About 20 people were laid off by Lightning owner OK Hockey, including Matt Hitchcock, who played ThunderBug. That brings the number of layoffs this year to about 27. Not hugely surprising given the state of the economy, but noteworthy nonetheless.

The team issued the following statement:

"The Tampa Bay Lightning today announced a restructuring aimed at creating more efficiencies and eliminating redundancies by reducing the size of its workforce. When the current ownership purchased the team, it elected to take a full hockey season to observe and analyze the business before making major decisions regarding its long-term direction.
 
"With the 2008-09 season completed, the franchise feels it is necessary to form a structure that best supports the business going forward. Today, in a toughening economy, we certainly understand the impact that these decisions have on the lives of the families affected which doesn’t make the decisions any easier. However, we feel an obligation to our fans and sponsors to create the best possible organization to ensure our success in the future. We appreciate all the hard work and service these dedicated employees have performed for this organization and we wish them all the best moving forward."