Inside look at Tampa Bay Lightning

NHL.com is providing in-depth roster, prospect and fantasy analysis for each of its 32 teams from Aug. 1-Sept. 1. Today, the Tampa Bay Lightning.

"Yet."

That was one of the most telling words Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois used in his earlier-than-anticipated 35-minute end-of-the-season press conference May 5.

"The past two seasons have featured two of the best teams we've had during our current run of 13 years being a Stanley Cup contender," BriseBois said. "The regular season standings and even more so the underlying numbers of those teams the last two years would corroborate that statement. Unfortunately, it hasn't translated into playoff success -- yet."

They are again expected to be a top team in an Atlantic Division that might be the toughest in the League, and a Stanley Cup contender in an Eastern Conference that is home to the Stanley Cup champion the past three seasons. 

The Lightning do not expect anything to change this season, except what happens after the regular season.

"Losing in the first round for four straight years is not good enough," Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman told NHL.com. "We're excited about another season, another opportunity to be better."

Tampa Bay has not won a Stanley Cup Playoff series since 2022 despite being a regular Stanley Cup contender, including an elite team in the past two regular seasons. The Lightning are fourth in wins (97), tied for second in regulation wins (81), first in goals (578), fourth in goals against (445), 10th on the power play (23.2 percent) and tied for second on the penalty kill (81.2 percent).

The Lightning dominated the postseason NHL awards in 2025-26 with forward Nikita Kucherov  winning the Hart Trophy as the League's most valuable player to his team, goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy  taking the Vezina Trophy as the League's top goalie, and Jon Cooper winning the Jack Adams Award as the NHL's best coach. 

But they lost to the Montreal Canadiens in the Eastern Conference First Round, a series that featured seven one-goal games. The Lightning also lost Game 7 at home and scored a total of four goals in the final three games. 

But they bring back most of the roster from last season, the one big change being defenseman Darren Raddysh, who had NHL career highs in goals (22), assists (48) and points (70) and was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs on June 19, and essentially being replaced by veteran John Carlson. 

"We have a team that we truly believe in and that goes to show from the management and the coaching, there hasn't been a lot of change than obviously losing 'Raddy' and getting John Carlson in," Hedman said. "We have some guys in (Jeffrey) Viel and (Ilya) Mikheyev that are going to add to our game as well. For us, we're super excited." 

Hedman is the most important addition, if you want to call him that. 

The Lightning's 35-year-old captain and one of the top defensemen in the NHL for nearly 17 years missed the final 15 games of the regular season and all seven in the playoffs while away from the team for personal reasons related to his mental health.

Hedman was limited to 17 points (one goal, 16 assists) in 33 games last season. He had 66 points (15 goals, 51 assists) in 79 games two seasons ago.

"Last year was a tough year in many regards, but I look at that too as I've been in this League for a long time, I'm entering my 18th season, and to have a season like that it could happen to anyone," Hedman said. "I'm happy it happened at this stage in my career where I know what I can do, I know what I can bring to the team, and I know what I can do on a daily basis when I'm healthy. I have zero doubt in my mind. I haven't played a game since obviously March, but for me at this point I know what it takes to be good in this League. I've had a great summer, and I feel great going into camp."

Hedman's return is essential to Tampa Bay's blue line, which is revamped with Carlson replacing Raddysh on the right side and, in all likelihood, on the power play.

Carlson, 36, signed a two-year contract with Tampa Bay on July 1. He had 60 points (14 goals, 46 assists) in 71 games split between the Washington Capitals and the Anaheim Ducks last season.

"Everyone could see Darren Raddysh played a lot of minutes as a right-shot defenseman who can run a power play and play on the first pair," BriseBois said. "Who was available that could be ideal to fit that role? And John Carlson is a potential free agent, and this is his profile, who has an opportunity to put his best foot forward and it kind of made total sense for everyone. You didn't need to be a hockey genius to see this could be a really good match."

Mikheyev, 31, and Viel, 29, will likely fill depth forward roles for the Lightning, who return Kucherov, Anthony Cirelli, Brayden Point, Brandon Hagel and Jake Guentzel.

Kucherov finished second in the League last season with 130 points (44 goals, 86 assists). Guentzel scored 38 goals and Hagel scored 36. Cirelli was the runner-up for the Selke Trophy given to the best defensive forward.

J.J. Moser, Ryan McDonagh, Erik Cernak and Charle-Edouard D'Astous are back on the blue line with Hedman and Carlson, and Vasilevskiy returns after winning the Vezina Trophy for the second time in his career.

"We've got the best goalie in the world and arguably one of the best players in the world, so they're always going to give us a chance to win games," Hedman said. "But everyone else, we just need to be there and be ready to do whatever it takes to go further.

"We know the League is getting faster, that guys are producing at a super high rate and the young kids coming in are ready to play, but we're excited to match up against any team."