With training camp in the books, the Tampa Bay Lightning have made their final roster cuts and headed to Raleigh, North Carolina for Friday night’s season opener against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Speaking of hurricanes, an actual one is hit the West Coast of Florida, so the Lightning, along with any players, families, and pets, left the Tampa Bay Area the evening of October 7 and will return whenever it’s safe to do so. The status of Saturday, October 12th’s home opener, expected to be held at Amalie Arena in downtown Tampa, is unknown at this time but the league and team will update once a decision has been made.
Now that I’ve gotten the important stuff out of the way, let’s dive into previewing the 2024-25 Lightning season.
Last season, the team finished with a record of 45-29-8. That earned them 98 points, which was good for fourth in the highly competitive Atlantic Division and got them the first Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. Unfortunately, they were ousted by the eventual Stanley Cup champion, Florida Panthers, in the first round.
Keeping that in mind, general manager Julien Brisebois made moves to keep his team competitive. That included letting longtime captain Steven Stamkos walk in free agency, along with trading defenseman Mikhail Sergachev to Utah for J.J. Moser and Conor Geekie. Ryan McDonagh also returned to the Lightning, where he was part of three Stanley Cup teams before being traded to the Nashville Predators after the 2022 season. He’ll likely settle back into the second pairing alongside Erik Cernak and stabilize the team defense while providing veteran leadership in the locker room.
Victor Hedman, fresh off of being named captain at the start of training camp, will again lead the defense. Offseason acquisition Moser will likely be paired with the 15 year NHL veteran. The bottom pairing looks to be a combination of Nick Perbix, Emil Lilleberg, and Darren Raddysh. That will fluctuate based on who proves themselves worthy of staying in the lineup on a consistent basis.
Up front, the Lightning acquired the rights to Jake Guentzel from the Hurricanes and then signed him to a seven-year, $63 million contract. They also signed Cam Atkinson, Zemgus Girgensons, and Jesse Ylonen in free agency to help shore up the bottom six and add depth.
Guentzel is expected to play on the top line alongside Brayden Point and last season’s Art Ross Trophy winner Nikita Kucherov. Atkinson will likely play on either the second line with Brandon Hagel and Anthony Cirelli or third line. The bottom six probably will be a combination of Geekie, Mitchell Chaffee, Nick Paul, Girgensons, Luke Glendening and either Conor Sheary or Atkinson to start. Mikey Eyssimont is currently on injured reserve but once he’s cleared for game action, someone will either end up in the press box or being sent to the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch.
Andrei Vasilevskiy is hoping to bounce back from a disappointing season a year ago by his standards. If he can regain the form shown a few seasons ago and remain healthy, the Lightning should hang around the fringes of being a playoff team once again. Jonas Johansson will once again serve as Vasy’s backup and could see at least 20-25 starts, if not more.
One major question mark for this Lightning team will be how they’ll do in extra time. Last season, they lost eight games when tied after regulation. For a team that prides itself on speed and skill, that was an alarming statistic which contributed to them earning the first wild card instead of finishing third in the Atlantic Division. With the Detroit Red Wings loading up in the offseason, any points lost could be the difference between making and missing the playoffs.
Special teams will be an area of concern as well. With Stamkos’ departure, the power play won’t be as lethal as it’s been in previous years. If Guentzel can provide scoring or get the puck to Point in front of the net, this team should be fine though. The penalty kill might have gotten better, with Glendening still in the mix and the return of a shot-blocking machine in McDonagh. If you were to ask me, the Lightning’s power play might drop from first to 10th or 11th out of 32 teams, while the penalty kill could crack the top five if all goes well.
Can this Lightning team improve upon last season and get back to being a team many fear playing against or are they headed for a major rebuild in the next few years? While unknown, everyone will need to contribute both offensively and defensively and special teams must come through when called upon. If that happens, this team has a chance of making the postseason for an eighth straight season when all is said and done.
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