The five o’clock window for having a cap-compliant roster has come and gone, and the Tampa Bay Lightning have officially announced their 2026-27 roster. With no one claimed off of waivers, and the Bolts making no claims, the Lightning had one more transaction to conduct to get to 23 players (well technically they had to make three moves) and they did it by loaning Benjamin Rautiainen back to Tappara to finish off his European contract.
They then placed Yanni Gourde and Dominic James on injured reserve to get to the magic number of 23. They have fifteen forwards, eight defensemen, and two goaltenders heading to New York on Thursday to face the Rangers. With Rautiainen taking a much longer flight, and Sam O’Reilly playing in a different part of New York, the Lightning went with veteran experience over youth to start the season. Jansen Harkins and Scott Sabourin made the roster and will likely see some action before the injured players return.
One younger player that did make the roster is Conor Geekie. It’s technically the third straight season the 22-year-old has made the cut to open the season, but last year he played in just six games before being assigned to Syracuse where he spent the majority of the season. This year could be a little different for him. With two of the Bolts depth centers out of the line-up, Geekie should get a pretty good look on the ice, and if the preseason is any indication, he’s ready to step up his game and keep his spot on the roster.
Defensively, the Lightning are going to carry a couple of extra blueliners for now. With an older defense it’s not that big of a surprise, but Coach Jon Cooper will be challenged to keep everyone fresh. His history indicates that he doesn’t like players to spend long stretches in the press box, so expect a lot of rotation in the third pairing to begin the season.
How was the roster built?
Seven players were drafted by the Lightning:
Andrei Vasilevskiy, Victor Hedman, Max Crozier, Brayden Point, Nikita Kucherov, Gage Goncalves, Anthony Cirelli
Eight came via trade:
Conor Geekie, Yanni Gourde, Jake Guentzel, Brandon Hagel, Erik Cernak, Ryan McDonagh, JJ Moser, Dennis Hildeby
The remaining ten came via free agency:
Emil Lilleberg, Charle-Edouard D’Astous, John Carlson, Jeffrey Viel, Scott Sabourin, Ilya Mikheyev, Dominic James, Pontus Holmberg, Jansen Harkins, Zemgus Girgensons
Debuts:
Harkins, Mikheyev, Viel, and Hildeby will all make their Lightning debuts when they get into their first games.
The number 94 – No Lightning player has worn that number in an official game. Conor Geekie will be the first. Ilya Mikheyev will be the first player since Michel Petit in 1996 to wear the number 95.
Demographics:
There are ten Canadians, five Americans, three Russians, three Swedes, one Swiss, one Slovakian, one Latvian, and one Norwegian.
Youngest – Conor Geekie: 22 years, 146 days
Oldest – Ryan McDonagh: 37 years, 107 days
Born in the 1980s – one
Born in the 1990s – seventeen
Born in the 2000s – seven
Tallest – Victor Hedman 6’7″ (the Lightning have Hildeby listed at 6’6″)
Shortest – Yanni Gourde 5’10”
Heaviest – Erik Cernak 232 lbs.
Lightest – Nikita Kucherov 172 lbs.
Financials:
Total projected cap hit (per Puckpedia): $102,096,666
Estimated cap space: $1,903,334
Estimated cap space at trade deadline: $8,791,590
Largest cap hit: $9,500,000 three players – Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, Andrei Vasilevskiy
Lowest cap it: $841,667 – Dennis Hildeby
Largest total salary: $9,750,000 Brayden Point
Lowest total salary: $850,000 six players – Hildeby, Emil Lilleberg, Max Crozier, Jansen Harkins, Scott Sabourin, Zemgus Girgensons
Largest signing bonus: $7,900,000 – JJ Moser
Smallest signing bonus: $0.00 thirteen players
No Movement Clauses: Five – Point, Jake Guentzel, John Carlson, Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh
Full No-Trade Clauses: Six – Brandon Hagel, Anthony Cirelli, Ilya Mikheyev, Yanni Gourde, Jeff Viel, Erik Cernak
Partial No-Trade Clauses: Three – Kucherov (10 team), Girgensons (16 team), Vasilevskiy (10 team)
Players with no trade protections: Eleven