Richards joins Tampa with more than 400 games of head coaching experience with the Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets.
[7] The Lightning also announced today its annual development cam will be held June 28–July 2 at the Brandon Ice Sports Forum.
The camp will have some of the Lightning's top prospects competing on- and off-ice workouts, skating drills and will culminate with the annual three-on-three tournament.
Callahan was dealing with the injury from the end of the 2015–16 regular season and throughout the playoffs as the Lightning advanced to the Eastern Conference Final.
[14] On the same day, the Lightning announced the schedule and roster for the team's annual development camp, which will be held from June 28 through July 2 at the Brandon Ice Sports Forum.
Along with Tampa Bay, he spent time with the Washington Capitals, Dallas Stars, Los Angeles Kings, Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers before finishing his career with the Phoenix Coyotes in 2014.
Stamkos has won the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy on two occasions, which included setting a new franchise record for goals in a single season (60), while also being the runner-up for it three other times.
[18] On June 30, 2016, the Lightning placed defenseman Matt Carle on unconditional waivers for the purpose of buying out the remainder of his contract.
[24] The Lightning announced the signing of free agent forward Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond to a one-year, two-way contract today.
He has played in 41 career NHL games with the New Jersey Devils, Calgary Flames and Pittsburgh Penguins, recording three assists and 101 penalty minutes.
Prior to playing for Bern, Conacher skated in 141 career NHL games with three different teams over three seasons, recording 19 goals and 58 points.
[34] On August 31, 2016, the Lightning announced their 24-man roster for the upcoming 2016 prospect tournament, which is being held at the Panthers IceDen in Coral Springs, Florida.
At the start of training camp, 12 players and head coach Jon Cooper will be away in Toronto participating in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
Camp invitees Alexandre Alain, lane Scheidl, Ryan Verbeek, David Henley, Sean O'Rourke, Carlie Vasaturo, Ben Wilson, Mark Grametbauer, and Joel Martin were part of the initial roster cuts.
Some notable names from that group are Brett Howden, Mathieu Joseph, Dennis Yan, Libor Hajek, Matthew Spencer, and Conner Ingram.
The Lightning also elected to send Bokondji Imama back to the Saint John Sea Dogs for an overage season in junior hockey.
The remaining players have been reassigned to the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League, which is beginning their training camp on October 4, 2016.
Executive chairman Peter Luukko stated through the Panther's website that "while we are disappointed to announce the postponement of any event at the BB&T Center, the safety of our fans, staff and the people of South Florida is always our top priority."
[40] On October 6, 2016, the Lightning announced that it will be retiring the number 26 worn by the franchise's all-time leading scorer, Martin St. Louis.
The ceremony will take place on Friday, January 13, 2017, when the Lightning host John Tortorella and the Columbus Blue Jackets at Amalie Arena.
[41] Later that day, the Lightning announced that goaltender Kristers Gudlevskis had been assigned to their American Hockey League affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch.
[43] On October 10, 2016, the Lightning announced that veteran forward Erik Condra, along with Cory Conacher and Joel Vermin, were placed on waivers.
Head coach Jon Cooper told the media to not read into the moves too much, and that it did not necessarily mean that all three players were being sent to Syracuse if they clear.
[44] On October 11, 2016, the Lightning announced the re-signing of Nikita Kucherov to a three-year contract worth an average of $4.766 million per season.
[45] On the same day, the Lightning announced that forwards Erik Condra, Cory Conacher, and Joel Vermin had been assigned to their AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch.
Yzerman also noted that the decision to waive Conacher, Condra, and Vermin was partially based on salary cap constraints.
The team carried 13 forwards including Ryan Callahan, who was still recovering from his June hip surgery and not yet cleared for contact.
The forward group consisted of Steven Stamkos, Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat, Jonathan Drouin, Alex Killorn, Nikita Kucherov, Valtteri Filppula, Vladislav Namestnikov J.T.
The defensemen were Victor Hedman, Anton Stralman, Andrej Sustr, Jason Garrison, Braydon Coburn, Nikita Nesterov, and Slater Koekkoek.
Below are the Tampa Bay Lightning' selections at the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, held on June 24–25, 2016 at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, New York.