Lightning Rumors & News

NHL.com "Brayden Point remains a restricted free agent after completing his three-year, entry-level contract last season. Anthony Cirelli, who considers Point one of his closest friends on the Tampa Bay Lightning, is confident Point and the Lightning will be able to reach an..." July 20

Newark Star-Ledger "The tool you never knew you needed has arrived. Thanks to CJ Turtoro, a hockey analytics writer and contributor for All about the Jersey, you can now find every NHL player’s best Pokemon comparable with a new generator, which takes stats from hockey..." July 18

Raw Charge "Yesterday the Tampa Bay Lightning re-signed defenseman Dominik Masin to a one-year contract extension. The contract details are not official, but Masin will likely around the league minimum of $700,000 with a much lower salary in the AHL. With Masin signed, the only two RFA..." July 18

Raw Charge "Steven Stamkos is the best shooter of the salary cap era. There. I said it. I know right away some Washington Capitals fans will be screaming about Alex Ovechkin. And Toronto Maple Leafs fans screaming about Auston Matthews. And Winnipeg Jets fans screaming about Patrick Laine. I hear..." July 17

NHL.com "The Tampa Bay Lightning have re-signed defenseman Ben Thomas to one-year, two-way contract, vice president and general manager Julien BriseBois announced today. Thomas, 23, played in 67 games with the Syracuse Crunch last season, recording two goals and 16 points to go along with 24..." July 16

ESPN "While hundreds of free agents have signed with NHL teams this summer (at the cost of hundreds of millions of dollars in total), some notable names remain on the market. Will they re-sign with their 2018-19 clubs, or move on to new opportunities? Our panel debates the 2019-20 destinations for..." July 15

The Score "Most marquee names in 2019 unrestricted free agency are off the board, so the majority of offseason excitement is behind us, aside from potential trades, offer sheets, and big-ticket RFA signings. Without an idea of when said transactions may come, the hockey world doesn't have..." July 12

TSN "The National Hockey League Players Association announced the dates for salary arbitration on Tuesday, beginning with Stanley Cup-winning goaltender Jordan Binnington scheduled for July 20. Binnington is among 40 players who filed for salary arbitration last week. Teams have..." July 09

NHL.com "With free agency underway, NHL.com takes a closer look at the top remaining restricted free agents. A restricted free agent can receive an offer sheet contract from another team, which forward Sebastian Aho did from the Montreal Canadiens on July 1. His team can match the contract..." July 08

Raw Charge "The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed forward Gemel Smith to a one-year, two-way contract. The contract will pay him $700,000 if he is in the NHL and $250,000 in the minors with a guaranteed salary of at least $325,000. Smith spent last season with the Dallas..." July 08

Raw Charge "The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed restricted free agent forward Cedric Paquette to a two-year contract extension. The deal will carry a cap hit of $1.65 million. Paquette had his first fully healthy NHL season last year playing in 80 games and all four playoff games. He missed one game due to..." July 06

Pro Hockey Talk "Some of the NHL’s best, young players are available. Technically. Mitch Marner, Brayden Point and Jacob Trouba are just a few of the restricted free agents in a bumper crop. Every team in the league would like to add any of those players..." July 04

Raw Charge "According to multiple reports, the Tampa Bay Lightning have re-signed forward Danick Martel to a two-way contract for the 2019-2020 season. Martel was one of seven restricted free agents still needing contracts. With him signed, Adam Erne, Cedric..." July 04

The Score "The initial wave of the 2019 free agency period has come and gone, but there are still some good players available. Below, we pick out destinations for five of the biggest names left. Jake Gardiner, D, 28 2018-19 cap hit: $4.05 million Top..." July 03

The Score "The opening day of NHL free agency didn't disappoint, with several clubs making franchise-altering moves that might shift the league's balance of power. Some of Monday's deals were undoubtedly shrewd, but others left something to be desired. Here's who won..." July 02

Pro Hockey Rumors "While the Lightning don’t have an obvious vacancy to fill between the pipes, they appear to be the front-runner to sign goaltender Curtis McElhinney, reports Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic (Twitter link).  A deal is not believed to be finalized just yet. The..." July 01

Raw Charge "The Tampa Bay Lightning entered Monday’s free agency period with a glaring need. Other than Andrei Vasilevskiy and Louis Domingue, there are no goaltenders in the organization. According to The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun they may be close to taking the first step to solving that..." July 01

NHL.com "The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed goaltenders Scott Wedgewood and Spencer Martin, as well as forward Chris Mueller, to one-year, two-way contracts, vice president and general manager Julien BriseBois announced today. Wedgewood, 26, appeared in 48 games with the Rochester Americans..." July 01

NHL.com "The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed free agent defenseman Luke Witkowski to a two-year, two-way contract, vice president and general manager Julien BriseBois announced today. Witkowski, 29, skated in 34 games with the Detroit Red Wings last season, collecting two assists and 23..." July 01

Pro Hockey Rumors "The Tampa Bay Lightning emerged this morning as the surprise favorite to land veteran backup goalie Curtis McElhinney and a deal is now done. The team has announced a two-year contract with a $1.3MM AAV for the 35-year-old, strengthening their depth behind young starter Andrei..." July 01

Yardbarker "The Panthers are set to make a splash on the back end.  Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that they are set to sign defenseman Anton Stralman to a three-year, $16.5M contract. The 32-year-old missed 29 games due to injuries last season, but it..." July 01

Last Word On Hockey "With a career that looked that it would end in the AHL, Luke Schenn has been able to prolong it just a bit longer. According to reports, the Tampa Bay Lightning will sign Schenn to a one-year deal worth $700,000. TSN’s Frank Seravelli was first with the news. Schenn..." July 01

Pro Hockey Rumors "The end of June is finally here, meaning July and the start of NHL free agency is right around the corner. On Monday at 11am CDT, a huge number of players will become unrestricted free agents allowed to negotiate and sign a contract with any team in the league. Teams will be allowed to offer..." June 30

NHL.com "Brayden Point and the Tampa Bay Lightning have been in contact regarding a new contract, and general manager Julien BriseBois is confident that a deal will get done some time this offseason. The 23-year-old forward can become a restricted free agent July 1. "I met with..." June 29

NHL.com "Joe Pavelski visited the Dallas Stars and Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday, The Athletic reported. Pavelski, a 34-year-old forward who is San Jose Sharks captain, can become an unrestricted free agent July 1. Players have been able to meet with other teams since..." June 28

Raw Charge "The rumors that the Lightning were interested in Joe Pavelski began with a report from Pierre LeBrun earlier this week. Elliotte Friedman confirmed that report yesterday in 31 Thoughts. And then last night, a fan reported seeing Pavelski and General Manager Julien BriseBois at a dinner..." June 28

Raw Charge "It’s been roughly 90 hours since the Tampa Bay Lightning used their first round pick to take Nolan Foote. Following Philip Tomasino, Connor McMichael, and Jakob Pelletier, Nolan Foote heard his name called as the 27th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Sitting next to brother Cal..." June 25

NBC Sports Bay Area "The Sharks' efforts to keep all of their free agents got harder this weekend when the NHL set next season's salary cap at $81.5 million, giving the team just under $15 million in salary-cap space with Joe Pavelski and Timo Meier, among others, set to hit unrestricted or..." June 24

Sportsnet "Did John Tavares and his $77-million sweepstakes open his UFA followers’ eyes for what might be possible if you peek beyond the curtain? The summer of 2019 will deliver no shortage of star power, as a two-time Vezina winner, a finalist for three major 2018-19 trophies,..." June 24

WFLA "TSN's Bob McKenzie is reporting J.T. Miller has been traded to the Vancouver Canucks.  In exchange, the Lightning will receive draft picks in exchange for Miller. However, the exact compensation has yet to be announced.  " June 22

Tampa Bay Times "Family ties are staying with Tampa Bay as the Lightning selected Nolan Foote as its 27th pick Friday night in the first round of the 2019 NHL Draft. Foote, a left winger from Canada, played in 66 games this season, notching 63 points on the year. Foote’s father Adam..." June 21

Sportsnet "The NHL Draft is coming up fast and the trade rumours and speculation are heating up. Here are some of the bigger questions to consider before the fireworks begin: WHICH PLAYER WILL BE CHOSEN FIRST OVERALL? Jack Hughes has long been the projected No. 1 in this..." June 21

The Score "NHL commissioner Gary Bettman confirmed a series of rule changes for the 2019-20 season. The alterations were approved by the league's Board of Governors, general managers, and competition committee. The most prominent changes pertain to video reviews, which underwent..." June 21

Tampa Bay Times "The Lightning’s veteran forward Ryan Callahan was placed on the long-term injury reserve with a degenerative disc disease, announced Thursday evening by the Lightning’s general manager Julien BriseBois. The 34-year-old winger faced multiple injuries throughout this season..." June 20

USA Today "While it’s indisputable that NHL teams are more likely to find a superstar in the first few picks of the draft than they are later on, USA TODAY Sports research shows that quality picks can be found deep into the first round. In many cases, we found multiple desirable..." June 20

Yahoo! Sports "For his brilliant offensive season, Tampa Bay Lightning dynamo Nikita Kucherov has been named the Hart Trophy winner and the NHL’s most valuable player. With 128 points, or the most in a single season over the last 23 years, Kucherov won the NHL’s scoring race by 12 points..." June 20

NHL.com "While holding a miniature version of the Vezina Trophy he had just won for the first time, Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy couldn't help thinking about the trophy he's yet to win. "My main goal is still the Stanley Cup," Vasilevskiy said at..." June 20

Larry Brown Sports "The early reviews on Kenan Thompson were that he was mostly entertaining as the host of the NHL Awards in Las Vegas on Wednesday night. The Tampa Bay Lightning just might disagree. Thompson cracked a joke at the Lightning’s expense over Tampa Bay’s strong regular season..." June 20

Raw Charge "Andrei Vasilevskiy is the 2018-19 winner of the Vezina Trophy as the best goaltender in the NHL. This is Vasilevskiy’s first Vezina Trophy and the second time as a finalist after finishing 3rd place in the voting last season. He is also the first Tampa Bay..." June 20

NHL.com "The Tampa Bay Lightning have re-signed forward Daniel Walcott to a one-year, two-way contract, vice president and general manager Julien BriseBois announced today. Walcott, 25, skated in five games for the Syracuse Crunch during the 2018-19 season, posting 10 penalty minutes. He..." June 19

Sportsnet "I have a theory. And, after the Rangers/Winnipeg trade involving Jacob Trouba, I’ve decided to lay it out. That deal was a surprise because the Jets were asking for more, and, on paper, Trouba is worth a greater return. So, why didn’t it happen? I think..." June 18

The Score "The salary cap for the 2019-20 NHL season could come in below the $83-million upper limit that was initially estimated. The NHL and NHLPA are meeting Tuesday, and many teams reportedly told TSN's Bob McKenzie that they're concerned about the current forecast for the..." June 18

Raw Charge "The Tampa Bay Lightning have announced the re-signing of defenseman Braydon Coburn. The contract is for two years with a cap hit of $1.7 million. Originally a first round pick in 2003 by the Atlanta Thrashers, the 34 year-old Coburn joined the Lightning at the 2015 trade deadline from..." June 18

USA Today "The NHL draft will be held Friday night and Saturday in Vancouver. Here's a look at some of the worst draft decisions NHL teams have made through the years: In 1993, the Ottawa Senators drafted Quebec Major Junior Hockey League star Alexandre Daigle with the No. 1..." June 17

Raw Charge "The Tampa Bay Lightning have traded goaltender Connor Ingram to the Nashville Predatorsfor a 2021 seventh round pick. The news has not been confirmed by either team but is posted on the NHL.com trade tracker, which lists confirmed transactions. Ingram was..." June 14

Pro Hockey Talk "We’re just hours removed from the St. Louis Blues’ first Stanley Cup in franchise history and we already have a favorite for next year’s champions. The early odds through the world’s largest Las Vegas sports book, Westgate Sportsbook, has the Tampa Bay..." June 13

The Score "The player Perhaps no player in this stacked group has a better case to earn top dollar than Tampa Bay Lightning pivot Brayden Point does. The 2014 third-round draft gem exploded this past campaign with career highs across the board and was an indispensable piece in the Bolts'..." June 12

The Hockey News "The Stanley Cup final continues, but the 2019 UFA class is far too interesting to hide from the headlines for long. And with all due respect to the top UFA forward, Artemi Panarin, this is Erik Karlsson’s year. Not only is he the best offensive defenseman of the past two..." June 05

ESPN "Putting Gary Bettman in charge of hockey labor peace is like putting a cat in charge of rodent safety. There are just some things that are inherently, instinctually part of an individual's comportment, and there's nothing they can do to suppress the urges. For Bettman,..." May 30

NHL.com "Anthony Cirelli can't point to a specific instance when he felt right at home in the NHL with the Tampa Bay Lightning. But the forward, who played all 82 regular-season games and four Stanley Cup Playoff games as a rookie this season, certainly feels it now. "I..." May 26