en-us SportSpyder - The Latest Tampa Bay Lightning News https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/news USA and Sweden capped off the final day of game action with convincing victories. Sat, 01 Aug 2026 22:56:25 GMT Steven Ellis https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/57434558 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/57434558 false false The Lightning's decision to sign this former Blackhawks forward has the potential to be a very good move. Sat, 01 Aug 2026 20:47:49 GMT Michael DeRosa https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/57433583 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/57433583 false false One of the habits I carried with me from more than 40 years as a university professor is that I still tend to think in research questions. When something interesting… Sat, 01 Aug 2026 15:01:40 GMT The Old Prof https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/57430666 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/57430666 false false It’s one hundred degrees in the shade. The water in the Gulf is only slightly cooler than a nice hot cup of tea. The Rays are fighting for a pennant. That can only mean one thing – it’s time to rank some prospects! That’s right, our annual ranking of the youngsters in the Tampa Bay Lightning organization is upon us. As always, you, the readers have a say in who the top prospects will be. In fact, you have the only say. Much like last summer, you alone will determine the final rankings. As you might have noticed, this year’s final list will only have twenty names on it. That’s five fewer prospects than in previous summers. There are a couple of reasons for that. The biggest reason is the fact that once we get outside of the top fifteen or so, it’s pretty much a crapshoot in terms of rankings. Many of these prospects have similar profiles and similar performances up to this point. Reason number two? It’s five less profiles that we have to write up. Yes, it might seem like a lazy excuse, but there are only so many ways we can write “high IQ, 200-foot player who might top out as a middle-six AHL forward”. Granted, there will still be a few players that applies to on this final list, but history shows us that most players ranked 21-25 have brief NHL careers. Yes, there is the occasional Erik Cernak (ranked ) or Yanni Gourde (), but for the most part those spots are taken up by the and of the hockey world. We did debate also dropping the age limit to Under 24, a cut-off point other prospecting sites tend to use as well, but quite frankly, we didn’t know if we’d get to twenty prospects at that point. So, we stuck with the player having to be 24 or younger as of October 1, 2026. Players can still change their stars at 24, and it gives us a nice pool of 39 players. The group of players to rank, along with their projected 2026-27 team is below. Player Birthdate 2026-27 Team League 2007 Guelph Storm OHL 2007 Prince George Cougers WHL 2006 KalPa Liiga 2006 Loko Yaroslavl MHL 2006 Syracuse Crunch AHL 2005 Tappara (?) Liiga 2005 University of MN (Duluth) NCAA 2005 Miami University (OH) NCAA 2003 Syracuse Crunch AHL 2003 Orlando/Syracuse ECHL/AHL 2002 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 2002 Syracuse Crunch AHL 2002 Syracuse Crunch AHL 2008 Halifax Mooseheads QMJHL 2007 Vaxjo Lakers SHL 2005 Northeastern University NCAA 2004 Syracuse Crunch AHL 2003 Syracuse Crunch AHL 2003 Boston University NCAA 2003 Colorado College NCAA 2003 Syracuse Crunch AHL 2008 Sioux Falls Stampede USHL 2005 University of Denver NCAA 2005 University of Denver NCAA 2005 Penn State University NCAA 2005 Syracuse Crunch AHL 2004 Syracuse/Tampa Bay AHL/NHL 2003 Orlando/Syracuse ECHL/AHL 2007 Guelph Storm OHL 2007 Providence College NCAA 2006 Quinnipiac University NCAA 2006 Moncton Wildcats QMJHL 2005 Syracuse Crunch AHL 2004 Northern Michigan Univ. NCAA 2004 Orlando/Syracuse ECHL/AHL 2001 Syracuse Crunch AHL 2007 Saginaw Spirit OHL 2006 University of North Dakota NCAA 2004 Orlando/Syracuse ECH/AHL Like last season, we will be using Tally to rank the players. You will be able to drag and drop the players in order (with 1 being the highest-ranked on your list). We do ask that you rank at least 20 players and that you only vote once. The site is locked by IP address, so if there are multiple people in your household that want to vote, you may have to visit a Starbucks or two. That being said, please share this with friends and family. We had 56 submissions last year, and would love to see that number grow. Voting will be open until August 10th, so there will be time to do some research on some of the newer prospects. If we set this up correctly, the hyperlinks on the player’s name in the table should take you to their Elite Prospects page. You can also click on to see last year’s countdown. There are many ways to look at the rankings. Some base it on the players with the highest potential. Others factor in which players are closest to NHL ready while some throw darts at the list. We are not here to tell you how to rank the players. Choose whatever is the best method for you and roll with it. If all goes to plan, we will start posting the results on August 24, which should run us right up to the beginning of training camp in September (unlike the 2025 list which didn’t end until January of 2026). Will Connor Geekie make it three in a row or will he be usurped by another prospect? How far up the list will Benjamin Rautianen (ranked 20th last year) rocket up the list? You are the ones who will decide, so go forth and rank, rank, rank! So please click on and get at it! Sat, 01 Aug 2026 13:33:05 GMT Justin G. https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/57429964 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/57429964 false false Brandon Hagel powers the Tampa Bay Lightning with elite two-way play—has the NHL finally underestimated him for the last time? Nick Morgan breaks down Hagel’... Fri, 31 Jul 2026 19:00:00 GMT Locked On Lightning https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/57423088 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/57423088 false false The Hockey News has released its archive to all THN subscribers: 77 years of history, stories, and features. Fri, 31 Jul 2026 16:21:28 GMT William Espy https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/57421080 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/57421080 false false Surprisingly, there have been a number of players to wear the number 62 for the Tampa Bay Lightning over the years. Fri, 31 Jul 2026 16:21:23 GMT William Espy https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/57421077 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/57421077 false false Tampa Bay Lightning fans will have the opportunity to secure their seats for the 2026-27 season when single-game tickets go on sale Friday, August 14 at 10 a.m. Fri, 31 Jul 2026 15:39:19 GMT Diandra Loux https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/57420518 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/57420518 false false While much of the Lightning’s offseason centered around reshaping their forward group, one of their more surprising moves came in net when Tampa Bay acquired Dennis Hildeby from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Nick Paul. Fri, 31 Jul 2026 14:59:15 GMT Diandra Loux https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/57420081 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/57420081 false false On Thursday, the International Ice Hockey Federation announced that Russia's ban from competition will continue through 2027, meaning that Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov and goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy's international careers will continue to be on hold for the time being. Fri, 31 Jul 2026 04:51:07 GMT William Espy https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/57416539 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/57416539 false false Over the years, only a pair of players have ever worn the number 63 for the Tampa Bay Lightning and both only wore it for a short period of time. Fri, 31 Jul 2026 02:16:19 GMT William Espy https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/57415871 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/57415871 false false The Hockey News has released its archive to all THN subscribers: 77 years of history, stories, and features. Fri, 31 Jul 2026 02:16:14 GMT William Espy https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/57415870 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/57415870 false false Poor Kirill Kaprizov. Well, not really. He is the exact opposite of poor. However, the Minnesota Wild forward never truly got to enjoy his reign as the top paid player in the NHL. Despite garnering headline after headline last summer with his then record-setting extension that topped out at $17 million per season, he never actually skated a single game as the highest-paid player in the league. Since then he’s seen Leo Carlsson and now Macklin Celebrini surpass him in the salary game. Before the puck drops on the 2026-27 season, will Kaprizov fall even further down the list? There is a pattern to the off-season. As the Stanley Cup winners revel in drunken celebration the general managers start reworking their rosters at the draft. They do it by selecting the next franchise cornerstone (Gavin McKenna) or slinging some trades around (Mason MacTavish, Sebastian Cossa, Pavel Dorofeyev). Then comes the unbridled gluttony that is unrestricted free agency. Once the fervor over the top available players, there are a few minor signings, but the focus then shifts to the restricted free agents. This summer had the added drama of a couple of offer sheets (both matched) and some months-long negotiations that resulted in a stop-gap measure (Jason Robertson). There were arbitration hearings scheduled and then cancelled as agreements were made in all fifteen cases that were filed. Sprinkled among those were extensions for some of the top-tier players who had finished up their entry-level deals. Connor Bedard agreed to what now seems to be a reasonable $15 million a season contract and most recently Celebrini ascended to new contract heights with his record-setting, five-season, $18.5 million average annual value deal with the Sharks that kicks in for the 2027-28 season. For the most part the big name RFAs are now under contract. With all due respect to Cutter Gauthier, Adam Fantilli, and Alexander Nikishin, their new contracts aren’t going to break any records. They will just have to settle for being multi-millionaires at relatively young ages. So what comes next? Well, much like thunder follows lightning, the focus shifts to the extension-eligible players. Those players entering the final season of their current contracts who, since July 1, have been able to sign new deals. Tampa Bay Lightning fans are familiar with the situation as they wait patiently for any type of news about Nikita Kucherov. They aren’t the only fan bases who use every day that goes by without an announcement as “proof” that things will end badly. Further west, in Colorado and Minnesota, there are fans not-so-patiently waiting for reports to emerge about Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes respectively. Much like Kucherov, the two defensemen are set to cash in on lucrative deals. It isn’t out of the realm of possibility that at least one of them will set a record. Makar probably stands the best chance to set, at the very least, a new high for defensemen. Right now, Erik Karlsson holds the title at $11.5 million per season, but he will be dethroned by Bowen Byram, whose $12.5 million AAV extension (the same money Connor McDavid makes) begins in 2027-28. Makar will undoubtably top both players as he has the benefit of still being relatively young (27) and really, really good. The Avalanche will do everything they can to keep him in the Mile High City, and that might mean signing him to a deal that lurks near the Celebrini/Kaprizov/Carlsson level. Despite the level of play around him, losing Makar would pretty much erase Colorado’s chances of winning another Stanley Cup any time soon. For the Wild, things aren’t quite so engrained. Hughes has been there less than a season, and while he’s warmed to the idea of staying in the frozen tundra that is Minnesota, there are other factors, such as playing with his brothers Jack and Luke, that might prevent him from signing a long-term deal, or any type of contract that keeps him in the green and white. Still, Bill Guerin has found ways to get things done, and his owner is stating that they will re-sign him, the only question lingering is the length of the deal. The same goes for Kucherov as . Much like Hughes, albeit for different reasons, the length of the deal is just as important as the AAV. For Kucherov, it likely centers on how long he wants to keep playing, and if he’s willing to sign a deal that will take him to the end of his career with the Lightning. It seems negotiations are ongoing for all three players (and one would assume others such as Pavel Zacha, Alex Debrincat, and Drake Batherson) and once one signs a new deal, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a few more follow suit. Could it be closer to the beginning of the season like it was last fall when Kaprizov, McDavid, and Jack Eichel all signed deals within basically a week of each other at the end of September/early October (and denying fans an absolutely rip-roaring fun UFA summer in 2026)? It seems worth noting that Kucherov’s first “big” contact was si... Fri, 31 Jul 2026 01:58:18 GMT Justin G. https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/57415774 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/57415774 false false All eyes will be on Xfinity Mobile Arena on Sept. 30. Ok, not as many as there will be when the building’s other home team makes its home debut after… Thu, 30 Jul 2026 19:43:23 GMT Andrew McGuinness https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/57411984 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/57411984 false false