The Tampa Bay Lightning have traded seven-year NHL veteran goalie Jonas Johansson to the Ottawa Senators just ahead of the 2026-27 season.
The Lightning traded Johansson to the Senators for future considerations in a Friday-night trade that both teams have confirmed on social media.
Lightning Announce Trade
The Lightning officially announced that Johansson had been dealt to Ottawa in a press release posted on their official website.
“The Tampa Bay Lightning have traded goaltender Jonas Johansson to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for future considerations, vice president and general manager Julien BriseBois announced today. Johansson, 31, was signed by Tampa Bay as a free agent on July 1, 2023. He appeared in 70 career contests with the Lightning, recording a 32-23-10 record with a 3.28 goals-against average and .889 save percentage,” the Lightning wrote in the press release.
The Lightning were already expected to move on from Johansson following his mediocre play in his three years with Tampa Bay. With Andrei Vasilevskiy entrenched as the team’s starting goalie and former Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Dennis Hildeby now the team’s backup, there was really no room for Johansson in Tampa Bay anymore, and so the team did what they could to move on from him and dump the remainder of his contract, which pays him $1.25 million this coming season, the final year of his contract.
Lightning a Top Contender Once Again
The Lightning will head into the 2026-27 NHL season as one of the top contenders in the Atlantic Division.
The team was great once again last year, and even though they did not make a deep playoff run, you can never count out a team that has Jon Cooper behind the bench coaching it, Nikita Kucherov on the wing scoring goals and assisting his teammates, and Vasilevskiy stealing games in net.
Lightning fans should fully expect Tampa Bay to once again make the playoffs, though the team’s fans will of course hope that they make a longer run in the postseason, as the team hasn’t gotten past the first round in the last four years despite having one of the most talented groups of players in the entire league.
Lightning Trade 7-Year NHL Goalie to Senators