Tampa Bay Lightning
Eastern Conference - Atlantic division
Predicted Finish: 4th
IS IT THE END OF AN ERA FOR BRISEBOIS' BOLTS?
The jury is still out when it comes to the case of Stamkos v. BriseBois in Tampa.
It might not have grabbed headlines all across the United States, or divided the country the way the current political climate has, but the Steven Stamkos situation was definitely a hot-button topic for Lightning nation. The Lightning management group decided to move on from the team captain (and franchise leader in several statistical categories), and Bolts GM Julien BriseBois may have made that call well before No. 91's first game of 2023-24. BriseBois and company decided to allocate their precious little cap space to fixing the defense, plus BriseBois replaced Stamkos with winger Jake Guentzel.
Will the Lightning regret letting Stamkos go? Or will BriseBois be feeling presidential when all is said and done?
Ryan McDonagh
Forecasts
Centers
2024-25
Last 3 Seasons
| Rank | Name, Age | GP | G | A | PTS | PPG | 23-24 | 22-23 | 21-22 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | B. Point, 28 | 81 | 49 | 45 | 94 | 1.16 | 81 / 1.11 | 82 / 1.16 | 66 / 0.88 | K |
| 49 | A. Cirelli, 27 | 80 | 22 | 28 | 50 | 0.63 | 79 / 0.57 | 58 / 0.50 | 76 / 0.57 | |
| 66 | N. Paul, 29 | 82 | 20 | 20 | 40 | 0.49 | 82 / 0.56 | 80 / 0.40 | 80 / 0.40 | |
| 134 | L. Glendening, 35 | 78 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 0.12 | 81 / 0.14 | 70 / 0.09 | 82 / 0.20 | $ |
Wingers
| Rank | Name, Age | GP | G | A | PTS | PPG | 23-24 | 22-23 | 21-22 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | N. Kucherov, 31 | 82 | 39 | 88 | 127 | 1.55 | 81 / 1.78 | 82 / 1.38 | 47 / 1.47 | K |
| 15 | J. Guentzel, 30 | 77 | 42 | 40 | 82 | 1.06 | 67 / 1.15 | 78 / 0.94 | 76 / 1.11 | + |
| 27 | B. Hagel, 26 | 81 | 31 | 42 | 73 | 0.90 | 82 / 0.91 | 81 / 0.79 | 77 / 0.57 | |
| 158 | C. Atkinson, 35 | 74 | 15 | 16 | 31 | 0.42 | 70 / 0.40 | 73 / 0.68 | $ |
|
| 168 | M. Eyssimont, 28 | 80 | 12 | 17 | 29 | 0.36 | 81 / 0.31 | 54 / 0.28 | 1 / 0.00 | $ |
| 187 | C. Sheary, 32 | 69 | 10 | 16 | 26 | 0.38 | 57 / 0.26 | 82 / 0.45 | 71 / 0.61 | + |
| 231 | Z. Girgensons, 30 | 70 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 0.23 | 63 / 0.22 | 80 / 0.23 | 56 / 0.32 | + |
| 248 | M. Chaffee, 26 | 52 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 0.27 | 30 / 0.23 | AHL | 2 / 0.00 |
Defensemen
| Rank | Name, Age | GP | G | A | PTS | PPG | 23-24 | 22-23 | 21-22 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | V. Hedman, 33 | 79 | 11 | 60 | 71 | 0.90 | 78 / 0.97 | 76 / 0.64 | 82 / 1.04 | |
| 44 | D. Raddysh, 28 | 82 | 7 | 30 | 37 | 0.45 | 82 / 0.40 | 17 / 0.18 | 4 / 0.00 | |
| 54 | J. Moser, 24 | 81 | 6 | 27 | 33 | 0.41 | 80 / 0.33 | 82 / 0.38 | 43 / 0.35 | |
| 66 | R. McDonagh, 35 | 75 | 4 | 26 | 30 | 0.40 | 74 / 0.43 | 71 / 0.28 | 71 / 0.37 | |
| 99 | N. Perbix, 26 | 80 | 3 | 20 | 23 | 0.29 | 77 / 0.31 | 69 / 0.29 | NCHC | $ |
| 157 | E. Cernak, 27 | 71 | 2 | 13 | 15 | 0.21 | 69 / 0.19 | 70 / 0.23 | 55 / 0.24 | + |
Goaltenders
| Rank | Name, Age | GP | W | SO | GAA | Sv% | 23-24 | 22-23 | 21-22 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | A. Vasilevskiy, 30 | 61 | 37 | 5 | 2.56 | 0.918 | 52 / 30 | 60 / 34 | 63 / 39 | + |
| 64 | J. Johansson, 29 | 21 | 9 | 0 | 3.31 | 0.892 | 26 / 12 | 3 / 2 | AHL | + $ |
Depth Chart
Left Wing |
Center |
Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| J. Guentzel (RW) | B. Point 3 | N. Kucherov 2 |
| B. Hagel | A. Cirelli 3 | C. Atkinson |
| Z. Girgensons (C) | N. Paul (W) | M. Eyssimont (LW) |
| C. Sheary (RW) | L. Glendening (RW) | M. Chaffee (RW) |
| G. Goncalves (LW) 2 | C. Geekie (C) | J. Ylonen |
| J. Dureau* 5 | D. Duke* (C) 4 | N. Huuhtanen* 7 |
| I. Howard* 1 | J. Finley* 2 | M. Groshev* (RW) 3 |
| C. Flinton* 7 | M. Roelens* (LW) | L. Edmonds* (LW) 3 |
Defense |
Goaltender |
Notable Departures |
|---|---|---|
| V. Hedman 1 | A. Vasilevskiy 1 | A. Barre-Boulet (FA-Mtl) |
| R. McDonagh | J. Johansson | C. de Haan (FA-Col) |
| E. Cernak | M. Tomkins | A. Duclair (FA-NYI) |
| J. Moser | H. Meneghin* 7 | M. Dumba (FA-Dal) |
| D. Raddysh | H. Alnefelt* 3 | H. Fleury (FA-Wpg) |
| N. Perbix 6 | T. Jeannot (T-LA) | |
| E. Lilleberg | C. Koepke (FA-Bos) | |
| M. Crozier* 4 | T. Motte (FA-Det) | |
| D. Carlile* | P. Myers (FA-Tor) | |
| R. Schmidt* 3 | M. Sergachev (T-Uta) | |
| D. Gill* 7 | S. Stamkos (FA-Nas) |
Forecasts: *: Rookie; 
: injury concern; 
: contract year (UFA in 2025);
: Must-draft player Last 3 season stats: GP and PPG for skaters, GP and W for goalies; Rank is based on PPG or Ws compared to players in the same position. Age as of October 10, 2024.
Depth Chart: (Secondary Position); *: Rookie; 
: Team captain; Orange denotes off-season acquisition via free agency or trade; 1 to 9: Organizational draft pick with round selected.
Lines: Projected lines, pairs and units are for the majority of the season, not neccesarily opening night; 2023-24 Power Play TOI and G-A-PTS in parenthesis
Projected Lines/Pairs
Power Play Units
| Forwards | Defense |
|---|---|
| J. Guentzel - B. Point - N. Kucherov | V. Hedman - D. Raddysh |
| B. Hagel - A. Cirelli - C. Atkinson | R. McDonagh - E. Cernak |
| Z. Girgensons - N. Paul - M. Eyssimont | J. Moser - N. Perbix |
| C. Sheary - L. Glendening - M. Chaffee |
| First Unit | Second Unit |
|---|---|
| V. Hedman (3:28, 4-27-31) | C. Atkinson (2:06, 2-4-6) |
| J. Guentzel (3:39, 5-17-22) | D. Raddysh (0:44, 1-6-7) |
| N. Kucherov (4:02, 13-40-53) | N. Paul (3:03, 9-5-14) |
| B. Point (3:39, 15-17-32) | A. Cirelli (1:25, 3-4-7) |
| B. Hagel (1:11, 2-5-7) | N. Perbix (0:02, 0-0-0) |