The Tampa Bay Lightning have announced the hiring of Derek Lalonde as an assistant coach for the team. Earlier this offseason, the Lightning relieved associate head coach Rick Bowness (now with the Dallas Stars) of his duties and agreed to mutually part ways with Brad Lauer (now with the Edmonton Oil Kings in the WHL).
Bowness was in charge of the defensemen and the penalty kill. Lauer served as a spotter in the press box during games. Jeff Halpern was promoted from the Syracuse Crunch to take over coaching the forwards while Todd Richards shifted over to coach the defensemen.