BREAKOUT STARS: Will Gage Goncalves, Jakob Pelletier, or Maxwell Crozier Have Big Years in 2026?

BREAKOUT STARS: Will Gage Goncalves, Jakob Pelletier, or Maxwell Crozier Have Big Years in 2026?

Well, it’s no secret the Tampa Bay Lightning have a strong core, but who are going to be the next breakout stars to join them as building blocks? We’ll talk about it today on the Locked On Lightning podcast. You’re Locked on Lightning, your daily podcast on the Tampa Bay Lightning, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. Thank you for making Locked on Lightning your first listen of the day every single day. We are your free daily Tampa Bay Lightning podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network. Your team every day. As always, we want to start off by shouting out the Everydayers. All of you fans who tune into every single show, every single day. We love you. We appreciate the support you give us week in and week out. I’m Nick Morgan and I am joined by the ice cold Bud Light to my Nikita Coocher postgame press conference, Greg Steven. Greg, welcome, man. Hey, how are you doing? Good morning. I’m excited to talk about the future. Um maybe some predictions and uh we’ll see how the episode goes today. Yeah, uh speaking of future, it is a good time to uh take a look ahead to the Atlantic Division and see where the Tampa Bay Lightning may fall. Never too early for some way too early predictions. So, we’re gonna be looking at where the Lightning fit in on the Atlantic division heading into next year. Uh, and we will also talk about breakout stars, who are going to be the future players that join the core. All that coming up today. First though, I want to mention today’s episode is brought to you by Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account, and use code locked on. NHL for $20 off your first purchase. All right, Greg, let’s talk about Breakout Stars, shall we? I’m going to let you lead us off. Who’s someone you think maybe under the radar that you think is going to have a big year for the Tampa Bay Lightning heading into next year? Okay. I think the first name that comes to mind is Gage Gonzalez. Um, yes, sir. Kid put up 20 points in 60 games in this past regular season. And in the postseason, while the Lightning only played five games, he put up four points. And that’s an impressive feat for a guy who’s still very young and and trying to establish himself on this on this roster. Um, I think he is the most obvious breakout star for this coming season. I would not be surprised if he put up more than 40 points this season. Yeah, to me, when you look at Gage last year, it was almost like you’re kind of looking at two players. Uh it was earlier in the season when he was just kind of like the fill-in guy, wound up getting put on waiverss on January and you know just was fine like he was he was definitely like an AHL player that you trust to come in there and um you know fill in here and there. But then he got back uh you know after being waved after I think I think it was like a brief very brief stint um in Syracuse and he was a completely different player. Um, you know, you saw even if you look at the stats, you know, his Corsy went up, uh, his expected goals against went down, and he got more ice time. And you, especially, I think you really saw him kind of hit his crescendo in the playoffs because you saw him play with that kind of style that you need for playoff hockey. He’s chasing pucks. He’s, you know, throwing hits. his hits went up as the season progressed. He’s willing to get more physical, maybe a little bit less skilled. You know, as as my old personal trainer would say, you know, Gage got that dog in him, man. He got that dog in him. He does. And he fits that style of play that I quite frankly think the Lightning were missing at certain points last year. Yeah. No, I completely agree. I actually like what you had started with. Uh in the beginning of the season, I wasn’t particularly impressed with his play. Um, and then as you noted, like later in the season, he really like found his stride. And I think you could see the confidence building in his game, too, especially when he got to the playoffs. It looked like he wasn’t intimidated by the audience at all and, you know, the spectacle of being in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Um, he just looked great and I really think he’s going to take a massive step forward this season. But let me throw in some other names for you. Let’s do it. I think my second breakout candidate is Max Croer. And this guy is awesome. I mean, he played 52 games with Syracuse this past season, put up 34 points. When he did play the I think he played five games this past regular season for the Bolts, and he looked great in all of them. I think he made one really egregious error with positioning. He made just like a tough pinch decision in one of the plays. Outside of that, I saw no mistakes in this kid’s game. Like, I think he belongs on the team. um especially given, you know, the status of the Lightning D right now. Um I would not be surprised if he sees a lot of game time this coming season for the for the Lightning. Yeah. And a a right-handed shot too, which we know is a premium on the blue line. Um and it’s very interesting because I do think Max Croer, you hear him mentioned in a lot of places as okay, he’s the next guy, like he’s the guy that’s going to come in and kind of plug in one of these holes. Um, it’s interesting because you never really heard him mentioned as one of the top prospects for Tampa Bay. Um, I think Raw Charge a couple years ago just had him 19th on their 25 under 25, but he’s got some upside there. And I he’s not kind of the guy like you’re not going to predict him as like a future number one defenseman or anything, but I still think he can maybe find his way develop his way into like a reliable top four spot like Eric Chernack has now. That’s kind of what I’m looking at, Greg. I want to stick with defense, though. And another name I’m gonna throw out there is somebody who I think a lot of people would argue, how is this a breakout star? And that’s going to be JJ Moser. And I think the thing with JJ Moser is people saw him last year. He was, you know, Victor Hedman’s partner. And I think a lot of people are going to be like, how are you having a top pair defense as a breakout candidate? I just think there’s way more in the tank than when I when I see him. Last year, defense, best defensive season he’s ever had. But you go back and look at his stats uh with Arizona, you know, career-high 31 points two years ago. Uh I think he had 20 24 25, you know, the year before he got to Tampa and just 14 points last year. But you saw the defensive responsibility went way up. To me, I look at I look at JJ and I see I think there’s more scoring there. I wouldn’t be surprised if you see him top the 30 point mark this year and have a breakout offensive season with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Yeah, I don’t think that’s outlandish to say at all. Um, and you know, he did suffer an injury as well, so you know, this is likely going to be a full season for him coming up here. Um, and I think you’re right. I think he’ll settle in. He’s, you know, rehabbed and recovered. He’s ready to go now. Um, and I think he’s going to be, you know, a huge element to the Lightning run this season if they go on one. Uh, they need him to be the guy that you’re describing. Yeah, they need somebody else other than Headman to kind of provide that offensive support. Um it’ll it’ll be interesting to see what he can do. Especially I mean no offense to Nick Pervix. I feel like he at times was kind of maybe you know brought on for some of that offensive prowess. Um and you know you kind of had to pick and choose when to use him because the defense awareness wasn’t quite there. JJ’s different. JJ’s a guy that took a big defensive step last year and I think he’s going to be a guy that you can maybe trust to put in more, you know, in different game scenarios. So, it’ll be interesting to watch for him. Um, couple of other names we want to mention, including one guy that I’m not willing to say is a full breakout candidate, but a guy that I would say is a player to watch, a breakout teaser, if you will. We’ll talk about that coming up in just one second. Today’s episode is brought to you by Game Time. Have you ever decided last minute to head to a ball game with friends and family? Maybe it’s game day and you suddenly realize, “I got nothing to do. I’d like to be in the stands.” That is exactly the situation where game time comes in handy. It’s the easiest way to grab last minute tickets without the stress. And with the money you save on tickets, you can splurge on food, drinks, merch, and even a bigger group to come with you. Buy more tickets. Game time makes it all possible. 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So, download the Game Time app, create an account, use code locked on NHL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, create an account. Redeem code locked on NHL for $20 off. Download the Game Time app today. Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. Welcome back to Locked on Lightning. Greg, we’ve talked about a couple of breakout candidates. so far. You’ve got another one for us. I do. I think um and I don’t even know that I’d label him a breakout star necessarily, but I think like you had said earlier, this is a player to keep an eye on and that is Emil Lillberg. Um I think he is a great asset for the Lightning. I I think we had discussed in depth his disciplinary issues in this past season. you know, he did have significant amount of penalty minutes, over a hundred in fact. Um, which certainly needs to come down to, you know, almost, I would argue half at least. Um, I think he’s going to make that step this season. I think he’s going to come back disciplined. I think with new defensive coaching, it’s going to help him establish a better and stronger, more reliable game. And he’s going to be better positionally as well. And I think he’s going to be just a lockown guy in this coming season. I remember you when you know we were talking before we officially started this podcast and you were talking about Emil Lillberg and you always described him as like god the guys this penalty takes let me tell you like it it was interesting to kind of hear just the lightning fans perspective on it but you know as he mentioned he’s only 24 years old and I think there’s some things about a you know kind of a bigger defenseman that you kind to have to adapt to. And to me, I think it’s just sort of the awareness of when to be aggressive. And I think that was kind of Littleberg’s big thing last year. You know, a lot of stick penalties. Um, you know, that that kind of thing. You know, a lot of just situations that probably could have been avoided. To me, that’s the big thing to clean up on. And you’re right. I think if he cleans up maybe some of those IQ mistakes, you know, and and it’s to me it’s not just penalties, Greg. It’s when to press, it’s when to go, you know, maybe take a shot at a puck carrier coming in and when to stay back and contain. Those are some of the IQ moves that you have to be. That’s something Ryan Mcdana is really good at. We talked about that when we talked about some of the Mcdana rumors. That’s something that I think Emil can develop into uh with some more reps, some better hockey IQ. Yeah. And and look, you hope he’s learning from guys like Mcdana and Hedman, too, right? Like you hope that in this this camp they’re in now, like he’s getting more information all the time from these guys, how to improve his game, how to be more disciplined, when to be aggressive like you’re describing. And I think those are all the most important things he needs to work on. I don’t even think it comes down to like a skill issue or anything like that. You know, it’s it’s strictly like a mental game for him, I think, this coming season. And assuming he he takes that next step, I think he’s going to be huge for the next like five to 10 years for us. Yeah, agree. And you kind of hope he figures some things out because you could kind of see towards the end of that playoff run him losing John Cooper’s trust a little bit. He did not get a lot of ice time in that Panther series at all. U I think you’re entering a season where you’re going to have to rely on him uh a little bit more. So interesting to see what Lilbert can do. Greg, I want to throw out a name to you that I’m kind of in the same page. I’m not really willing to call this guy a full breakout candidate or or at least I’m not predicting his breakout season, but I think if he’s got the tools to figure it out, he’s somebody to watch. And that’s new acquisition Jacob Peltier. Now, this is this is a guy to me who was one of the Calgary Flames top prospects. Uh he’s been hurt a lot. Uh and that’s kind of been the biggest knock in his career was it’s just every time he kind of starts showing those flashes, he gets hurt. He’s also had a couple situations. He was traded to Philadelphia last year. They kind of had their own things going on. he was let go uh just because they have so deep of prospect pool. He’s coming to Tampa on a three-year two-way contract. To me, I I look at him and I see still flashes of that player that if he can stay healthy and figure it out, this might be one of the most underrated finds I think ever in lightning history because all the tools are there. The offensive tools are there. You see his motor when he’s chasing pucks. He’s got that sort of explosive playmaking ability. He just needs more reps. He needs to stay healthy. He needs consistency. But I’m not willing to give up on him as a star NHL player just yet. He’s somebody that I think give him some time on an experienced core like the Tampa Bay Lightning. You know, fingers crossed that he gets some, you know, healthy reps. I I see big things for this guy if he can figure it out. Yeah. No, I think you’re totally on to something there. Um I think the biggest challenge beyond just a a constant injury issue is just that the lightning forward group is so deep like giving him a lot of the time that he might need to settle into his game. You know, it’s going to be tough, right? like we already have two top lines that he likely won’t see, right? Um, which limits his ice time off the bat. Um, that doesn’t mean that he can’t settle into a good role and build his way up and work his way up the lines, right? It’s very possible. I think like you said, being injuryprone is tough in sports, right? All sports. Once you’re injuryprone, sometimes it can be the end of your career. Um, so like you said, if he can get through that battle, stay healthy, I think you’re right. I think he’s going to see some ice time. I think he has the ability to work his way up the roster and it’s really just going to come down to how how things go this season. And with that two-way contract, Greg, I I to your point, I think there is more room for him to be able to sort of settle in because I think he can go to Syracuse if needed and get, you know, first line minutes or, you know, heck, like put him in Tampa and just have him compete for a spot in training camp. Maybe give him some spots in the third line and just see maybe if he’s that guy, start him off slow. See if he can just kind of be that scoring winger that doesn’t have a lot of extra other responsibilities. Maybe give him some power play time and just see what you have. I mean, because Yeah. I mean, the top the top two is the top two lines I think are pretty settled, but I think there’s other room like are you going all in on Connor Geeky as your third line winger? I mean, there’s there’s potential for Peltier to kind of slip in there. Um, you know, you telling me you you trust Mitchell Chaffy to lock down a spot. Like I I look at this Lightning and team and I see, you know what, there there is potential there for somebody to kind of to kind of come in and just seize a spot. Yeah. No, I think you’re I think you’re on to something there. I And I think he will. I I don’t think not trying to take anything away from him. just think, you know, with being injuryprone and some of these guys have been, you know, with skating with the Lightning a like you had just mentioned, you know, those those few guys like they’ve been jelling with the Lightning for some time now. So, I think they will initially be the guys that the Lightning rely on. Um, that does not mean he can’t work his way in. And I think it’s very possible. And like you said, Geeki is still young. Like he’s he’s not locked in anywhere right now, right? Like they even sent him down for a while last season. So yeah, I think absolutely he’s that guy where if someone’s not playing well or performing well and you need a change, slot him in, like give this kid a shot and like you said, it could it could turn out to be a huge blessing in disguise. Like you know, such a small deal for such a great guy. Yeah. Yeah. Cheering for him too because you definitely want to see guys, you know, be able to live up to their full potential in the NHL on their terms, not necessarily be hampered for injuries or anything like that. Uh, Lightning fans, let us know who you think is going to be a breakout candidate this year. Uh, head over to our YouTube page if you’re watching this there and drop us a comment. Let us know which uh stars you think are going to be sort of the next uh big breakout candidates for the Lightning this year. Can also follow us on social media, Twitter, Instagram, all of the things. We’d love to hear from you. First though, we are going to be talking about the Atlantic Division. some way too early division picks. Where did the Lightning slide in on your standings for next year? We’ll debate in just one second. Welcome back to Locked on Lightning. Greg, let’s talk about the Atlantic division, shall we? Let’s do it. Yeah. Um, first off, I’m just I’m just gonna ask you the million-dollar question. Do you have anybody ahead of the Florida Panthers at this point? I do not. No, I have them at number one. Uh, as of right now on paper, no one will topple the Cats. I think they take first in the division. I I was going to argue with you hardcore uh if anybody finished ahead of Florida because I I just don’t see how you pick uh against them this morning. You know, three straight Stanley Cup appearances, two straight wins. It’s it’s they’re going to be everybody’s pre-season pick. Um even though I’m not necessarily sure they’re going to have a three repeat, but that’s a different topic for another day. Okay, so we both have Florida one. Um give us give me the rest of your top four. Let’s start there. Okay, for spot number two, I actually have the Bolts and the Habs. And I think the Canadians are going to take a massive step forward this season. I they just they look so good. They finally established a team. They got San Louie over there behind the bench. You know, it’s just all coming together over there. And I think this is the season like they’re going to they’re going to really shine. Um that being said, the Bolts are not a team to mess with either, right? So I think those are the two teams competing for two and three. Um that’s where that’s my biggest prediction. And as far as the four slot, I think the Sens and the Leafs are going to be competing for that one. Um, I think the Leafs are going to take a step back this year after Marner left. And I know a lot of people wanted the change and I I know that that’s probably healthy for them at this point. Like they need a change. I do think that that’s going to hurt them. I do I I really I don’t see how that’s going to make their team any better. So, I actually think they’re going to kind of take a step back this season slightly. I don’t think they’re going to miss the playoffs, but I think they’ll they’ll take, you know, fourth in the division probably, and the sends will be right there with them. That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it? It feels like the Leaves are kind of the lynch pin in this whole thing. I’m with you, though. I have I have us second. Um, and it’s just because I think when you look at us on paper compared to the rest of the division, I still think this is, you know, they check the most boxes. you know, strong goalend, strong defense, a really solid top two. You can argue a really, really good scoring top three as well in terms of forward lines. I’m gonna slide in Toronto right after them third because I’m with you, I do think they’re going to have to figure some things out with Mner. I still think they’re a really good team that has a lot of good weapons everywhere. I mean, they don’t have Martyr, but they still have multiple 60 goal scorer Austin Matthews. You know, they still have Knander. They still have John Tvaris, Morgan Riley in the blue line. You know, to me, the million-dollar question for Tampa has always just been, what’s the goalending situation going to be like? What random former AHL Allstar is going to just have a heater that comes on uh at some point this year? Uh and then I’m following that up. I’m going to go Montreal right after them for that four spot. Although I think you could make a very strong argument Ottawa’s there as well. These are two teams I love to watch. Me too. I I they’re going to be the future I think of the division. I I go with Montreal just because I think they have a little more upand cominging weapons. Um you know I think Ottawa’s at the point where all of their prospects are, you know, developed even though they got some more on the way. I just think Montreal has maybe a little bit more depth uh to finish that four spot. So, I got them Ottawa five. Okay, I like that. I I think the Habs are more exciting to watch. Um, that’s just a personal take, but it just the energy with that team just feels so high and so positive and the sends are almost like in this weird place where they like have been expected to do kind of well and then they’ve missed the playoffs and then they finally made it last season and then, you know, they face a good team and, you know, they go down. But I just think there’s more of a mental game there for the the sends than there is the Habs. And I think the Habs are just like they’re on this they’re on this like building positive stretch right now. And I think I really think they’re going to take it. Yeah, I’m excited to see what both of these teams can do. I think they both have some really good pieces there. Um, you know, kind of scary as a fan of a team in their division, but you know, what can you do? So, all right. So, there’s there’s our top five. Now, we have the uh the three non-playoff teams last year who I I guess we’re maybe not having them as playoff teams this year, although maybe one can sneak in. Um and that is the Detroit Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres, Boston Bruins. Where do you rank that bottom three? I think it’s probably Red Wings, Sabres, Bruins for me. Oh, Bruins last. Okay. Yeah. I mean, look, he just coughed up, you know, half their roster, right? Like there’s fair and this is a hot take, but I just think Swayman is slightly overrated. I think he’s a great goalie. I just don’t think he’s like this. I don’t think he’s Basilvki in his prime, right? So, I don’t know with just him and Pasta. It’s just I don’t I don’t know where they how they’re going to put up a fight against a real playoff team this season. It just it just seems very unrealistic. Um the Red Wings, they just they seemingly always just fall short. Um I don’t really see anything any reason to expect them to change so far on paper. Again, we got to see the deadline, the moves that happen throughout the season, but right now I just I think they’re going to miss again. Um, and the Sabres just seem to be always a bit of a disaster, uh, for a variety of reasons. Um, but look, Ta Thompson is a monster, and if that kid gets more help, that team could be deadly at some point soon. It’s just I don’t know if it’s this season. I feel like the Buffalo Sabres mantra is, “Oh, this team might be good.” Yeah. I feel like we’ve been saying that since 2012 at this point. It’s like, oh, this this might be their year. They’ve got players to build around, right? Sometimes they start so hot, too, and then all of a sudden it’s just like this. Wow. Hot. What happened? It was what, like something like 10 wins in 13 games or something within the past couple years, and then somehow missed the playoffs out of that. Also, uh, for the Bruins, no respect to them signing, uh, the man worth three top three draft picks. Um, you know, Tanner Jano, no no dis no respect for Tanner Jano coming in there and being a 20 goal scorer for rising Bruins team. No, you still shaking your head. I just It’s not enough. It’s not enough. No. Um, I am I I’m gonna say I do think the Red Wings, if you’re going to put anybody in that tier of next up, it’s them. um the the Eiser plan there has been very different than the Eiser plan here and I think it’s just you know when you look at it realistically Tampa had a lot more sort of to work with when Eisermanman came in here as opposed to what he’s had in Detroit. I think all the prospects are there you look at the prospect pool they’re loaded they’re loaded with a lot of players that I think are going to be legitimate top players in this league. It’s just the rest of the team that I think you need to figure out. um you know if they can ever find stability and goal um that’s going to be kind of the biggest thing I think for the Red Wings. They also have you know a lot of veterans there that aren’t really sort of delivering that kind of quality you want but they are I think maybe out of that group the next team that I would say break out and if there’s any one of those three that are going to challenge for a playoff spot it’s going to be them. Um, and then yeah, Boston Buffalo pick them. It is wild to look at the Bruins last year and look at their stats. David Posternok 106 points for the team last year. The next highest on the team, 57. Posak almost had 50 more points than the next highest score for the Bruins. That is insane. Yeah. Yeah. That’s not a good sign for a team who, you know, just dealt half their roster, too, right? So, yeah, they’re going to get some scoring help from noted first round pick worthy Tanner Jano. So, Oh, yeah. So, so there you go. Um, yeah, if you’re a fan of the Bruins, uh, please don’t yell at us in the comments too much. We we we’re, you know, Tampa might be there in five years. Who knows? Uh, yeah. Let us know what you think. Same for breakout stars. Leave us come on in on YouTube. Uh next week got some fun stuff coming up. We’re gonna start looking at a headtotoplayer previews. What to expect from Cooer off next year? What’s Victor Hedman uh going to look like? Is Andre Vaselki going to still be that stalwart he’s been over the past decade or so for the Lightning? We’re going to dive into all the stars and all the other upand cominging young talent in the Lightning room. So, be sure to tune in next week when we have all new episodes back. That’s going to do it for us on today’s Locked on Lightning. Thanks for making us your first listen of the day. Again, we’ll see you next week for more.

The Tampa Bay Lightning have a strong core, but they could always use more up-and-coming stars. On today’s show, Nick and Greg take a look at five breakout candidates that could have big years for the Bolts in 2025-26: Gage Goncalves, Emil Lilleberg, JJ Moser, Maxwell Crozier, and new addition Jakob Pelletier. What needs to happen for each of these players to put up career-best seasons for Jon Cooper and the Tampa Bay Lightning?

Plus, it’s never too early to make some bold predictions about the 2025-26 season! Where will the Lightning finish in the Atlantic Division? Will anyone in the division top Florida? Who will be the next up-and-coming team to challenge for the division title? We tackle these questions in our way-too-early Atlantic Division predictions.

BREAKOUT STARS: Will Gage Goncalves, Jakob Pelletier, or Maxwell Crozier Have Big Years in 2026?

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