Lightning Rumors & News

Bleacher Report "With NHL preseason play well underway, the 2022-23 regular season is fast approaching. It begins in Europe when the Nashville Predators and San Jose Sharks stage two games in Prague on Oct. 7 and 8. The remainder of the schedule opens Oct. 11. Media trade gossip is growing..." October 01

The Hockey Writers "Entering the NHL as a rookie in 2020-21 as a member of the Dallas Stars, Jason Robertson didn’t generate a lot of hype early on. Having been passed through the entire first round of the 2017 Draft, it didn’t seem as though anyone viewed him as a player with the potential..." October 01

ESPN "In hockey, it's hard to go from the outhouse to the penthouse, because playoff contenders refuse to move out. Of the 16 teams that made the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs, 12 of them were in the midst of multiyear postseason appearance streaks. If you include the COVID-19 bubble..." October 01

The Athletic "In 2021-22, Buffalo Sabres forward Tage Thompson increased his career high in goals from eight to 38 and his career high in points from 14 to 68. St. Louis Blues center Robert Thomas scored at better than a point-per-game pace, with 77 points in 72 games..." October 01

The Score "It's always satisfying to see someone's hard work pay off. The guys on this list are approaching significant markers that are seasons upon seasons in the making. Most players act nonchalant and indifferent when asked about individual achievements, but we still think their..." September 29

Bleacher Report "Time to see if our B/R NHL Staff has true powers of prognostication. After predicting the winners of every division for the upcoming season, we're back at it. In this roundtable, our experts go in deep and give us their predictions for the 2022-23 playoff..." September 29

ESPN "Expansion of the Stanley Cup playoffs is my hill to die on. My last breaths will be spent mouthing the words "play ... in ... round." I've explained my philosophy and procedures before in this column, but to reiterate: There are now 32 teams in the NHL. In the pre-Gary..." September 29

Bleacher Report "The phrase “hot take,” represents a few things these days. To me, it’s still best defined as something that could happen, but isn’t particularly likely to happen. For reference, if you were to predict any team that landed in the 2021-22 regular season top five..." September 28

The Score "Scoring was up across the NHL last season, as eight players broke the 100-point barrier for the first time since 1995-96. From an entertainment standpoint, let's hope the offensive surge wasn't an outlier and that we get more of the same from the league's biggest stars starting in..." September 28

Marker Zone "NHL Insider Chris Johnston announced today that the 2023 Trade Deadline will be on Friday, March 3 at 3:00pm eastern. The league switching the weekday from Monday to Friday is the only real noteworthy change; the past four deadlines have fallen on a Monday. " September 28

CBS Sports "The game of hockey, maybe more than any other, is subject to a lot of random variation. The puck bounces a certain player's way, and he has a career year. A player gets poor puck luck, and people are wondering what happened to him. The bad news for players who benefit from that..." September 28

The Score "The NHL is preparing for a significant salary cap increase over the next three seasons, sources told Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman and Rory Boylen. Teams reportedly received projections of the approximate salary cap through 2025-26. These values aren't guarantees but..." September 27

The Score "Defending against the Connor McDavids, Auston Matthews, and Nathan MacKinnons of the world isn't easy, but hey, someone has to do it. It probably gets a little easier if you have one of these six pairs on your blue line, though. From already established duos to new..." September 26

Bleacher Report "On Sept. 16, The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun reported the NHL's annual trade deadline will be held on March 3. In the weeks leading up to that date, playoff-bound teams will attempt to boost their rosters while non-contenders will attempt to move unrestricted free agents they..." September 24

The Athletic "Training camps are open, and rosters for the 2022-23 season are being determined around the NHL. But we all know the rosters that open the regular season won’t be the same as the ones that head into the playoffs in April. Whether it’s Patrick Kane, John..." September 24

The Score "The NHL produced no shortage of action this past offseason. While there are many angles to break down and events to analyze, we're going to focus on the moves that left us asking one simple question: "Why?"   Flyers confuse..." September 24

Daily Faceoff "I recently listed my top five candidates for the Calder Trophy as well as some honorable mentions. Now, we’re going to take a closer look at one prospect to watch from each of the 32 NHL clubs, focusing on players who could make an impact in the NHL this coming..." September 24

ESPN "Everything you're about to read is going to happen in the NHL this season. OK, most of it will. Some of it? At the very least, the thing about the Leafs. Probably. In my first column of the 2022-23 NHL season, I've made 32 bold predictions, one for each NHL team...." September 23

The Score "Nathan MacKinnon had just settled into his chair on the concourse at Lifeguard Arena in Henderson, Nevada, when someone asked if he, as per tradition, spent the offseason training alongside Sidney Crosby. "Yeah, he worked out with me a little bit," MacKinnon said, fresh off..." September 23

Bleacher Report "Being a defenseman in the current NHL means being able to drive the offense as much as it means to stop the opposing team. Gone are the days where being a super-sized defender that’s as mobile as a cruise liner and can block out the sun. If a defenseman is built like that these days,..." September 23

The Athletic "It has been nearly 40 years since a hockey season arrived without Barry Trotz coaching somewhere. Think about that. The 60-year-old started his coaching career in 1984 and never looked back. Until now. This offseason, Trotz decided, the time had finally come for a..." September 23

Daily Faceoff "LAST SEASON The Lightning came into the 2021-22 season with sky high expectations thanks to two straight Stanley Cups. There was some concern of a step back because they lost all three pieces of their coveted third line of Blake Coleman, Yanni Gourde, and..." September 23

Bleacher Report "All 32 NHL teams will try to start fast when the puck drops in October on the 2022-23 regular season. A winning record within the opening weeks can set the right tone for the remainder of the season. Those early points could also make the difference in the race for a playoff berth down the..." September 22

Bleacher Report "NHL training camps for the 2022-23 season open for the 32 teams on Sept. 21 and 22. Their respective general managers and coaches will be evaluating their rosters looking for areas of strength and weakness as they prepare for the start of the regular season in..." September 21

Daily Faceoff "Ranking the NHL’s goalie tandems is tricky. It’s about the overall strength of the tandem, sizing up that team’s opportunity to win every night, no matter who is in the crease those 20 or 30 other nights per season while the starter rests. For this exercise, we..." September 21

The Athletic "On Tuesday, we dusted off the offseason bizarro-meter and gave it a good workout going through the Western Conference. We looked at some big swings in Calgary, an international drama involving Minnesota, a deposed captain in Winnipeg, and lots more. It got weird, which is kind of..." September 21

ESPN "It doesn't seem that long ago that the Colorado Avalanche won the Stanley Cup, and it's been even more recent that Juraj Slafkovsky was drafted first overall and a wild offseason brought Johnny Gaudreau to the Columbus Blue Jackets, Claude Giroux to the Ottawa Senators, and Matthew..." September 21

Bleacher Report "If Zdeno Chára, Keith Yandle and P.K. Subban all retiring Tuesday morning sent you into an existential crisis, you’re not alone. The three defensemen, each leaving behind a unique legacy, logged 53 seasons and 3,977 total NHL games combined. That's a lot of memories..." September 21

ESPN "Colorado Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon signed the richest contract for the NHL salary cap era on Tuesday, agreeing to an eight-year contract extension worth $100.8 million. That's an average annual value of $12.6 million for the 27-year-old center, higher than..." September 20

The Athletic "NHL training camps officially opened this past weekend, with rookie tournaments taking place across the NHL landscape. Today we discuss who stood out at three of the main events: the tournament in Buffalo featuring Boston, Montreal, New Jersey, Ottawa and Pittsburgh; the..." September 20

Bleacher Report "The first proper NHL offseason in years is wrapping up, and the 2022-23 season is finally around the corner. It’s hard to beat the mood this time of year, and the possibilities seem endless as all your favorite players trickle back into town and new faces emerge. Could..." September 20

The Athletic "It has been a seismic 12 months in the NHL coaching fraternity. Since the start of the 2021-22 season, there have been coaching changes for the Canucks, Canadiens, Oilers, Bruins, Golden..." September 20

TSN "As we turn our attention to the open of training camps across the National Hockey League, front offices have begun dissecting their prospective lineups. Which players will make the cut? Which players need more time? And which players may offer a big offensive surprise to the upside entering the..." September 19

The Hockey Writers "Some players sign longer deals and then break out in a big way while others sign contracts they can’t live up to. Still, others take bridge deals in hopes of earning a big pay raise by the end of their contracts. That is who we are focusing on here. Fifteen stars in the NHL who are..." September 17

Sportsnet "Hockey Canada has referred a third sexual assault allegation to an independent third party that will decide if it will be investigated. The national federation confirmed the news Thursday to Sportsnet. "Hockey Canada was informed of a potential situation that we took..." September 16

ESPN "The Montreal Canadiens' jersey has long been considered a sacred garment by hockey fans. It's the symbol of the NHL's most storied franchise. It even inspired a children's book called, appropriately, "The Hockey Sweater." But when the Canadiens..." September 16

ESPN "The NHL is considering a play-in tournament for the 2024 World Cup of Hockey that would be held directly before the February event. "For 2024, we may do a mini-qualifier as part of the tournament," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told ESPN on Thursday during the Player..." September 16

Bleacher Report "The two words that excite NHL fans in September: training camp. We're inching closer to teams reporting for camp starting next week as the latest odyssey for the Stanley Cup will begin in earnest. Can the Colorado Avalanche repeat as Cup winners? Will Johnny Gaudreau be..." September 15

Bleacher Report "With NHL training camps opening later this month, hockey fans are starting to focus on their favorite team's chances for improvement in the coming season. Most of the attention will be on established superstars in their prime such as the Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid and the..." September 14

The Athletic "As NHL training camps prepare to open for the 2022-23 season, it is time to highlight the most interesting prospect to follow for each NHL team. This list is not meant to simply outline every team’s top prospect, but instead identify the player whose progress will be..." September 14

Bleacher Report "With NHL training camps opening next week and the 2022-23 season starting on Oct. 13, most teams have used up their salary-cap space signing free agents. Many of the significant signings took place in late June and early July when clubs had the cap room to invest in re-signing key..." September 13

Daily Faceoff "Jesper Wallstedt, Minnesota Wild Wallstedt made history in 2021 as the first Swedish goaltender to be selected in the first round of the NHL Draft. And for good reason. The 19-year old from Vasteras had an outstanding junior career, then followed it up with a..." September 13

The Athletic "NHL training camps open next week, the preseason kicks off Sept. 24 and regular-season games are coming Oct. 7. After a long summer, the wait for the 2022-23 season is almost over. Has your team addressed all it needed to during the offseason? What concerns remain? To find..." September 13

Sportsnet "Training camp is calling. The majority of NHLers have already returned to their hockey homes. And yet? Eight restricted free agents are still twisting in the wind. The last of the unsigned have plenty in common. None have celebrated their..." September 12

Daily Faceoff "The Calder Trophy needs no introduction, but just to do our diligence: it’s a hotly debated annual NHL award handed out at the end of the season to the player who is the most proficient in his first year of competition in the NHL. The trophy’s name honors the NHL’s first..." September 10

Bleacher Report "Expectations are high for every NHL club entering a new season. Playoff contenders aspire to win the Stanley Cup. Rebuilding teams look for signs of real improvement and the anticipation of reaching the postseason. Clubs that struggled the previous season hope for a bounce-back..." September 09

Pro Hockey Rumors "And then there were ten. After Cayden Primeau inked his deal yesterday, there are now ten restricted free agents who have not yet signed contracts for next season. These players must be signed by December 1, or they will not be eligible to play in the NHL at all. Jason..." September 09

The Hockey Writers "The Montreal Canadiens will start the season with a glaring hole on the right-side defence. Right now, they have only three NHL calibre players on the right: David Savard, Chris Wideman and Justin Barron. Barron is also a rookie with only seven NHL games under his belt. The Habs are in a..." September 09

The Athletic "For anyone working in or around the sphere of professional hockey, the schedule isn’t much different than that of a student or teacher. Once the calendar clicks past Labor Day, it’s time to get back to work. NHL players who haven’t made their way to..." September 09

The Athletic "It’s that time of the year again. With another hockey season around the corner (they really have a way of creeping up on us, don’t they?), my annual look at the incoming rookie class returns for a fifth straight year at The Athletic. However, we’re unsure for a..." September 08