In the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, the Lightning selected defenceman Victor Hedman and removed the interim tag from Head Coach Rick Tocchet, signing him to a multi-year contract. The franchise also signed seven free agents, most notably Mattias Ohlund (7-yr $26.25 million), Matt Walker (4-yr $6.8 million) and Alex Tanguay (1-yr $2.5 million). The team is currently in 2nd place in the Southeast Division with a 24-21-11 record.

2008/09 ticketholders saw no signs of improvement for the Lightning as they finished 24-40-18. The team fired Barry Melrose just 16 games into the season and was replaced with assistant coach Rick Tocchet on an interim basis. The only positive to come out of the season was the rights to the 2nd overall pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

The downward slide continued in 2007/08 as the Lightning finished 15th in their conference and last in their division. The team was then sold to TV Producer Oren Koules Head coach John Tortorella was fired after the season despite having a year left and was replaced by Barry Melrose.

2006/07 was the year that the team and its ticketholders were supposed to bounce back into the playoffs. They didn’t disappoint on that end, finishing with a 44-33-5 record. In the playoffs, they first faced the New Jersey Devils in the Quarterfinals which the Devils won in six games.

After the lockout of 2004/05, the Lightning still had their title to defend but the team was a year older and some of the players that helped to bring the Cup South. The team barely made the playoffs with a 43-33-6 record and limped into the playoffs against the Ottawa Senators who took them out in five games.

The fans who lined up for Tampa Bay Lightning tickets last season got a Stanley Cup performance for their efforts. Can the Lightning strike twice and bring The Cup back again? The Lightning face some obstacles. Golaie Nikolai Khabibulin no longer mans the net at the St. Pete Times Forum and that means the Lightning will need big time output from John Grahame and Sean Burke. Still, Tampa Bay can still throw Vincent Lecavalier and Brad Richards at the opposition and the essence of the Stanley Cup squad is still together. In a year of huge changes, that consistency can pay off big time for the fans who line up their Tampa Bay Lightning tickets early.

Who would have believed that ice hockey, a sport widely seen in the north, could find a home in sunny Florida? That's precisely what happened when the NHL, looking to widen its national appeal, awarded a franchise to the city of Tampa Bay. The Tampa Bay Lightning thrilled Tampa with a home victory against the Chicago Blackhawks in their first game, then finished the season at 23-54-7, not great but respectable for an expansion team.

The Lightning increased their win total to 30 in their second year, but suffered along with the rest of the NHL as 1994-95 brought a strike to the league and the Lightning ended up in 6th place. Heading into 1995-96, the Lightning were hoping for good things to happen and they did. Tampa Bay put up their best numbers ever, grabbing a playoff spot with a record of 38-32-12. As with most expansion clubs, the first trip to the playoffs ended unsuccessfully as the Philadelphia Flyers prevailed in a six games series.

The Tampa Bay Lightning retrned to the NHL playoffs in 2003 and brought home a Stanley Cup in 2004. That 2003-04 championship season began with a sen game winning streak. The Lightning put Martin St. Louis on the ice and St. Louis responded by leading the NHL with 56 assist and 35 goals on the year, and winning the Hart Trophy as the NHL MVP. The Lightning's resurgence and 46-21-8-6 record gave head coach John Tortorella the NHL Coach of the Year Award. Tortorella led the Lightning into the first round where they sent the New York Islanders packing after five games. Amazingly, the upstart Lightning finished the second round with a clean sweep of the fables Montreal Canadiens and headed for their first NHL Eastern Conference Finals.

The Eastern Conference Finals against the Philadelphia Flyers was a pitched battle. The Flyers took Games 1 and 4 while the Lightning claimed victories in Games 2 and 3. A home victory in Game 5 gave Tampa Bay a chance to close out the series but Philadelphia roared back in overtime to win Game 6. Tampa Bay jumped out to an early Game 7 lead and held on to earn a berth in their first Stanley Cup Finals where they made franchise history by bringing home the Stanley Cup after an exciting seven game series against the Calgary Flames.

Tampa Bay Lightning tickets brought Florida hockey fans the ultimate prize in hockey, a Stanley Cup. With the core of their team still intact, the Lightning are in good position to do it again in 2005-06. With the rest of the league in upheaval, keeping your guys together for another season means a lot, and the Lightning have an edge on the rest of the NHL. If they can get consistent play form goal, the Lightning may have the ticket to another Stanley Cup.