Ice Palace.  The St. Petersburg Times, a daily newspaper which circulates in the greater Tampa Bay area, purchased the naming rights to the venue in 2002 and the venue has been known as the St. Pete Times Forum ever since.  St. Pete Times Forum is located in Tampa’s downtown Channelside District and is used for hockey games, basketball games, arena football games and concert events.  In addition to hosting all of the professional hockey games for the Tampa Bay Lightning, it also hosts all of the professional football games for the Tampa Bay Storm of the Arena Football League.  St. Pete Times Forum holds a capacity of 19,500 devoted die-hard Tampa Bay Lightning fans.  St. Pete Times Forum has played host to numerous memorable and historic NHL hockey games, concerts and boxing events, including the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals, the 1999 NHL All-Star Game, the 1st and 2nd round games of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament in 2003, the ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament in 2007, ArenaBowl XII in 1998, Arena Bowl XVII in 2003 and the World Wrestling Federation Survivor Series in 2000.  Notable concert performances include Van Halen’s 2008 reunion tour.  St. Pete Times Forum is scheduled to host the Southeastern Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament in 2009, the NCAA Women’s Volleyball Division I Final Four in 2009 and the NCAA Hockey Frozen Four in 2012, which will mark the 1st time the Frozen Four is held outside the northern portion of the United States since the Frozen Four was held at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim (now the Honda Center) in Anaheim, California in 1999.

Stadium:                St. Pete Times Forum
                                401 Channelside Drive
                                Tampa, Florida 33602

http://lightning.nhl.com
www.stpetetimesforum.com

2008 Lightning