Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said he had planned to miss a large portion of Bolts' training camp while assisting with Team North America at the World Cup of Hockey.

When the Tampa Bay Lightning begin the preseason schedule Tuesday at AMALIE Arena against the Carolina Hurricanes (7:30 p.m. puck drop on 970 WFLA), the Bolts will be without starting goaltender Ben Bishop and backup netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy.

TAMPA BAY - The Tampa Bay Lightning have re-signed defenseman Nikita Nesterov to a one-year, NHL contract worth $725,000, vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman announced today.

TAMPA BAY - The Tampa Bay Lightning today announced that the team would welcome home former captain Vincent Lecavalier on October 18, 2016 during the team's game against the Florida Panthers at AMALIE Arena. Lecavalier, who played 14 seasons in Tampa Bay after being chosen first overall by the club in the 1998 National Hockey League Entry Draft, retired from professional hockey after playing the 2016-17 season with the Philadelphia Flyers and the Los Angeles Kings. He and his family have since returned to live in Tampa Bay. 

Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov scored a goal and registered an assist, but it wasn't enough as Steven Stamkos' Team Canada secured a spot in the World Cup of Hockey final. 

Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Slater Koekkoek had a lot of great stories to tell friends and family this offseason following a postseason run that saw the 22 year old make his playoff debut in Game 2 of a Second Round series against the New York Islanders and go on to start the Bolts' next nine playoff games, including all seven contests in the Eastern Conference Final against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

One look around the Tampa Bay Lightning locker room confirms this training camp will be unlike any other in recent memory.

TAMPA BAY - The Tampa Bay Lightning have announced a detailed schedule for Fan Fest, presented by Florida Blue, on Sunday, September 25 beginning at 8 a.m. at AMALIE Arena. Bolts fans attending this free event will have the chance to meet some of their favorite players, enjoy giveaways and have the chance to watch live hockey for the first time since last spring.

Lightning beat writer Bryan Burns will recap each day how the Bolts players did in each game of the World Cup of Hockey 2016 being held in Toronto. Tampa Bay has an NHL-high 12 players playing in the tournament and Lightning coach Jon Cooper is an assistant coach on Team North America.