In this series, Heavy Sports is looking at what every NHL team has done over the offseason. Next up is the Tampa Bay Lightning. Tampa Bay had another solid season last year as they posted a 50-26-6 record, which gave them 106 points in the NHL standings. This was good enough for a second place finish in a loaded Atlantic division. However, the postseason was a different manner as they were disappointingly eliminated in the first round by the Montreal Canadiens.
Who are Tampa Bay’s Additions?
Key additions: Mike Callahan, John Carlson, Jansen Harkins, Dennis Hildeby, Ilya Mikheyev, Jack Pridham, Olivier Rodrigue, Mads Sogaard, Jeffrey Viel
The biggest addition for this Lightning team is John Carlson on the blueline. The 36 year old defenseman recorded 14 goals and 46 assists in 71 games split between the Washington Capitals and Anaheim Ducks last season. He was brought in to help replace the production that will be lost from the back-end with the departure of Darren Raddysh. Ilya Mikheyev is another notable add as he comes over from the Chicago Blackhawks. Mikheyev registered 18 goals and 18 assists for 36 points in 77 games last season. He has made his mark as one of the top penalty killing forwards in the league.
Who are Tampa Bay’s Subtractions?
Key subtractions: Oliver Bjorkstrand, Declan Carlile, Brandon Halverson, Nick Paul, Corey Perry, Darren Raddysh
The big loss for Tampa is Raddysh as he moves on to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Raddysh had a career year this past season as he amassed 22 goals and 48 assists for 70 points in 73 games. Depth forward Nick Paul will join Raddysh in Toronto. Oliver Bjorkstrand heads off to the New York Rangers. Lastly, power forward Corey Perry returns to the Los Angeles Kings after a brief stint back with the Lightning after he was acquired by the team this past trade deadline.
Overall, this is a Lightning group that should once again be among the best teams in the eastern conference as their elite core remains mostly intact. With that said, time is running out for this squad to bring home another Stanley Cup with this core. Getting to the playoffs has not been a problem for this team; they have made it to the big dance the past nine seasons. That run includes two championship victories in 2020 and 2021. The problem lately has been in the postseason itself as Tampa has suffered four straight eliminations in the first round. This team has not won a playoff series since their last finals run in 2022. This is a group that is also not getting any younger, led by the league’s longest-tenured coach Jon Cooper. With that being said, general manager Julien BriseBois has done a solid job of keeping this team competitive with his knack of being able to pull off aggressive moves every year. There is no doubt that this is still a strong team. But in an east that only keeps getting better, the task will be tall for this team to shake its recent playoff demons.
All transactions are available via Puck Pedia.
Tampa Bay Lightning Offseason Recap