Eyssimont missed Tampa Bay's season opener last Friday due to a lower-body injury and has a chance to return to Tampa's lineup on Tuesday vs. Vancouver. The 28-year-old appeared in 81 games with the Lightning in 2023-24, picking up 11 goals, 25 points and 104 PIMs.
The Lightning will unsurprisingly turn to their franchise netminder for their season opener on Friday night. Vasilevskiy was uncharacteristically mediocre in 2023-24, though an early season back injury could be to blame. He posted a .900 SV%, a 2.90 GAA, and a 30-20-2 record across 52 starts. He'll be looking to regain his Vezina caliber form this season, but he draws a tough assignment on opening night. The Lightning enter action as +125 underdogs in Carolina.
Guentzel battled some injuries over the course of the preseason and after being unable to complete practice on Monday, did not participate in practice on Tuesday. There doesn't seem to be a lot of concern around the longevity of Guentzel's absence but his offensive prowess will be sorely missed if he is unable to suit up for Tampa Bay's season opener on Friday against the Carolina Hurricanes. In 67 games in 2023-24, the 30-year-old winger had 30 goals and 77 points.
Geekie left the Lightning's bench on Wednesday during their preseason game on a legal line change for the purpose of starting an altercation after his dust-up with Florida's Josh Davies and has been suspended for one game by the NHL Player Safety Department. The 20-year-old forward is battling for one of Tampa Bay's final roster spots after being acquired during the offseason in the deal which saw Mikhail Sergachev end up in Utah.
Eyssimont was originally expected to be out until the middle of October, but he removed his non-contact jersey for Thursday's practice. Head coach Jon Cooper said that Eyssimont will need to get his conditioning up but it seems possible that he could be ready for the Lightning's season opener. He skated with Nick Paul and Conor Sheary in Thursday's practice session.
Tampa Bay's opening season forward depth took a hit on Wednesday as it was announced Luke Glendening will be limited at training camp due to an undisclosed injury and hopes he'll be ready to start the season. The 35-year-old center filled in Tampa Bay's bottom six admirably in 2023-24, with 10 goals, 11 points, 39 PIMs and 57 SOG in 81 games played.
After playing 81 of 82 games in 2023-24, it appears Michael Eyssimont will miss some time in 2024-25 after it was announced he would not be ready for training camp due to a lower-body injury and is hoping to be ready by mid-October. The 28-year-old center is entering his third season in Tampa Bay and put up career highs in almost all categories last season with 11 goals, 25 points, 104 PIMs, and 149 SOG in 81 games played.
Moser's rights were acquired by Tampa Bay two Saturday's ago in the massive blockbuster trade which saw Mikhail Sergachev head to Utah and the 24-year-old has signed a two-year, $6.75 million contract extension ($3.375 million AAV) with the Lightning on Thursday. The left-handed defensemen finsihed his third NHL season in 2023-24 with Arizona and had five goals, 26 points, 77 SOG and 35 PIMs in 80 games played.
Atkinson had a strong first season in Philadelphia but missed all of 2023 and struggled with 2024, scoring just 13 goals and 15 assists (28 points) in 70 games. At age-35, Atkinson's days of 30-plus goals are over, but he should provide the Lightning's bottom-6 and PP2 with some offensive punch.
Lilleberg came over from Sweden last season and split his time between the AHL and NHL. During his time with the Lightning, the 23-year-old defenseman had five assists and a minus-15 rating in 37 games. Expect Lilleberg to be in a battle with Nick Perbix to be the Lightning's No.6 defenseman in 2024-25.
Hedman's eight-year deal that he signed in 2016 will come to an end after the 2024-25 season, so he re-ups at almost the same number ($8.0M AAV) through the 2028-29 season. In 2024, his age 33 season, Hedman posted the second-highest point total of his career, scoring 13 goals with 63 assists (76 points) in 78 games.
Tampa's defensive depth got a little bit deeper on Tuesday with the addition of Steven Santini on a one-year, two-way contract. The 29-year-old has 23 points (5G/18A) in 123 career NHL games since making his debut in 2015-16.
Tampa Bay has poached one of Laval's assistant captains last season as it signed Tobie Bisson to a one-year, two-way contract on Tuesday. The undrafted 27-year-old has yet to make an NHL appearance but had nine goals and 27 points in 69 games with Laval (AHL) in 2023-24.
Journeyman Derrick Pouliot will join his eighth different organization in eight years after he agreed to sign a one-year, two-way contract with Tampa Bay on Tuesday. The 30-year-old appeared in five games for Dallas in 2023-24 but has eight goals and 54 points in 226 career NHL games.
After 10 seasons in Buffalo, Zemgus Girgensons will join the Tampa Bay Lightning on a three-year deal worth $2.55 million ($850K AAV). The 30-year-old Latvian veteran has scored between 14 and 19 points in all eight of his previous seasons. In his final season in Buffalo in 2023-24, he had eight goals, 14 points and 21 PIMs while averaging 11:51 TOI/GP.
Tampa Bay added to its depth on Monday with the addition of 24-year-old Jesse Ylonen to a one-year, two-way deal. The right-winger had spent his first four seasons in Montreal but broke career highs in games played in 2023-24 (59), picking up four goals and eight points.
Guentzel put up outstanding numbers next to Sidney Crosby since 2019 but also excelled following his trade to Carolina last year, posting 25 points (8G / 17A) in 17 games. With Guentzel now in Tampa Bay, he could find himself on one of the most prolific lines in hockey, next to Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point. He's averaged 39 goals and 46 assists (85 points) per 82 games over the last six seasons.
Tampa Bay completed its first small move of the offseason by acquiring 22-year-old Lukas Svejkovsky from Pittsburgh for Bennett MacArthur. Svejkovsky spent the majority of 2023-24 with the Wheeling Nailers (ECHL) and excelled with 16 goals and 37 points in 30 games played.
Tampa Bay shocked the hockey world on Sunday as it acquired the rights to Jake Guentzel from Caroline for a 2025 3rd round pick. The Lightning are now able to sign Guentzel to an eight-year contract since he is officially under their team's control. In 57 games in 2023-24, the 29-year-old winger had 30 goals and 77 points.
Geekie was dealt from Utah before ever playing a game for the franchise as he was moved alongside JJ Moser, a 2024 2nd Round Pick and a 2024 7th Round Pick to Tampa Bay for Mikhail Sergachev. Geekie was drafted in the 1st round (11th overall) of the 2022 draft by Arizona and had 43 goals and 99 points in 55 regular season games with both Swift Current (WHL) and Wenatchee (WHL) in 2023-24. He is expected to compete for a roster spot in Tampa Bay for the upcoming season.
