Oates Joins Tampa Bay Coaching Staff
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The Tampa Bay Lightning have named former Rensselaer standout
Adam Oates to the position of Assistant Coach, Executive Vice
President and General Manager Brian Lawton today announced.
Oates, a native of Weston, Ontario, has been working with the
Lightning coaching staff since the beginning of training camp.
During that time his focus has been on the power play and offensive
strategies with the team's forwards. Under Oates’ direction,
the Tampa Bay power play ranked fourth in the NHL during the
preseason, converting on 10 of 41 of their opportunities for a 24.4
percentage. The Lightning went 3-for-7 with the man advantage in
their final preseason game at Atlanta.
A veteran of 19 NHL seasons, Oates played in 1,337 career NHL
games from 1985-04 with the Detroit Red Wings, St. Louis Blues,
Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals, Philadelphia Flyers, Anaheim
Ducks and Edmonton Oilers. He ranks sixth all-time on the NHL
assists list with 1,079, 16th in points with 1,420 and 44th in
games played. Considered a power play specialist, Oates amassed
four 100-point seasons during his playing career and eight 80-point
campaigns.
"We are pleased to announce the hiring of Adam Oates as an
Assistant Coach," said Lawton upon making the announcement. "Adam
will help improve our special teams and add additional experience
to our staff."
