en-us SportSpyder - The Latest Tampa Bay Lightning News https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/news Lightning defenseman Emil Lilleberg made a surprise visit to the Lightning Development Youth Hockey Camp at TGH IcePlex on Monday. For Lilleberg, the visit took him back to attending hockey camps as a kid in Norway. Tue, 09 Jun 2026 01:48:29 GMT Diandra Loux https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/56888694 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/56888694 false false So. Dylan Larkin reportedly wants out of Detroit. Good to see the Yzerplan is going swimmingly in the Motor City so far. So, what does this have to do with the Tampa Bay Lightning? Well, probably not much to be honest. In fact, we wouldn’t be writing this except for a few things. One, there isn’t much happening at Channelside Drive these days. Two, the Lightning are a team in contention, and that seems to be what Larkin is looking for. Three, a couple of rather prominent journalists haven’t ruled the Lightning out of the process. Whenever something like this happens, it’s bound to spark some speculation, but Julien BriseBois has been around long enough that we know there is a certain filter to view these situations through. Would the deal make the Tampa Bay Lightning a better team now, and in the near future? The short answer is yes. The bigger question is – is the juice worth the squeeze? Tampa Bay is pretty set down the middle of the ice right now and in the future. It’s not on the top of their list of needs in the offseason, and there is the chance that adding Dylan Larkin opens up a host of other questions that aren’t even on the table right now. In a vacuum (or a salary-cap free world) adding Dylan Larkin, a left-shot center with 643 points (276 goals, 367) assists in 808 career regular season games would be very enticing. Throw in his career 52.1% face-off percentage and his ability to play 5v5, on the power play, and short-handed and it’s a no-brainer. Despite playing for a rebuilding team Larkin has been able to keep the Red Wings close to, or above water when he’s in the ice in terms of possession. Unfortunately, the Lightning don’t exist in a such a fairy tale. Not only is there a salary cap, there are a couple of really good pivot men on the roster already. As of right now, the roster includes Brayden Point and Anthony Cirelli. One is an offensive-minded center that has multiple 90-point seasons under his belt, and the other is one of the top defensive middleman in the league. They also have Nick Paul and Yanni Gourde on the roster with Sam O’Reilly banging on the door within the next year or so. So, do the Lightning jump through a bunch of hoops to acquire a third-line center that they’re going to pay $8.7 million for the next few years? Or do they move Brayden Point to a wing? That might not be the worst thing in the world. A Nikita Kucherov-Dylan Larkin-Brayden Point followed by a Jake Guentzel-Anthony Cirelli-Brandon Hagel line would be one of the best one-two punches not only in the Eastern Conference, but also the entire NHL. Of course, that $8.7 million would be a bit of a sticky widget. At least in the sense that it would likely cost the Lightning any shot at re-signing Darren Raddysh. If that happens, and the cap goes up again next year like it’s expected to, the Lightning can absorb the money. It would also appeal to another tent pole of Mr. BriseBois’ team-building strategy -cost certainty. Yes, it’s a big blow to take, but at least it’s a blow that he’ll be able to plan around for the next five years. Larkin would slide in nicely with the way the Lightning play hockey. He has the ability to generate shots off of the rush as well as through the forecheck. He isn’t one to lug the puck in a lot, but his ability to get the puck into the zone when he does is towards the top of the scales. Once Larkin gets the puck into the zone, his possession tends to lead to scoring chances and shot opportunities. Is it a case of too many players and just one puck? Not really. Larkin has shown the ability to conform his game to a team’s needs. On Detroit he’s the top center, a true 1C. However, on Team USA at the Olympics or Four Nations, he was able to adapt to a third or fourth line role. With the Lightning, it would likely be a hybrid situation. There would be games where he is the top center, and times when he’s pushed off to a wing or down the line-up. Adding Dylan Larkin would make this team better next season. The same goes for the immediate future. He is 29 (turns 30 in next month) and should be able to produce over the next couple of seasons as he has for the last few. As in five straight seasons of 30+ goals. Not a bad run of play and it would likely continue with the Bolts as he would stay around 20 minutes a night of ice time. So, Larkin wants out of Detroit. The Lightning could use him. Why isn’t this a done deal? Well, there is the kind of big question about what Steve Yzerman and the Red Wings want in return for their native-born and bred number one center. The answer is – a lot. Detroit is in a unique situation. They should be nearing the end of their long rebuild, but they’ve seen teams like Montreal leapfrog them while they can’t move past the old lions like the Lightning and Bruins. Does ownership have the stomach for another rebuild? It’s unlikely. Mr. Yzerman probably won’t be satiated with draft picks and young prospects lighting up the OHL. That actually plays into the Lightning... Tue, 09 Jun 2026 00:32:33 GMT Justin G. https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/56888202 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/56888202 false false When Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy earned his second career Vezina Trophy as the top goaltender in the NHL for the 2025-26 season, he joined some exclusive, legendary company. Mon, 08 Jun 2026 19:35:49 GMT William Espy https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/56885209 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/56885209 false false Former Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Nikita Nesterov is staying in Moscow for the foreseeable future. Mon, 08 Jun 2026 19:35:45 GMT William Espy https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/56885208 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/56885208 false false Even though insider Elliotte Friedman mentioned the Tampa Bay Lightning as a team he was keeping an eye on for a potential Dylan Larkin trade earlier this week, reports out of Detroit state that the Red Wings forward submitted three teams he'd be open to joining and that list didn't include the Lightning. Mon, 08 Jun 2026 18:34:35 GMT William Espy https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/56884481 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/56884481 false false For the fifth time in his career, Connor McDavid was named the in the league by the NHLPA. Unfortunately, for McDavid the award was handed to him on the golf course instead of the ice. It’s the fifth time he’s won the award, matching Wayne Gretzky on top of the list, and at 29, there is a good chance that he’ll pass the Great One at some point in his career. McDavid dragged the Edmonton Oilers to the playoffs on his back as led the league with 138 points (48 goals, 90 assists). Unfortunately, they were upset in the first round by the Anaheim Ducks (hence McDavid being on the golf course). It’s the sixth time in his eleven years in the NHL that he’s led the league in scoring and the third time he’s cracked the 130-point mark. Hockey News Vasilevskiy’s top five Vezina moments of 2025-26 [] Can’t believe we forgot to mention Vasilevskiy vs. Swayman in about the Big Cat’s Vezina victory. Not sure if that swayed any of the voters, but it was definitely a highlight! How sensible is it for each team to trade for Larkin [] The folks at The Athletic don’t think it makes much sense for the Lightning to make a deal for the Red Wings’ captain, but we’ll have more thoughts on that later tonight. The Wild. It’ll be the Wild. Jack Pridham officially commits to University of Denver [] When the Lightning made the deal, the rumor was that Pridham would join the National Champions, and now it’s official. Backchecking the Bolts: Andrew and Justin for the Aud Pod talk O’Reilly/Pridham [] Want to know more about Pridham and Sam O’Reilly? Well, we chatted with a couple of guys that had first-row seats for the duo’s amazing championship run. You can’t not be excited about their future after listening to this episode. Bussi or Andersen? No starter named yet for Carolina in Game 4 [] You know what is awesome during a two-day break between games? Having a goaltending controversy. Frederik Andersen started the first three games of the series, but was yoinked in Game 3. Brandon Bussi was strong in relief as Carolina made their big comeback, but was foiled by a bouncy goal in the second overtime. Updated PWHL rosters [] The PWHL has started their multi-stage expansion process. The folks over at The Ice Garden are keeping track of all of the player movement. Mon, 08 Jun 2026 11:26:36 GMT Justin G. https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/56880123 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/56880123 false false World Cup fever is here. For many NHL players, soccer is on their minds all season long as an integral part of their pregame routines. Mon, 08 Jun 2026 10:29:56 GMT Peter Baugh, Joe Smith https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/56879764 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/56879764 true false It's pretty much impossible to figure out a scenario where it'd make sense for the Tampa Bay Lightning to trade for Dylan Larkin. At this point, it's being trea Mon, 08 Jun 2026 09:41:37 GMT Franklin Steele https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/56879509 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/56879509 false false Every NHL team and its fans are currently wondering the same thing: Does trading for Dylan Larkin make sense? The Detroit Red Wings captain reportedly wants out Mon, 08 Jun 2026 00:09:49 GMT Franklin Steele https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/56877729 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/56877729 false false Despite the Tampa Bay Lightning's season ending in the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs, the organization's members continue to pick up regular-seaso Sun, 07 Jun 2026 23:50:00 GMT Franklin Steele https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/56877609 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/56877609 false false Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid won the Ted Lindsay Award, voted on by players, for the fifth time. He tied Wayne Gretzky for most times. Sun, 07 Jun 2026 17:23:22 GMT Mike Brehm https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/56874762 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/56874762 true false Connor McDavid and Wayne Gretzky are the only players in NHL history to have won five Ted Lindsay Awards. Sun, 07 Jun 2026 16:31:23 GMT Julian McKenzie https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/56874407 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/56874407 true false The Tampa Bay Lightning have become a notable example of a team that has had to make the most of valuable salary cap space over the years. They have an… Sun, 07 Jun 2026 13:08:35 GMT Harrison Smajovits https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/56873104 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/56873104 false false Tampa Bay Lightning netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy has been named the 2026 Vezina Trophy winner, the NHL announced on Saturday. Mon, 08 Jun 2026 18:38:39 GMT TSN.ca Staff https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/56884522 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/articles/56884522 false false