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.
[4] 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.
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.
In addition to these opponents, the Lightning will face the Pittsburgh Penguins in the inaugural Kraft Hockeyville USA game in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
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.
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.
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).
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.
[12] The Lightning are set to host a four team rookie tournament at Germain Arena in Estero, Florida, which takes place from September 12–15.
Over his professional career, Blunden has appeared in 104 NHL games with the Lightning, the Montreal Canadiens, the Columbus Blue Jackets and Chicago Blackhawks.
[18] Later in the day, the Lightning announced the signing of free agent defensemen Matt Taormina to a one-year, two-way contract.
[21] On July 17, 2015, the Lightning announced the re-signing of forward Vladislav Namestnikov and defenseman Luke Witkowski 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.
[26] On August 11, 2015, Fox's Sun Sports, the regional television home of the Lightning, announced Brian Engblom as Bobby Taylor's replacement on color commentary for the 2015–16 season.
Engblom played for five different teams in his career: the Montreal Canadiens, Washington Capitals, Los Angeles Kings, Buffalo Sabres, and Calgary Flames.
[27] On August 18, 2015, the Lightning announced the hiring of Brad Lauer as an assistant coach, which fills the vacancy left by the departure of George Gwozdecky at the end of the season.
[29] On September 4, 2015, the Lightning announced that Andrei Vasilevskiy had undergone surgery the day before to remove a blood clot near his collarbone.
Vasilevskiy was sent to the doctor as a precaution, where he was diagnosed with a type of thoracic outlet syndrome, which is a condition considered rare among hockey players.
Yzerman said that the team would look at Kristers Gudlevskis, Allen York, and Adam Wilcox as potential backups to Ben Bishop during training camp.
[30] On September 8, 2015, the Lightning announced that they brought in veteran goalie Ray Emery and center Ryan Martindale on a training camp tryouts.
Walcott, skated in 54 games last season with Blainville-Boisbriand Armada of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, recording 7 goals and 41 points.
Anthony Cirelli, Cristiano Digiacinto, Bokondji Imama, Mathieu Joseph, Matthew Spencer, Mitchell Stephens, Ben Thomas, and Dennis Yan were assigned to their respective junior hockey clubs.
[33] On September 24, 2015, the Lightning announced that defenseman Dominik Masin had been reassigned to the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey League, which reduces the training camp roster to 53.
The Lightning prospects cut from that list are Blujus, DeAngelo, Dotchin, Erne, Gourde, Hart, Ikonen, Peca, Richard, Vermin, Walcott and Wilcox.
The following veteran players have to clear waivers to be assigned to the Syracuse Crunch: Mike Blunden, Philippe Paradis, Tye McGinn, Jeff Tambellini, and Matt Taormina.
Poulin is expected to compete with Kristers Gudlevskis for the temporary backup role behind starter Ben Bishop while Andrei Vasilevskiy recovers from his injury.
[38] On October 5, 2015, the Lightning announced that forwards Mike Angelidis and Jonathan Marchessault had been placed on waivers for the purpose of assigning them to the Syracuse Crunch.
On the same day, Lightning head coach Jon Cooper announced that Ryan Callahan will wear a permanent "A" as an alternate captain this season.
Below are the Tampa Bay Lightning' selections at the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, held on June 26–27, 2015 at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida.