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The Tampa Bay Lightning are amid a much longer offseason than anyone in the organization would have liked. After advancing to back-to-back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals from 2020-22 — and winning it all in 2020 and 2021 — the Bolts have now been eliminated in the first round of three consecutive postseasons.
It's incredibly disappointing considering the early 2020s iteration of this squad was a true dynasty. The franchise is now looking for answers after a second straight five-game loss to the Florida Panthers in Round 1. Although the Panthers deserve a ton of credit — they did march to the Finals in 2023 before capturing their inaugural championship last year — a roster this deep should not fail to win a round three times in a row.
That's especially true considering Jake Guentzel, Yanni Gourde, and Oliver Bjorkstrand were all brought to Tampa to help the organization return to hockey immortality. On paper, the Lightning are still a terrific hockey team, but they just haven't been able to find any playoff success since 2022.
Despite boasting the league's top scorer in Nikita Kucherov, one of the NHL's best goaltenders in Andrei Vasilevskiy, and a league-best 3.56 goals per game in the regular season, general manager Julien BriseBois and the front office are searching for answers after another early exit. Here are a couple of offseason predictions in the midst of a long, long summer.
Lightning let most, if not all, of their UFAs walk
Outside of Guentzel and pending RFA Gage Goncalves (more on him in a second), the Lightning's offensive depth didn't provide much in terms of scoring against the Panthers. No player besides Guentzel, Goncalves, and Kucherov managed more than four points in the series, while Florida had multiple players record at least five.
The depth was a huge problem, and it's hard to see BriseBois running it back with the same bottom-six. The Bolts have three forwards who are set to become unrestricted free agents on July 1 — Gourde, Cam Atkinson, and Luke Glendening — and two of them are as good as gone.
Atkinson was a huge disappointment after signing a one-year deal, and he's at the tail end of his career. The 35-year-old was healthy, scratched multiple times throughout the year, and didn't play at all in the postseason. He was brought to the team to try to add some offense for cheap, but that didn't work out — he managed just nine points in 39 games. It would be very surprising if he were given another chance in Tampa.
It's a similar story with Glendening, who is also entering the twilight of his career at 36 years of age. The center wasn't bad in the playoffs, scoring a goal and adding an assist in five games, but it's hard to see him getting re-signed due to his age. He was a non-factor in the regular season, chipping in just seven points in 77 contests. The money spent on Atkinson and Glendening will be better utilized elsewhere.
As for Gourde, he was a key piece of the back-to-back Stanley Cup champion teams in 2020 and 2021, and he's a few years younger at 33. A reunion between the two parties is possible, but it wouldn't be surprising if BriseBois tried to make his bottom-six even younger come October. Gourde managed only one assist in the 2025 postseason while being minus-three.
After those three players, there's only one other UFA in defenseman Nick Perbix. He's a polarizing player on Tampa's blue line, and it's a toss-up as to whether BriseBois gives him another contract when the Lightning already have six NHL-caliber D-men under contract for 2025-26.
Gage Goncalves gets a well-earned contract extension
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While the futures of Gourde, Atkinson, Glendening, and Perbix are, for now, up in the air, the most vital player on an expiring contract for this team is Goncalves. The 24-year-old has established himself as a valuable middle-six piece, and he was terrific in the playoffs to the tune of a goal and four points in five games. He averaged a shade under 17 minutes on ice, and it's clear he has gained the trust of head coach Jon Cooper.
The 2020 second-round pick turned his game up in the second half of the season, and he's eligible to sign a bridge deal this summer. The pending RFA made just $775,000 in 2024-25, and that number should increase significantly on his next contract. It would be shocking if BriseBois and the front office didn't keep him under team control; the Mission, British Columbia native was one of the lone bright spots in a very difficult postseason.
GM Julien BriseBois adds another depth forward or 2 in free agency
Assuming that a couple of UFAs walk, and that Goncalves signs a bridge deal, BriseBois should have some money to work with this summer. The top six is basically set in stone with Kucherov, Guentzel, Brayden Point, Brandon Hagel, Anthony Cirelli, and Bjorkstrand all returning, but, as mentioned before, the depth could really use some work.
The blue line looks to be in good shape, and with Jonas Johansson signing a two-year extension last week, so is the goaltending. What the front office will be doing is looking to get value from a player who can be signed for relatively cheap, which was the goal with Atkinson.
One intriguing name is Brandon Saad, who has been solid for the Vegas Golden Knights since having his contract terminated by the St. Louis Blues back in January. The two-time Stanley Cup champion managed a respectable 14 points in 29 games at the end of the season and has added another two assists in eight playoff games as the Knights battle the Edmonton Oilers in Round 2.
A couple of other relatively cheap offensive bargains could be the Carolina Hurricanes' Eric Robinson (32 points in 82 games), the Columbus Blue Jackets' Kevin Labanc (12 points in 34 games), and the Utah Mammoth's Michael Carcone (19 points in 53 games). Whatever route the front office decides to take, they'll be looking to add someone who can put the puck in the net for relatively cheap.
After a trio of discouraging playoff losses, it's clear that some things need to change in Tampa Bay. It'll be interesting to see what the roster looks like come October — and whether it can put the recent playoff demons in the rearview next spring.
