Regular Season Finish: 14th in Eastern Conference
After a season in which the Lightning got off to an unexpectedly miserable start, and fired head coach Barry Melrose midway through the year, Tampa Bay will be looking to rebound in 2009-10. Considering that they gave up more goals than all but three other teams in the entire league, one of the primary concerns for the Lightning was upgrading the defense. Starting with the draft, they did just that, drafting 6’6 monster Swede Victor Hedman. Hedman was clearly the best European prospect this season, and was even rumored to be going first overall. The 18 year old Hedman should be pressed right into action next season and should help bring down the number of goals allowed significantly.
Another important addition to the defense was Mattias Ohlund, who spent the last decade anchoring the blueline of the Vancouver Canucks. Ohlund should be an excellent mentor for Hedman, and will definitely help decrease his adjustment time to the NHL. Other additions to the Lightning’s defensive corps include Kurtis Foster, David Hale and Matt Walker, all three of whom are over 6’2 and 215 lbs. In fact, nearly every defenseman currently on the Tampa Bay roster is above six feet tall and two hundred pounds. This hefty group of defensemen will have to be on their game next season, especially since the situation in net at the moment is anything but clear. Karri Ramo, Mike Smith and Antero Niittymaki will likely be competing for the starting job, with Niittymaki being the early favorite.
Up front, the Lightning have a talented group of forwards that can put the puck in the net. Led by Vinny Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis, Tampa’s offense will need to bring its A-game night in and night out if the Lightning hope to be competing for a playoff spot in the tightly packed Eastern Conference. Steve Stamkos showed good development towards the end of the season, and should continue to grow during 2009-10. While it is a shallow rumor at best at the moment, the addition of Alex Tanguay to the mix would be a very solid move at this point.