Lightning sign Carlson, Mikheyev, could give Geekie big opportunity

After the NHL Draft, free agency and other offseason moves, NHL.com is examining where each team stands in preparation for the 2026-27 regular season, which starts Sept. 29. Today, the Tampa Bay Lightning:

2025-26 season: 50-26-6, second in Atlantic Division, lost in Eastern Conference First Round

Key arrivals

John Carlson, D: The 36-year-old signed a two-year contract July 1 after he had 60 points (14 goals, 46 assists) in 71 games for the Washington Capitals and Anaheim Ducks last season. He was traded from Anaheim to the Carolina Hurricanes on June 27, but became an unrestricted free agent after not reaching a deal with the Cup champions. He has 785 points (170 goals, 615 assists) in 1,159 regular-season games (all but 16 for Washington), and ranks fifth in points among active defensemen. He will help fill the void left by Darren Raddysh, who was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs. … Ilya Mikheyev, F: The 31-year-old signed a four-year contract July 1. He had 36 points (18 goals, 18 assists) in 77 games for the Chicago Blackhawks last season. … Jeffrey Viel, F: The 29-year-old signed a five-year contract July 1. He had 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in 35 games for the Ducks last season after he was traded to Anaheim by the Boston Bruins on Jan. 16. … Dennis Hildeby, G: The 24-year-old was acquired in trade with the Maple Leafs, along with a fourth-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft and a third-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft, for forward Nick Paul on July 1. Hildeby was 5-7-4 with a 2.86 goals-against average and .914 save percentage in 20 games with Toronto.

Key departures

Darren Raddysh, D: The 30-year-old, who could have become an unrestricted free agent July 1, went to the Toronto Maple Leafs as part of a sign-and-trade on June 19, with Tampa Bay receiving a fifth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. Raddysh signed an eight-year contract as part of the deal. He had NHL career highs in goals (22), assists (48), points (70), plus/minus (plus-21), power-play goals (10), power-play points (26), game-winning goals (six), shots on goal (212) and ice time per game (22:42) playing in 73 games. … Nick Paul, F: Traded to the Maple Leafs on July 1 as part of the deal for Hildeby. The 31-year-old had 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) in 51 games last season, his fifth with the Lightning. … Corey Perry, F: Signed a one-year contract with the Los Angeles Kings on July 1. Perry started last season with the Kings, then was traded to the Lightning on March 6. The 41-year-old had nine points (six goals, three assists) in 22 games for the Lightning last season. … Oliver Bjorkstrand, F: Signed a one-year contract with the New York Rangers on July 1. The 31-year-old had 32 points (12 goals, 20 assists) in 80 games last season, and ranked second on Tampa Bay with nine power-play goals. … Declan Carlile, D: Signed a two-year contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins on July 1. The 26-year-old had three points (one goal, two assists) in 42 games for the Lightning last season.

On the cusp

Conor Geekie, F: Had three points (one goal, two assists) in 14 regular-season games and got into two games during the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the Lightning last season after appearing in 52 regular-season and four playoff games in 2024-25. The 22-year-old is in the final season of his three-year, entry-level contract and should get every chance to win a spot in the lineup, especially with Paul gone. … Dennis Hildeby, G: Likely to emerge as the backup to Andrei Vasilevskiy after general manager Julien BriseBois said July 1 the team is looking to find a new NHL home for Jonas Johansson, the Lightning's backup goalie the past three seasons.

What they still need

The first is locking up star forward Nikita Kucherov. The reigning Hart Trophy winner as NHL most valuable player can become an unrestricted free agent after this season and became eligible to sign a new contract July 1. It's hard to imagine Tampa Bay letting him walk. The Lightning also need to find a formula where regular-season success leads to postseason success. The Lighting are tied for the sixth-most wins in the NHL (188) the past four seasons, but have not won a round in the playoffs since reaching the Cup Final in the 2021-22 season.

They said it

"The idea was to not make commitments that would prevent us from taking advantage of bigger opportunities that would move the needle even more in terms of improving odds of winning that might present themselves in the future, and I think we did that with what we've done so far." -- BriseBois

EDGE stat to watch

The Lightning ranked second in the NHL in high-danger goals (154) last season and were led by Jake Guentzel (26), who was tied for third in the NHL after ranking second in that category in 2024-25 (27). Guentzel also finished third in the NHL last season in high-danger shots on goal (116), and teammate Brandon Hagel ranked highly at forward in high-danger goals (20; 97th percentile), high-danger shots on goal (74; 93rd percentile), midrange shots on goal (92; 97th percentile) and midrange goals (14; 97th percentile). Kucherov, who was ninth among forwards in long-range shots on goal last season (38), ranked in the 95th percentile or higher at his position in high-danger goals (18), midrange goals (12) and long-range goals (three). -- Chris Meaney

Fantasy spin

The Carlson signing offsets the Raddysh trade, once again giving the Lightning two defensemen (Carlson and Victor Hedman) among the fantasy top 20 rankings at the position. Carlson, who had his fifth 60-point season last season, could have an even higher ceiling (had NHL career high 75 points in 69 games for Washington Capitals in 2019-20) in Tampa Bay's offense and on the first power play with exposure to elite forwards Kucherov, Brayden Point and Guentzel. Carlson could be attainable around the top 100 overall in fantasy redraft leagues and put up similar numbers to Raddysh last season (70 points in 73 games, including 26 power-play points). -- Pete Jensen

Projected lineup

Jake Guentzel -- Brayden Point -- Nikita Kucherov

Brandon Hagel -- Anthony Cirelli -- Gage Goncalves

Zemgus Girgensons -- Yanni Gourde -- Ilya Mikheyev

Pontus Holmberg -- Dominic James -- Conor Geekie

Victor Hedman -- J.J. Moser

Ryan McDonagh -- Erik Cernak

Charle-Edouard D'Astous -- John Carlson

Andrei Vasilevskiy

Dennis Hildeby