2014–15 Tampa Bay Lightning season


The 2014–15 Tampa Bay Lightning season was the 23rd season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on December 16, 1991.

Off-season

April

The off-season for the Tampa Bay Lightning began on April 22, 2014, when they were eliminated in a four-game sweep by the Montreal Canadiens. On May 6, 2014, the first off-season transaction involved the Lightning signing their highly touted goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy to a three-year, entry level contract. Coming into the 2014–15 season, Vasilevskiy is rated as team's top goaltending prospect. On May 21, 2014, the Lightning signed 2012 draft pick defensemen Dylan Blujus to a three-year, entry level contract. Blujus had four goals and 30 points in 55 games with the North Bay Battalion of the Ontario Hockey League. He also had four goals and 10 points in 22 playoff games, while helping the Battalion reach the OHL finals.

May

On May 23, 2014, the Lightning announced the re-signing of Calder Memorial Trophy finalist Tyler Johnson to a three-year contract extension. Johnson had 24 goals, 26 assists and a plus-23 rating in 82 games. Johnson led all rookies in total playing time, and was used heavily on the penalty kill. Additionally, Johnson put up five shorthanded goals, which tied for the NHL lead. Johnson was also named to the NHL All-Rookie Team for the 2013–14 season.

June

On June 9, 2014, the Lightning announced the re-signing of co-Calder Trophy finalist Ondrej Palat to a three-year, $10 million contract extension. Palat had 23 goals and a team-high 59 points during the 2013–14 season. Among all NHL rookies, he ranked second in points and third in goals. Like Johnson, Palat was also named to the NHL All-Rookie Team for the 2013–14 season.
On June 25, 2014, the Lightning signed Ryan Callahan to a six-year, $34.8 million contract. Callahan was acquired by the team in the previous season in the trade that sent Martin St. Louis to the New York Rangers, along with acquiring what would become a first round pick in both the 2014 and 2015 NHL Entry Drafts. Callahan had six goals and five assists in 20 regular season games with the Lightning. On the same day, the Lighting elected to use their final compliance buyout on forward Ryan Malone. Malone had dealt with injury problems during his stint with the Lightning, and saw his numbers dip to five goals and ten assists in 57 games. Additionally, Malone was involved in an arrest for DUI and cocaine possession. The team continued its busy day by re-signing forward J. T. Brown to a two-year, one-way contract. Brown appeared in 63 games with the Lightning last season, scoring four goals and 19 points while averaging 13:02 in ice time per game. Brown also appeared in all four Stanley Cup playoff games in 2014, notching two assists.
On June 27, 2014, the Lightning announced the re-signing of Mark Barberio to one-year, one-way contract. Barberio skated in 49 games, recording five goals and 10 points during the 2013–14 season. He was tied for fourth in the NHL among rookie defensemen with a plus-10 rating. Barberio has appeared in 51 total games for the Lightning, and has recorded a plus or even rating in 40 of his career games. On the same day, the Lighting acquired defensemen Jason Garrison from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for their second round draft pick. In addition to Garrison, the Lightning received the rights to left winger Jeff Costello and the Canuck's seventh round pick in 2015. In 2013–14, Garrison had 33 points in 81 games, but saw his possession numbers fall under former Vancouver Canucks head coach John Tortorella.
On June 29, 2014, the Lightning pulled off a series of trades to free up salary cap and acquire several draft picks. First, the Lightning traded Teddy Purcell to the Edmonton Oilers for center Sam Gagner. Purcell played five seasons for Tampa Bay after being acquired from the Los Angeles Kings in March 2010. Purcell's breakout year was in 2011–12, when he had 24 goals and 41 assists, along with a great playoff run that saw the Lightning reach the Eastern Conference Final. However, in recent years, Purcell has been somewhat disappointing for the team in terms of production; over the past two seasons, he has had 23 goals combined. The Lightning then quickly flipped Sam Gagner and forward B. J. Crombeen to the Arizona Coyotes for a sixth round draft pick in 2015. The Lightning also had to retain one-third of Gagner's remaining salary. Crombeen, a fourth-line grinder and fighter, had four goals and 14 assists in 99 games over two seasons in Tampa Bay. At midnight, on June 1, 2014, the Lightning traded forward Nate Thompson to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for a fourth and sixth round pick in the 2015 Draft. As a depth player, Thompson had become a key contributor the past five seasons, including being one of team's top penalty killers. On the same day, the Lightning re-signed Syracuse Crunch captain Mike Angelidis to a one-year, two-way contract. Angelidis skated in 75 games with the Crunch, recording 12 goals and 33 points to go along with 161 penalty minutes. He ranked second on the Crunch in penalty minutes and fifth in points. Angelidis has played in 515 career American Hockey League games with the Norfolk Admirals, Albany River Rats and Crunch, collecting 99 goals and 207 points to go with 1,079 penalty minutes. In 2012, he was a member of the Norfolk Admirals team that won the Calder Cup championship, skating in 18 games and recording a goal and six points.

July

After freeing up cap space, the Lightning looked to the start of free agency. On July 1, the Lightning inked defensemen Anton Stralman to a $22.5 million, five-year contract. Stralman had one goal and 13 assists last season with the New York Rangers, and had five assists in 25 playoff games. A few hours later, the Lightning signed forward Brian Boyle to a three-year contract. Both Stralman and Boyle helped the Rangers capture the Eastern Conference Championship, and reach the Stanley Cup Final last season. Later in day, the Lightning signed goaltender Evgeni Nabokov to a one-year contract. Nabokov will serve as backup to starting goalie Ben Bishop, after team elected not to qualify an offer to goalie Anders Lindback, who signed with the Dallas Stars. In 2013–14 with the New York Islanders, Nabokov posted a.905 save percentage as their starting goaltender.
On July 4, the Lightning announced the re-signing of defensemen Andrej Sustr to a one-year, one-way contract. Sustr appeared in 43 games with the Lightning last season, posting one goal and eight points to go along with 16 penalty minutes. Sustr made his Stanley Cup playoffs debut against the Montreal Canadiens in 2014, skating in three games. In addition, he played in 12 games with the Syracuse Crunch, recording a goal and three assists. In total, Sustr has appeared in 45 NHL games, all with the Lightning over the past two seasons, recording one goal and eight points.
On July 8, the Lightning signed free agent defensemen Matt Corrente to a one-year, two-way contract. He has appeared in 34 career NHL games, all with the New Jersey Devils, over parts of two seasons, posting six assists and 68 penalty minutes. He also appeared in two playoff games during the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs. This signing provides some depth and experience for the Crunch in the coming season, which will have several first-year players on defense. On the same day, the Lightning re-signed forward Cody Kunyk to a one-year, two-way contract. Kunyk signed by the Lightning last season as an undrafted free agent. He made his NHL debut, logging 10:12 of ice time, on April 13 against the Washington Capitals. Kunyk skated in over four seasons for the University of Alaska Fairbanks, where he had 60 goals and 133 points.
On July 10, the Lightning signed free agent forward Jerome Samson to a one-year, two-way contract. Samson played in 68 games for the St. John's IceCaps last season. He had 27 goals with 56 points. Samson has played in 424 AHL games with 160 goals and 336 points. Samson has also played in 46 career NHL games, all with the Carolina Hurricanes, over parts of three seasons. Samson will likely serve as veteran forward depth for Tampa's AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. On the same day, the Lightning re-signed forward Brett Connolly to a one-year, two-way contract. Connolly has played in 11 games for the Lightning last season, and had one goal. He has played in 84 career NHL games, all with the Lightning over three seasons. During that time, he has earned six goals and 17 points. Connolly has played in 137 AHL games, earning 52 goals and 120 points. He appeared in 66 games with the Crunch last season, totaling 21 goals and 57 points.
On July 11, 2014, the Lightning signed Brenden Morrow to a one-year contract. Morrow recorded 13 goals and 25 points in 71 games with the St. Louis Blues last season. Over his career, he has skated in 921 career NHL games with the Dallas Stars, Pittsburgh Penguins and the Blues. He has 262 goals and 567 points with a plus-108 rating. The Lightning also announced the signing of Philippe Paradis to a one-year, two-way contract. Paradis played in 56 games for the Crunch last season. He had six goals and 15 points. He has played 166 career AHL games with 13 goals and 43 points. Later in the day, the Lightning announced the re-signing of forward Richard Panik to a one-year, two-way contract. Panik played in 50 games with the Lightning last season and had three goals with 13 points. Additionally, he skated in 13 games with Syracuse and had three goals and 11 points.

August

On August 2, the Lightning re-signed starting goaltender Ben Bishop to a two-year contract extension. Bishop had a breakout season with the Lightning last year, posting a 37–14–7 record in 63 games. He had a.924 save percentage and a 2.23 goals against average. He set the Tampa Bay single season records for victories, save percentage and GAA, and was nominated for the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goaltender. Bishop has played in 108 career NHL games with the Lightning, Ottawa Senators and St. Louis Blues. He has a career record of 55–31–11 with eight shutouts, and a.920 save percentage and a 2.40 GAA.

Training camp

On September 16, the Lightning announced their initial training camp roster, which contained 64 players. Goalie Leland Irving had signed a PTO to participate in the camp as a goalie invitee. However, Irving elected to sign with Salavat Yulaev Ufa of the Kontinental Hockey League instead of participating in camp. The Lightning invited goalie Peter Mannino in Irving's place. The training camp roster also contained 24 players who participated in the rookie tournament in Tennessee. Some of the notable prospects from that tournament were Jonathan Drouin, Kristers Gudlevskis, Slater Koekkoek and Andrei Vasilevskiy. The training camp roster this year also contains the free agents acquired over the summer, as well as the returning cast from last years strong regular season performance.
On September 18, during practice, forward Jonathan Drouin fell during practice sustaining an "upper body injury." The team did not consider the injury to be serious, and he was expected to undergo further evaluation the following Monday. Despite the injury, Drouin was expected to make the opening night roster with the team.
On September 21, the Lightning released right winger Cameron Maclise from his training camp invite. Two days later, the Lightning released Michael Aviani and Kodie Curran from their training invites. In addition, the Lightning reassigned four 2014 draft picks to their respective junior hockey clubs. Two days later, the Lightning announced that forward Jonathan Drouin is expected to miss three-to-four weeks with a thumb fracture. Drouin will continue to skate on his own until he is cleared to resume practicing with the team again.
On September 27, the Lightning held their Fan Fest event. During the event, the team unveiled their new third jersey for the upcoming season. This design retained the "Bolts" word mark logo, but brought back black as the primary color. Around the same time, the Lightning reduced their training camp roster by six players. The group of players consisted of AHL veteran players, which included Syracuse Crunch captain Mike Angelidis. All six players would have to clear waivers before being assigned to the Crunch. Later in the day, 27 players were reassigned to Syracuse or to their junior hockey club. As well, Peter Mannino was released from his training camp tryout. Some of the notable players in the group demoted were Kristers Gudlevskis, Andrei Vasilevskiy and Slater Koekkoek. A few notable prospects remained on the roster, including Vladislav Namestnikov, Cedric Paquette, Jonathan Drouin and defenseman Luke Witkowski.

Standings

Schedule and results

Preseason

Regular season

Playoffs

Player stats

Final stats
;Skaters
Player
82432972249
772943723324
822936653837
751647633124
77243054941
82123648−1424
82930392226
71152338836
591028381240
7042832334
70426302719
8215924354
6412719451
59414181226
439716113
5012315438
72013131034
52369−230
70358−164
27257616
52167−416
31235−534
17044518
402239
210110
2000−12
3000012
16000015
300002

Player
26131023724
26101222714
269918312
2671118220
268816512
2641014−64
2611314116
2618918
25268314
23257−28
1715658
26134−621
24303−628
25033−104
25112−310
24112−50
26112418
12011−24
24000−222
1000−10
200000
6000−62

;Goaltenders
Player
62603519401351362.321620.9164044
1613864751342.36415.9181000
119553362293.15232.8820012

Player
252514591311532.18669.9213034
411131163.1957.8950000

Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Tampa Bay. Stats reflect time with Tampa Bay only.

Traded from Tampa Bay mid-season.

Bold/italics denotes franchise record

Awards and honors

Awards

PlayerAwardAwarded
NHL Third Star of the WeekOctober 20, 2014
NHL Second Star of the WeekDecember 1, 2014
NHL All-Star game selectionJanuary 10, 2015
NHL All-Star game selectionJanuary 10, 2015
NHL All-Star game rookie selectionJanuary 10, 2015
NHLPA Player of the WeekJanuary 12, 2015
NHL Second Star of the WeekFebruary 2, 2015
NHL Third Star of the WeekMarch 23, 2015
NHL General Manager of the Year AwardJune 24, 2015

Milestones

PlayerMilestoneReached
Vladislav Namestnikov1st career NHL assist
1st career NHL point
1st career NHL goal
October 13, 2014
Tyler Johnson100th career NHL gameOctober 14, 2014
Ondrej Palat100th career NHL gameOctober 18, 2014
Jonathan Drouin1st career NHL gameOctober 20, 2014
Anton Stralman400th career NHL gameOctober 20, 2014
Jonathan Drouin1st career NHL assist
1st career NHL point
October 21, 2014
Jonathan Drouin1st career NHL goalOctober 24, 2014
Brian Boyle400th career NHL gameOctober 25, 2014
Radko Gudas100th career NHL gameOctober 25, 2014
Anton Stralman100th career NHL assistOctober 25, 2014
Nikita Kucherov1st career NHL hat trickOctober 28, 2014
Cedric Paquette1st career NHL goalNovember 6, 2014
Steven Stamkos200th career NHL assistNovember 11, 2014
Valtteri Filppula200th career NHL assistDecember 1, 2014
Brett Connolly100th career NHL gameDecember 6, 2014
Steven Stamkos250th career NHL goalDecember 9, 2014
Andrei Vasilevskiy1st career NHL game
1st career NHL win
December 16, 2014
Ryan Callahan500th career NHL gameDecember 20, 2014
Nikita Nesterov1st career NHL gameDecember 31, 2014
Valtteri Filppula600th career NHL gameJanuary 6, 2015
Nikita Nesterov1st career NHL assist
1st career NHL point
January 13, 2015
Luke Witkowski1st career NHL gameJanuary 20, 2015
Nikita Kucherov100th career NHL gameJanuary 20, 2015
Cedric Paquette1st career NHL hat trickJanuary 29, 2015
J. T. Brown100th career NHL gameFebruary 5, 2015
Ondrej Palat100th career NHL pointFebruary 5, 2015
Andrej Sustr100th career NHL gameFebruary 16, 2015
Nikita Nesterov1st career NHL goalFebruary 16, 2015
Andrei Vasilevskiy1st career NHL ShutoutMarch 3, 2015
Slater Koekkoek1st career NHL GameMarch 31, 2015
Mark Barberio100th career NHL GameApril 2, 2015
Jonathan Marchessault1st career NHL Goal
1st career NHL Point
April 11, 2015

PlayerMilestoneReached
Vladislav Namestnikov1st Career Playoff GameApril 16, 2015
Nikita Nesterov1st Career Playoff Game
1st Career Playoff Goal
1st Career Playoff Point
April 16, 2015
Ben Bishop1st Career Playoff GameApril 16, 2015
Nikita Nesterov1st Career Playoff AssistApril 18, 2015
Nikita Kucherov1st Career Playoff AssistApril 18, 2015
Andrej Sustr1st Career Playoff Goal
1st Career Playoff Point
April 18, 2015
Vladislav Namestnikov1st Career Playoff Assist
1st Career Playoff Point
April 18, 2015
Ben Bishop1st Career Playoff WinApril 18, 2015
Jonathan Drouin1st Career Playoff GameApril 23, 2015
Cedric Paquette1st Career Playoff GoalApril 27, 2015
Ben Bishop1st Career Playoff ShutoutApril 29, 2015
Andrej Sustr1st Career Playoff AssistMay 1, 2015
J. T. Brown1st Career Playoff GoalMay 3, 2015
Jonathan Marchessault1st career NHL GameMay 12, 2015
Tyler Johnson1st Career Playoff hat trickMay 18, 2015
Andrei Vasilevskiy1st Career Playoff WinJune 6, 2015

The Lightning have been involved in the following transactions during the 2014–15 season.

Trades

June 27, 2014To Vancouver Canucks
2nd-round pick in 2014
To Tampa Bay Lightning
Jason Garrison
Jeff Costello
7th-round pick in 2015
June 27, 2014To New York Islanders
NYR's 1st-round pick in 2014
To Tampa Bay Lightning
2nd-round pick in 2014
MTL's 2nd-round pick in 2014
June 28, 2014To Minnesota Wild
3rd-round pick in 2014
7th-round pick in 2015
To Tampa Bay Lightning
3rd-round pick in 2014
June 28, 2014To New York Rangers
5th-round pick in 2014
STL's 5th-round pick in 2014
To Tampa Bay Lightning
4th-round pick in 2014
June 28, 2014To New York Islanders
7th-round pick in 2014
7th-round pick in 2015
To Tampa Bay Lightning
7th-round pick in 2014
June 29, 2014To Edmonton Oilers
Teddy Purcell
To Tampa Bay Lightning
Sam Gagner
June 29, 2014To Arizona Coyotes
Sam Gagner
B. J. Crombeen
To Tampa Bay Lightning
6th-round pick in 2015
June 30, 2014To Anaheim Ducks
Nate Thompson
To Tampa Bay Lightning
4th-round pick in 2015
7th-round pick in 2015
November 28, 2014To Anaheim Ducks
Eric Brewer
To Tampa Bay Lightning
EDM's 3rd-round pick in 2015
February 6, 2015To Toronto Maple Leafs
conditional 7th-round pick in 2016
To Tampa Bay Lightning
David Broll
Carter Ashton
February 9, 2015To San Jose Sharks
Evgeni Nabokov
To Tampa Bay Lightning
Future Considerations
March 2, 2015To Philadelphia Flyers
Radko Gudas
Conditional 1st-round pick in 2015
3rd-round pick in 2015
To Tampa Bay Lightning
Braydon Coburn
March 2, 2015To Boston Bruins
Brett Connolly
To Tampa Bay Lightning
2nd-round pick in 2015
2nd-round pick in 2016
June 1, 2015To New York Rangers
NYR's 7th-round pick in 2015
To Tampa Bay Lightning
Daniel Walcott

Free agents acquired

Free agents lost

Claimed via waivers

Lost via waivers

Lost via retirement

Players released

Player signings

Draft picks

Below are the Tampa Bay Lightning' selections made at the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, held on June 27–28, 2014 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
Round#PlayerPosNationalityCollege/Junior/Club Team
119Anthony DeAngeloD United StatesSarnia Sting
235Dominik MasinD Czech RepublicSlavia Praha
257Johnathan MacLeodD United StatesUSA U-18
379Brayden PointC CanadaMoose Jaw Warriors
4119Ben ThomasD CanadaCalgary Hitmen
6170Cristiano DigiacintoLW CanadaWindsor Spitfires
6185Cameron DarcyC United StatesCape Breton Screaming Eagles

;Draft notes