Raw Charge

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Tampa Bay Lightning News & Opinion

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NHL Prospects Archives - The Hockey Writers

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Raw Charge

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NHL Prospects Archives - The Hockey Writers

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Raw Charge

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Raw Charge

It’s that time of year. The days are getting shorter. Players are starting to get ready to head to the cities they play in, and teams are starting to put together their training camp rosters. While the vast majority of free agents have been signed, there are a few out there that still need contracts. For some of those players, the road back to the NHL might lie in a professional try-out contract. One of those players might be Patrik Laine. Could the Tampa Bay Lightning be the team that signs him? There has been some mention that the Lightning could be a landing spot for the 28-year-old, but it’s mostly speculation at this point. Still, if it doesn’t cost them anything isn’t it worth a look? Bringing in a right-shot forward that has 224 goals in 537 career games with 85 of those coming on the power play could be a big boost for a special teams that has been streaky at best over the last couple of seasons. Imagine a Lightning power play that featured Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, John Carlson, and Patrik Laine? That gaping hole on the right side of the power play that has been there since Steven Stamkos left would immediately be filled by the big Finn launching shots. Of course, there are some concerns with signing Laine, even to a try-out deal. First and foremost, his injury history. That chart above is from the 2024-25 season because he only appeared in five games for Montreal last season. When he’s on the ice he’s been effective, but that’s been a problem. He hasn’t cracked the 56-game mark since the 2019-20 season and has played under 20 games in two of the last three seasons. The best ability is availability, right? Right? Second, is where he would play at 5v5. During that 2024-25 season, he spent most of the time on Montreal’s third line with Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook. For him to do that, it would complete alter what the Lightning like to do with their third line. Laine is, to put it kindly, not the most interested in defensive hockey. Grinding away on the forecheck isn’t exactly his style. As for the first concern, the beauty of a PTO is that it doesn’t tie a team to a player. If he struggles in camp, the Lightning can part ways without any obligation. Should he excel, they can also limit their financial exposure by signing him to a bonus-laden contract. The league allows for performance bonuses on entry-level contracts, 35+ contracts, and players who have appeared in 400 career games and spent more than 100 days on injured reserve the previous season. A one-year, bonus-heavy deal works for both sides. The Lightning are protected if he can’t stay healthy, and Laine gets a chance to rebuild his reputation in order to land a bigger contract next season. There have already been a few such contracts signed this summer. Mats Zuccarello signed a one-year deal with the Kings for $1 million. However, he can earn another $5.5 million in bonuses. The Lightning have a little wiggle room this season in regards to the cap, and if they do they should be able to absorb it in next season’s cap (even after signing Kucherov to his new contract). Addressing the second concern might be a little tougher for the Lightning. Playing for Jon Cooper means playing defense. Not quite to the level of John Tortorella (who Laine briefly played for in Columbus), but Laine can’t expect to be on the team and completely ignore his defensive responsibilities. Who he ends up with linemates could mitigate that impact. Theoretically, there is a spot open on a line with Anthony Cirelli and Brandon Hagel, two of the Lightning’s top defensive forwards. Teaming up with Dominic James and Ilya Mikheyev might not be as strong defensively, but it would be an entertaining trio if nothing else. Could a healthy Laine find some time on the top line? He hasn’t played top line minutes since 2022-23, but it would help limit his defensive exposure. Another option would be to a variation of what the Lightning did last season. There were quite a few games last year when the Lightning would dress eleven forwards, but basically play ten. Usually it was a fourth-line forward like Curtis Douglas that got minimal five-on-five time, but there is nothing saying they couldn’t do something similar with Laine. Basically he would be a power play specialist that took enough shifts at 5v5 to keep warm throughout the game. Laine is likely waiting for a guaranteed contract, but if that doesn’t materialize soon, a PTO might be his only path to the NHL this season. Of the teams that might offer him a spot, the Lightning could be an ideal spot for him to rebuild his reputation.

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NHL Prospects Archives - The Hockey Writers

The Liiga preseason is coming to a close, and three NHL draft picks are opening the 2026‑27 season in Liiga, all before any NHL preseason games kick off. This offseason,…

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Raw Charge

The Tampa Bay Lightning aren’t going to carry three goaltenders on the roster this season. That much we can be assured of a month out from training camp. When Julien BriseBois acquired Dennis Hildeby from the Toronto Maple Leafs, he was pretty certain that the plan was for the young Swede to backup Andrei Vasilevskiy for the 2026-27 season. The fly in the jelly, the bump in the road, the Skittle in the M&M’s is the fact that Jonas Johansson is still on the roster. Speaking with the media following the early July free agent frenzy, Mr. BriseBois indicated that the team would be working with Johansson to find a new organization for the 30-year-old, “It’s still early in the process, but JJ has been great for us, is a great teammate, has won us a lot of hockey games, I’m fairly confident we’re gonna get him something that works for him and works for us.” Almost two months later, they’ve yet to find that “something that works”, which, given his performance last season is somewhat understandable. To be kind, Jonas Johansson had a shaky season in net. He appeared in 25 games, posted a 11-10-2 record with a 3.29 GAA and .884 SV%. According to Hockey Reference , 11 of his 23 starts were considered quality while 6 were really bad. Out of the 91 goalies that Evolving Hockey recorded stats for, Johansson’s -4.40 GSAx came in 82nd. That being said, he did have a nice stretch of play in December when Vasilevskiy was out with an injury, including a run of four-out-of-five games where he allowed just one goal. Following The Big Cat’s return, Johansson’s playing time became quite rare as he appeared in just nine games from January to April. The effect of his sporadic appearances was evident as he posted a 3-4-1 record with an .864 SV%, 4.12 GAA, and -7.40 GSAx over that time frame. With a longer season ahead, a more competitive division, and a starting goaltender who may be the best in the league, but isn’t getting younger, the need to upgrade the backup position was evident, and Mr. BriseBois took the chance to do so when he dealt away Nick Paul to acquire the younger Hildeby. So what should they do now with Johansson and the $1.25 million cap hit he has for this season? There are a couple of options. The Lightning could put him on waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract. Teams have used that option recently when unable to trade a player. That would make Johansson an unrestricted free agent and free to sign with any team in the NHL or Europe. With training camps getting ready to start in the big European leagues, it feels like this option would have already happened if they wanted to go down this path. Tampa Bay could also place him on waivers, and if he clears, assign him to Syracuse. With the league’s minimum salary going up to $900,000, it also means the amount of money that can be “buried” in the AHL and not count against the salary cap has gone up to $1.275 million (the threshold is calculated as the league minimum plus $375,000). That would clear his entire cap hit, but the crease in Syracuse is kind of full right now. With the departure of Brendan Halverson, the Bolts signed Mads Sogaard and Olivier Rodrique to contracts. They also have prospect Harrison Meneghin under contract, and while he will probably start the season in Orlando, they will want him to get some playing time in the AHL at some point. A small argument for this case could be made that it gives the Lightning some insurance should Vasilevskiy miss a long stretch of time. Hildeby could be the starter and Johansson could be recalled to back him up if need be. Syracuse could carry three goaltenders in the meantime, but this is not an ideal solution for the Lightning or Johansson. So, that leaves the third option – a trade. The return for a soon-to-be 31-year-old netminder who has put up below replacement stats for much of his career wouldn’t be huge. Future Considerations has been on the move a lot, and could be heading to Tampa if the Lightning do find a willing partner. Freeing up a contract spot along with the salary would be the best solution for the Bolts, even if they don’t garner a draft pick out of the deal. The issue with this solution is that there just aren’t many teams in the NHL where Johansson is a fit or improvement over the tandem already in place. A quick scan of the other 31 organizations quickly eliminates the majority of the teams. An argument could be made for Pittsburgh if they don’t think either of their young goalies (Sergei Murashov or Joel Blomqvist) aren’t ready to backup Arturs Silovs. If Winnipeg deals Conner Hellebuyck or Minnesota sends one of their goaltenders to Detroit in the inevitable Dylan Larkin deal, there could be openings for a veteran with those organizations, but there may be better options for those organizations to fill those holes. At this point, the top two teams that might be interested in Jonas Johansson are teams that are dealing with injuries to their starters – Vancouver and Columbus. As of right now, both Thatcher Demko and Elvis Merzlikins are questionable to start the season for their respective clubs. The appeal of Johansson would be that he is a veteran who does have a little experience in filling in for a short time as a starter. If Demko is out, Kevin Lankinen is probably Vancouver’s starter. One of the netminders that posted a lower GSAx than Johansson last season – Kevin Lankinen at -7.12. He went 5-17-2 with an .868 SV% and 3.92 GAA. Columbus is in a little better position with Jet Greaves as a starter, but there isn’t much in the organization behind him. Merzlikins is questionable for training camp, and Johansson as a short-term back-up might not be the worst solution. Once (or in Demko’s case “if”) either of those starters come back, Columbus and Vancouver would have the option of waiving Johansson and not on the hook for him long term. That might be a little more appealing than working out a trade for someone with a higher cap hit or a longer contract commitment. The decision to move on or to hold Jonas Johansson isn’t going to make or break the Lightning’s season. One way or the other, he isn’t going to be on their roster come October 1, which give Tampa Bay little more cap space to play with throughout the season.

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