Lightning Rumors & News

USA Today "It’s no longer a question of whether the NHL should look at how the game is officiated. The question is: How could they not? This year’s Stanley Cup playoffs has provided overwhelming evidence that significant changes are required. What happened Wednesday, when..." May 16

Tampa Bay Times "You may have heard this before: another 30-plus-year-old defenseman up for free agency this summer who may have played his last games in a royal blue sweater. But this time it isn’t Anton Strålman we’re talking about, it’s Dan Girardi. Thirteen years..." May 15

Tampa Bay Times "He put one shot on net from the boards, and it skipped off a defender and past the goalie. Then he skipped ahead on a rush and knocked in a rebound. Then in the waning seconds, he hustled after a loose puck and shot it into the empty net. One by one, each of the..." May 13

TSN "The Bread Man is going to make cake. Artemi Panarin delivered the goods despite a circus swirling around him in Columbus, leading the Blue Jackets to the best season in franchise history. Now, after fulfilling his contract, he’ll head to free agency as the No. 1..." May 10

Tampa Bay Times "Superstar is a big word. It evokes athletes like Connor McDavid, Aaron Judge and Steph Curry. They can welcome Nikita Kucherov to the club. Kucherov shocked, awed and dazzled the NHL this season. He went from good — even great — to special as he left records and..." May 10

ESPN "The Tampa Bay Lightning were embarrassed in a first-round NHL playoff elimination this postseason, but they're still the heavy favorite to win the Stanley Cup in 2020. The SuperBook at Westgate Las Vegas on Saturday opened the Lightning at 6-1 to win it all next season, the..." May 05

Tampa Bay Times "The Lightning liked what it saw from Jan Rutta in his 18 games with Tampa Bay this season. The organization announced a new contract for Rutta on Friday. Rutta signed a one-year, one-way deal with $1.3 million. That’s down about $1 million from his previous..." May 03

Tampa Bay Times "The Lightning’s dissatisfaction runs from top to bottom. Team owner Jeff Vinik sent an email to season-ticket holders expressing his disappointment in Tampa Bay’s first round sweep. “We accept full ownership and responsibility for our result in the postseason,”..." May 02

Pro Hockey Rumors "While recency bias has hockey fans looking back on the Tampa Bay Lightning’s season as a failure due to their shocking early playoff exit, in reality the team was historically good, winning 62 games en route to 128 points and an easy President’s Trophy win. In general, most teams..." April 30

NHL.com "Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby, Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov and Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid are the three finalists for the 2018-19 Hart Memorial Trophy, awarded "to the player adjudged to be the most valuable to his team," the National Hockey..." April 28

Pro Hockey Talk "The NHL announced on Friday the three finalists for the 2019 Jack Adams Awards, which is awarded to the head coach who has “contributed the most to his team’s success.” Craig Berube of the St. Louis Blues, Jon Cooper of the Tampa Bay Lightning, and Barry Trotz..." April 26

NHL.com "Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers, Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks and Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning were named as finalists for the Ted Lindsay Award on Wednesday. The award is presented annually to the most outstanding player in the NHL as..." April 25

SB Nation "The Tampa Bay Lightning’s 2018-19 regular season was one for the history books — they tied the NHL record for wins with 62, led the NHL in power-play and penalty kill percentage, had three 40-goal scorers in Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos, and Brayden..." April 23

The Score "Victor Hedman is taking full responsibility for his role in the Tampa Bay Lightning's shocking first-round exit despite battling injury. The 28-year-old blue-liner suited up for the first two contests of his team's series against the Columbus Blue Jackets and played..." April 22

Raw Charge "Russian sports site Sport Business Online reports that the Tampa Bay Lightning are interested in Russian defenseman Artyom Sergeyev (previously transliterated as Artem Sergeev). His name might sound familiar for some fans, Sergeyev played for the Syracuse Crunch during..." April 22

NHL.com "Brent Burns of the San Jose Sharks, Mark Giordano of the Calgary Flames and Victor Hedman of the Tampa Bay Lightning are the three finalists for the 2018-19 James Norris Memorial Trophy, awarded "to the defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in..." April 21

Sportsnet "The NHL announced the three finalists for the Vezina Trophy on Saturday, awarded “to the goalkeeper adjudged to be the best at his position.” This year’s finalists are Dallas’ Ben Bishop, NY Islanders’ Robin Lehner and Tampa Bay’s Andrei..." April 20

The Score "The Colorado Avalanche eliminated the Calgary Flames from the postseason in five games Friday night with a one-sided 5-1 victory. Along with the Tampa Bay Lightning's sweep at the hands of the Columbus Blue Jackets, it marked the first time both No. 1 seeds lost in the first round in the..." April 20

NHL.com "The Tampa Bay Lightning's biggest challenge in the aftermath of a historic loss in the Stanley Cup Playoffs will be trying to reason with difficult questions that may not have answers. How do you reconcile tying an NHL record with 62 wins playing one way, and that way might also..." April 19

NHL.com "Steven Stamkos has been frustrated by every Stanley Cup Playoff series loss he's been part of during his 11 seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning. But being swept in four games by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the Eastern Conference First Round might be the most disappointing. Tampa..." April 19

Sportsnet "How do you reconcile what happened to the Tampa Bay Lightning? Well, the first thing you do is get general manager Julien BriseBois down to the Florida keys for a few days — without his cell phone. No — check that. The FIRST thing you do is have BriseBois sign..." April 18

Pro Hockey Rumors "It doesn’t come as much of a surprise that the Tampa Bay Lightning will be keeping Jon Cooper in his current role as head coach, but historic collapses can make teams resort to drastic measures. Even after the team’s unbelievable loss at the hands of the Columbus Blue..." April 18

Larry Brown Sports "The Tampa Bay Lightning were one of the best teams in NHL history during the regular season, and their hopes of capping off the year with a Stanley Cup are somehow already dead. Team captain Steven Stamkos is as disappointed about that as anyone. After the Columbus Blue Jackets..." April 17

USA Today "Yet another NHL player has been seriously hurt because Gary Bettman insists on fighting a losing game. Carolina Hurricanes rookie Andrei Svechnikov is in the concussion protocol and likely to miss Game 4 of the playoffs Thursday night, an outcome just about anybody could..." April 17

Larry Brown Sports "The Columbus Blue Jackets pulled off the unthinkable, sweeping the 62-win Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and then they gloated about it. After taking a 3-0 lead in the series, Columbus came out looking to end things on Tuesday night. They got out..." April 17

The Score "It turns out the Tampa Bay Lightning's historic regular season was all for naught. The Bolts were in first place for virtually the entire 2018-19 campaign, and cruised to the Presidents' Trophy thanks to a dominant 128-point output. Appropriately, Tampa was labeled..." April 17

Sportsnet "Columbus Blue Jackets fans are ready to break out the brooms…only it’ll have to be metaphorically and not literally. That’s because Nationwide Arena is banning spectators attending Tuesday’s Game 4 against the Tampa Bay Lightning from bringing brooms into the..." April 16

Tampa Bay Times "It’s do or die for the Lightning tonight as the team looks to avoid a series sweep against the Blue Jackets in Game 4. Favored Tampa Bay has dropped three consecutive games against Columbus, the first time the team has lost three games in a row all season long. But..." April 16

Sportsnet "Tampa Bay Lightning defencemen Victor Hedman and Anton Stralman won’t play in Game 4 against the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Lightning announced Tuesday. Forward Alex Killorn will be a game-time decision according to Lightning coach Jon..." April 16

NHL.com "Victor Hedman might not be available for the Tampa Bay Lightning's first true must-win game of the NHL season. Lightning coach Jon Cooper said Hedman is "doubtful" to play in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference First Round against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide..." April 15

USA Today "The Stanley Cup favorite Tampa Bay Lightning are on the verge of one of the worst implosions in pro sports history. The Lightning tied an NHL record with 62 regular-season wins and they may not win a single playoff game. The Columbus Blue Jackets, who finished 30 points..." April 15

CBS Sports "After an opening two games in Tampa Bay, the Lightning are heading to Columbus down 2-0 in their opening round series against the Blue Jackets. It seems safe to say that nobody really expected this. The Lightning finished the regular season with a record-tying 62 wins, securing 128..." April 14

Sportsnet "The Tampa Bay Lightning will be without two important players as they look to turn things around in their first-round series against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Defenceman Victor Hedman will miss Game 3 with an unknown injury, while leading-scorer Nikita Kucherov is serving a one-game..." April 14

NHL.com "Nikita Kucherov certainly is upset that he'll miss the Tampa Bay Lightning's Game 3 of the Eastern Conference First Round against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Sunday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SUN, FS-O, SN360, TVAS) because he's serving a one-game..." April 14

TSN "Defenceman Victor Hedman is a game-time decision for Sunday's Game 3 against the Columbus Blue Jackets, head coach Jon Cooper told reporters. Hedman did not skate with the team Saturday during practice. Cooper said the blueliner was a bit "banged up" following Game..." April 14

NHL.com "The Tampa Bay Lightning will not have suspended forward Nikita Kucherov in the lineup for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference First Round against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Sunday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN360, TVAS, FS-O, SUN). Already trailing the best-of-7 series, the..." April 14

Tampa Bay Times "The Lightning is paying for Kucherov’s frustration. Not only does Tampa Bay face its biggest turnaround in franchise history, it will do it without its biggest star. Nikita Kucherov has been suspended for one game for boarding Markus Nutivaara on Friday. It was a moment in which..." April 13

Sportsnet "Hear that? That’s the sound of alarm bells going off in Tampa Bay. Down 2-0 in their first-round series against the Columbus Blue Jackets after Friday’s 5-1 loss, the powerhouse Lightning are looking like mere mortals. It’s a look we’re not used to seeing with..." April 13

Sportsnet "Tampa Bay Lightning star Nikita Kucherov will have a hearing Saturday for boarding Columbus Blue Jackets defender Markus Nutivaara during Game 2 of the clubs’ first-round series. The incident in question occurred late in the third period, with Columbus playing out the final few..." April 13

Pro Hockey Talk "When Victor Hedman missed the final four games of the regular season, there was some doubt as to whether or not he’d be ready for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. In the end, he ended up being available on Wednesday but it was a rough introduction to the postseason for the..." April 12

The Score ""So, you’re telling me there’s a chance!? Yeah!!" Don't be surprised if that classic "Dumb and Dumber" soundbite becomes the Columbus Blue Jackets' rallying cry following their dramatic, come-from-behind 4-3 victory in Game 1 against..." April 11

The Score "The Tampa Bay Lightning will have blue-liner Victor Hedman in the lineup for Game 1 versus the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday night, head coach Jon Cooper confirmed to The Athletic's Joe Smith. Hedman missed Tampa Bay's final four games..." April 09

The Hockey Writers "For any professional sports league, growth is crucial. The NHL has shown that they know this by adding the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017-18 and a new team in Seattle for the 2021-22 season. For the next expansion, the NHL needs to look bigger than North America. They need to look to..." April 08

Raw Charge "If I had a Hart Trophy ballot and had to cast it today, my top two picks would be Mark Stone and Sidney Crosby. I might consider a third place vote for Nikita Kucherov as a nod to his historical scoring accomplishment, but would probably go with Aleksander Barkov..." April 08

NHL.com "Nikita Kucherov will win the Art Ross Trophy, awarded to the leading scorer in the NHL. The Tampa Bay Lightning forward, who had a goal and an assist in a 6-3 season-ending win against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Saturday, finished with 128 points (41 goals, 87 assists) in 82..." April 06

The Score "Nikita Kucherov can now lay claim to the most productive campaign by a player from his homeland. The Tampa Bay Lightning superstar recorded an empty-net helper to notch his 128th point of the season in Saturday's victory over the Boston Bruins, eclipsing Alexander Mogilny's..." April 06

NHL.com "The Tampa Bay Lightning tied the NHL record for wins in a season with a 6-3 win against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Saturday. The Lightning's 62nd victory in the final game of the regular season matched the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings, who went 62-13 with seven ties. The..." April 06

CBS Sports "The Lightning's historic season is now starting to include players hitting individual milestones. Nikita Kucherov picked up his 126th point on Thursday against the Maple Leafs when he scored his 40th goal of the season. The point total is the highest in the salary cap era (2005..." April 06

Sportsnet "In these parts, most of the criticism lobbied at the National Hockey League’s current playoff format revolves around the hockey centre of the universe (*wink*) and a Toronto Maple Leafs-Boston Bruins rematch that we’ve felt comfortable writing down in ink three months before the..." April 04

Pro Hockey Talk "The NHL’s current playoff format is reportedly sticking around, at least for one more season. According to a report from Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, the NHL and NHLPA have agreed to extend the format, as well as the current divisional alignment, for one more year. Even..." April 03