The Tampa Bay Lightning will open the 2026-27 NHL regular season on Sept. 29 with the same standard that has followed the club for more than a decade: getting into the playoffs is not enough. After a 50-26-6 finish and second place in the Atlantic Division last season, Tampa Bay exited in the opening round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, extending a postseason drought that now reaches back to its 2022 trip to a third straight Stanley Cup Final.
Jon Cooper enters his 14th season behind the Lightning bench, and the expectation around the room will be to turn another likely playoff berth into a longer spring run. Tampa Bay is aiming for a 10th consecutive postseason appearance, but its bigger test will come once the schedule tightens and every shift carries elimination weight.
Star power remains Tampa Bay’s foundation
The Lightning’s formula has survived plenty of roster changes under Cooper: score at an elite rate, win the special-teams battle and hand the crease to one of the League’s top goaltenders.
That core was recognized across the NHL’s major awards last season. Nikita Kucherov won the Hart Trophy as the player judged most valuable to his club, Andrei Vasilevskiy collected the Vezina Trophy, and Cooper earned his first Jack Adams Award. Anthony Cirelli finished second in Selke Trophy voting after another strong two-way season.
Those four figures could again be in the awards conversation. The larger question on the blue line is whether Victor Hedman can return to his usual impact level at age 35. Injuries limited the veteran defenseman before he took a personal leave beginning March 20 that lasted through the remainder of the season.
Carlson takes over a major blue-line assignment
Tampa Bay moved quickly to replace Darren Raddysh, bringing in John Carlson on a two-year contract worth $17 million on July 1. The deal carries an $8.5 million average annual value.
Raddysh had a breakout 2025-26 campaign before being traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs and signing an eight-year deal June 19. He posted career bests with 22 goals, 48 assists and 70 points, while finishing plus-21. He also recorded 10 power-play goals, 26 power-play points, six game-winners, 212 shots and an average ice time of 22:42.
Carlson, 36, arrives with a similar offensive résumé. He had 14 goals and 46 assists in 71 games between the Washington Capitals and Anaheim Ducks last season. The right-shot defenseman is expected to work beside J.J. Moser at even strength and give Tampa Bay another established shooter and distributor from the point on the power play.
Moser, 26, is coming off his own upward season. In 79 games, he set NHL highs with seven even-strength goals, 26 even-strength points, 111 shots and 21:34 of average ice time. He led Tampa Bay defensemen with three points in the playoffs and scored the overtime winner in Game 2 against the Montreal Canadiens.
The Swiss defenseman has produced at least 70 blocked shots in each of the past four seasons. His shot profile also stood out among NHL blue-liners last season: 10 high-danger shots on goal placed him in the 87th percentile, while his 27 mid-range attempts ranked in the 85th percentile and 63 long-range shots reached the 87th percentile.
Openings up front for O’Reilly and Geekie
Injuries could give rookie Sam O’Reilly an immediate opportunity. Yanni Gourde is expected to be unavailable until December after offseason hip surgery, while Dominic James will miss the first several weeks with a broken hand.
O’Reilly, 20, could begin in a third-line role and has a chance to remain in the lineup after the injured forwards return. Assistant general manager and hockey operations director Jeff Tambellini has compared O’Reilly’s two-way approach to Cirelli’s game. The rookie may see penalty-killing work while bringing some of the energy and secondary offense usually associated with Gourde.
O’Reilly joins the organization as a two-time Memorial Cup champion and was voted tournament MVP last season.
Conor Geekie is another forward expected to push for a permanent NHL job. The 22-year-old spent most of last season with Syracuse of the American Hockey League, producing 17 goals and 42 assists in 57 games. He added one goal and two assists in 14 appearances with Tampa Bay.
Geekie has already shown flashes at the NHL level. Two seasons ago, he played 52 games for the Lightning and finished with eight goals and 14 points. The next step is establishing himself as a regular in the club’s top nine.
New forwards Ilya Mikheyev and Jeffrey Viel add depth to the group, while Zemgus Girgensons and Pontus Holmberg are projected to provide veteran support lower in the lineup.
Projected Lightning lineup
| Position | Projected unit |
|---|---|
| First line | Ilya Mikheyev — Brayden Point — Nikita Kucherov |
| Second line | Brandon Hagel — Anthony Cirelli — Jake Guentzel |
| Third line | Gage Goncalves — Conor Geekie — Sam O’Reilly |
| Fourth line | Jeffrey Viel — Zemgus Girgensons — Pontus Holmberg |
| Defense pair | J.J. Moser — John Carlson |
| Defense pair | Victor Hedman — Max Crozier |
| Defense pair | Ryan McDonagh — Erik Cernak |
| Goaltenders | Andrei Vasilevskiy; Dennis Hildeby |
For Tampa Bay, the regular-season ingredients are familiar: Kucherov’s scoring, Vasilevskiy’s goaltending, Cirelli’s all-situations work and a defense group that now includes Carlson. The real measurement begins after the schedule turns to playoff hockey, where the Lightning are looking to move beyond the first round for the first time since 2022.
