The 2016–17 Tampa Bay Lightning season was the 25th season for the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise that was established on December 16, 1991. Despite earning 94 points, the Lightning failed to qualify for the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since the 2012–13 season, ending their three-season playoff streak. As of the 2025–26 season, this is the most recent season the Lightning missed the playoffs and the only time they have done so in a full season during Jon Cooper's coaching tenure.
Off-season
May On May 25, 2016, the Lightning signed a one-year affiliation agreement with the Kalamazoo Wings of the ECHL. Kalamazoo will serve as the Lightning's primary ECHL affiliate starting with the 2016–17 season. Since 2009, the K-Wings have produced 11 players who have appeared in the NHL, which includes four players who made their debuts during the 2015–16.
On May 28, 2016, the Lightning's off-season began when they were eliminated by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Final in a 2–1 loss. The Penguins would go on to capture the Stanley Cup after defeating the Lightning in a seven-game series.
June On June 6, 2016, information came out that assistant coach Steve Thomas was not returning next season. The Lightning decided not to renew his contract with the club. Thomas had been on Cooper's staff since the 2013–14 season and with the organization since 2010, when he served as a player development coordinator (2010–12).
On June 7, 2016, the Lightning announced it had hired Todd Richards. Richards was brought in as a replacement for outgoing assistant coach Steve Thomas. Richards joins Tampa with more than 400 games of head coaching experience with the Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets.
On June 14, 2016, the Lightning announced it had signed assistant coach Rick Bowness to a two-year contract extension. Bowness has been a member of the coaching staff since the 2013–14 season. Bowness is in charge of the defense and penalty kill, which ranked fifth in the NHL in 2015–16. Bowness also surpassed the 2,000-game mark last season. 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. The team will release the full schedule and roster at a future date.
On June 21, 2016, the Lightning announced Ryan Callahan had surgery to repair a labral tear is his right hip. Callahan was expected to be out for at least five months. 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. Callahan will also not be participating in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey in Toronto.
On June 24, 2016, the Lightning announced the re-signing of defenseman Luke Witkowski to a one-year, two-way contract. Witkowski played in four regular season games. Witkowski also made his Stanley Cup playoff debut, where he appeared in two games during the second round against the New York Islanders. Witkowski has played in 20 career NHL games, all with the Lightning over the past two seasons. He has also played in 199 career games in the American Hockey League (AHL), all with the Syracuse Crunch. The Lightning next announced it had signed J. T. Brown to a two-year contract extension. Brown played in 78 regular season games during the past season, recording 8 goals and 22 points. Brown was tied for third on the team with a +16 rating. Brown set career bests in games played, goals, points, plus/minus and penalty minutes last season. He also appeared in nine Stanley Cup playoff games, recording two assists and two penalty minutes. Brown has skated in 198 career NHL games, all with the Lightning over four seasons, registering 15 goals and 51 points. He also has skated in 37 playoff games, recording a goal and six points. In addition, the Lightning also announced the re-signing of Cedric Paquette to a two-year contract extension. Paquette appeared in 56 games with the team last season, registering 6 goals, 11 points and 51 penalty minutes. His 51 penalty minutes were good for fourth on the team during the regular season. He was also one of five Lightning players to score a shorthanded goal last season. Paquette also played in 17 Stanley Cup playoff games with the team, posting one assist and 24 penalty minutes. Paquette has played in 122 NHL games, all with the Lightning, over the past three seasons. During that span, he has recorded 18 goals and 31 points to go along with 102 penalty minutes.
On June 25, 2016, the Lightning traded Tony DeAngelo to the Arizona Coyotes during the 2016 NHL entry draft. The Lightning acquired the 37th overall pick as a result of the trade. The Lightning used the pick to select defenseman Libor Hajek, whom the team considered to be a first-round talent. DeAngelo struggled to adjust during his first professional season with Syracuse. He was a –18 and a healthy scratch eight times during the season. DeAngelo's father, Lou, declined to say if he had requested a trade.
On June 27, 2016, the Lightning made qualifying offers to most of its remaining restricted free agents. The players that received qualifying offers were C Alex Killorn, RW Nikita Kucherov, C Vladislav Namestnikov, G Kristers Gudlevskis, D Nikita Nesterov, LW Tye McGinn and LW Yanni Gourde. 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. In attendance will be nine of the team's 10 draft picks from the 2016 NHL entry draft. The roster includes highly touted prospects Adam Erne (2nd Round, 2013), Brayden Point (3rd Round, 2014), Mitchell Stephens (2nd Round, 2015), and Dominik Masin (2nd Round, 2014). Of those in attendance, 26 were selected in the draft, six are invitees and one player was acquired via trade. In addition, the Lightning announced the hiring of Jeff Halpern as a Syracuse Crunch assistant coach. Halpern previously served as the Crunch's player development coach during the 2015–16 season. Halpern is a veteran of 976 NHL games, including 126 with the Lightning from 2007 to 2010. Over his 14 seasons in the NHL, the centerman recorded 152 goals and 221 assists. 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.
On June 28, 2016, the Lightning announced that it had re-signed forward Tye McGinn to a one-year, two-way contract. McGinn played in two games with the team last season. McGinn also appeared in 72 games with the Syracuse Crunch last season, scoring 20 goals and 44 points. He ranked third on the Crunch for points and goals. In addition, the Lightning announced the re-signing of Matt Taormina to a one-year, two-way contract. Taormina skated in three games with the Lighting last season. Taormina also skated in three Stanley Cup Playoff games in 2016. He also appeared in 61 games with the Crunch last season, recording 13 goals and 41 points. This ranked Taormina second among Crunch defensemen for points and led all defensemen for goals with 13.
On June 29, 2016, the Lightning announced that it had re-signed captain Steven Stamkos to an eight-year contract extension. Stamkos appeared in 77 regular season games with the team, recording 36 goals and 28 assists for 64 points. He ranked first in goals, third in assists and second in points. Stamkos is a four-time NHL All-Star. Stamkos has led the team in goals for six of the past seven seasons, which includes two seasons of 50 or more goals. 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. Stamkos ranks third on the franchise's all-time scoring list for goals (312) and points (562). Stamkos ranks second all-time for power play goals with 108. Stamkos also has eight career hat tricks, which is tied for first with Martin St. Louis in team history.
On June 30, 2016, the Lightning placed defenseman Matt Carle on unconditional waivers for the purpose of buying out the remainder of his contract. Carle was the Lightning's highest paid defenseman last season at $5.5 million, but he had a declining role. He was often a healthy scratch, which included game 7 of the Easter Conference Final. His buyout will save the team $3.67 million off the cap the next two seasons. The buyout will be spread over the next four seasons at $1.833 cap hit each season.
July On July 1, 2016, the Lightning re-signed defenseman Victor Hedman to an eight-year contract extension. The deal was signed on the first day he was eligible for an extension, exactly one year from when he could have become an unrestricted free agent. Hedman will have a no-trade clause throughout the deal. Speaking on an extension Hedman said "For me, it was never a doubt. Staying in Tampa was my No. 1 priority."
The Lightning then announced the re-signing of goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy to a three-year contract extension. Vasilevskiy appeared in 24 games with the team last season, posting a record of 11–10–0 to go along with a 2.76 goals-against average and .910 save percentage. He also had one shutout in his second season with the team. He also played in eight Stanley Cup playoff games in 2016, recording a record of 3–4 to go along with a 2.76 goals–against average and .925 save percentage.
Next the Lightning announced the signing of free agent forward Michael Bournival to a one-year, two-way contract. Bournival played in 20 games with the St. John's IceCaps last season after suffering an injury. Bournival has spent his entire professional career in the Montreal Canadiens organization. He has skated in 89 career NHL games with Montreal, recording 10 goals and 19 points.
Soon after the Lightning announced the signing of free agent forward Gabriel Dumont to a one-year, two-way contract. Dumont appeared in 71 games with the St. John's IceCaps last season, notching 19 goals and 49 points. He was second on the team for goals and was third for points. Dumont has also played in 18 career NHL games, all with the Canadiens, recording a goal and three points.
Next the Lightning free agent forward Jeremy Morin to a one-year, two-way contract. He played in 59 AHL games last season with the Rockford IceHogs, Toronto Marlies and San Jose Barracuda. He registered 16 goals and 42 points. He has also played in 82 career NHL games with the Chicago Blackhawks and Columbus Blue Jackets, registering 10 goals and 22 points.
The Lightning announced the signing of free agent forward Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond to a one-year, two-way contract today. Leblond played in 52 games with the Albany Devils last season, recording a goal and six points. His 131 penalty minutes led the team. 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.
The Lightning announced the final signing of the day, which was prospect Dennis Yan. Yan was signed to a three-year entry-level contract. Yan played in 62 games with the Shawinigan Cataractes last season, recording 32 goals and 69 points. He was third on the team for goals and was fourth for points. Yan also played in 20 playoff games and recorded 10 goals and 15 points.
On July 2, 2016, the Lightning announced the re-signing goaltender Kristers Gudlevskis to a one-year, two-way contract. Gudlevskis played in 41 games with the Syracuse Crunch last season, posting a 16–12–8 record with a 2.83 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage.