The Tampa Bay Lightning are set to open the season on October 9 at home against the Ottawa Senators. Expectations are high for this Lightning team, but they are already experiencing a setback. General manager Julien BriseBois has announced Nick Paul is recovering from surgery, according to Lightning beat writer Benjamin Pierce.
Paul had surgery last Friday on an upper-body injury and will be out until early November. According to reporting by Mike Gould of Daily Faceoff, Paul was dealing with this injury for much of the 2024-25 season. The Canadian forward attempted to rehab this ailment in the offseason, but it became apparent that surgery was necessary to remedy the situation.
Paul was solid in the 2024-25 campaign, lighting the lamp 22 times while adding 19 assists. That was good for 41 points while playing in 76 games. That placed Paul seventh on the team in points. He was also sixth on the team in goals last season.
Getting Nick Paul healthy is key for Lightning
It took time for Paul to become a consistent player at the NHL level. After being drafted No. 101 overall in the 2013 NHL Draft by the Dallas Stars, he did not break into the NHL until 2016-17. That was with the Senators. In parts of seven seasons with the Sens, he never played more than 60 games or amassed more than 20 points.
After being traded to the Lightning during the 2021-22 campaign, the forward has broken out. Paul has played in 76 or more games in all three full seasons with 32 or more points in each of them. Still, getting healthy now is key. Paul has been highly successful in the playoffs. In his four playoff runs with the Lightning, he has found the back of the net 10 times while adding four assists. He also has four game-winning goals in the playoffs.
Losing a player this early in the season is not ideal. Regardless, the Lightning have enough offensive depth to still start the season strong. They will then get a healthy Paul to help them in their goal of winning the Stanley Cup for the first time since 2021.
