Five Questions Facing the Lightning As Training Camp Opens
There are 68 players who arrived Thursday at the TGH Ice Plex in Brandon for a condensed 13-day, four-game Tampa Bay Lightning training camp, and there might be 68 questions that fans want answered as the team preps for the 2026-27 season.
“It really hit me,” Lightning General Manager Julien BriseBois said on Wednesday during the team’s Media Day interviews, “it’s a 13-day camp. That’s really fast.”
Most of the inquiries that the Bolts Nation has for the players and leadership probably won’t be answered before the regular season opener on Oct. 1 at Madison Square Garden against the New York Rangers (7 p.m.), but some might be.
Here is a glance at five things to ponder as the team begins its quest for its fourth Stanley Cup title.
- Is a contract extension coming for Nikita Kucherov?
BriseBois openly admitted on Wednesday that he believes the reigning Hart Memorial Trophy winner is an all-time great in his mind.
“I’ve said this many times,” BriseBois began, Nikita is an historically great player. He’s not just one of the best players in the world right now; he may be the best player in the world right now.
“He is one of the best players ever.”
Kucherov has one season remaining on his current contract, and BriseBois made it crystal clear that he and everyone else within the organization want to extend that deal “for many years to come.”
“Both parties, I know, would have preferred to have a deal done (and) be able to put that behind us.
“We haven’t been able to do that.”
BriseBois said that he is “still in touch with his agent,” so Lightning fans can take a breath and expect a contract to be signed – at some point.
- Which Victor Hedman will Tampa Bay fans watch this season?
The soon-to-be 36-year-old Hedman battled ailments throughout last season, both physical and mental. He was limited to a career-low 33 games, including the postseason. However, on Wednesday, he said he is in a much better place in every possible area.
“I feel great,” Hedman said. “I’m super excited. I’m excited to start a new season.”
If Hedman returns to the form that he showed 18 months ago, then Tampa Bay has added a 60-plus point defenseman. Throw in a productive John Carlson, who will be 37 in January and had 60 points last season, and the Lightning just more than made up for losing Darren Raddysh to Toronto as a free agent.
“I had a phenomenal off-season,” Hedman said. “It’s been a great summer.”
We’ll see if it results in a “great” winter.
- Which Brayden Point will Tampa Bay fans watch this season?
Unlike Hedman, who had a clear explanation (mental and physical health) for his downward spiral last season, Point’s struggles remain a mystery.
The 30-year-old center had his least productive year (50 points) since the 2020-21 season.
“I think that if you just look at the result last year (a first-round playoff exit),” Point said on Wednesday, “and for me personally how it went last year, I think that was motivation enough for me to have a good summer, and then try to put myself in the best position that I could coming into this year.”
Point spent a good amount of time on the ice this off-season training with Kucherov, who is infamous for his training diligence.
“It was a lot of fun to work with him,” Point said of Kucherov. “We got a lot of ice time together.
“I definitely learned a lot, and I feel like I am a better player for it.”
Point said Kucherov “really has a talent for” coaching, and the two worked on “everything.”
Many felt last season that Point’s ability to get shots off quickly and accurately in traffic took a slide, which explained why his number of goals declined from 42 in 2024-25 to 18 last winter.
“Hopefully,” Point said, “I’ve set myself up to be better this year.”
- What impact will a 36-year-old Carlson have on the defense?
Regardless of his age, Carlson had the most productive season (from a points-scored perspective) in the past four seasons last year. He was traded at the deadline in March from Washington to Anaheim, and finished with 60 points.
“His experience alone is huge,” Tampa Bay veteran defenseman Ryan McDonagh said of signing Carlson in July. “As a fellow veteran myself, I was pumped to see him join the group.”
The Stanley Cup winners (Carolina Hurricanes) thought highly enough of Carlson that they traded for his exclusive rights in late June to sign him for this season. However, Carlson liked what he saw of the Lightning, despite their struggles in each of the past four postseasons, and chose to come to Tampa.
“I think that it is a great opportunity here,” Carlson said. “I think that the team is obviously packed full of great talent, great, great players, and a lot of potential.”
The back line of the Lightning may include three future Hall of Famers in Hedman, McDonagh, and Carlson. However, at 35, 37, and 36 years of age, respectively, added to an 84-game schedule for the first time in National Hockey League history, and hopefully a loooong spring of postseason games, it remains to be seen how the aged players navigate the challenge of “Father Time.”
- What role will young phenom Sam O’Reilly fill?
A year ago, Tampa Bay fans weren’t paying a second of attention to forward Dominic James or defenseman Charle-Edouard D’Astous in training camp. Yet, both ended up having tremendous seasons and appear to be mainstays for several years to come with this team.
The exact opposite approach is being taken by Bolts Nation regarding O’Reilly.
Everyone has their hopes as high as a scorching sun over St. Pete Beach for the 20-year-old, who dominated the Ontario Hockey League last season.
“He’s a young player,” BriseBois said of O’Reilly last May, bit with really good upside. The way that he plays the game already, even that small sample we got in (2025) training camp, tells me that he probably won’t need that much time in order to be able to come here and contribute.
“He already plays a pro-style game.”
What O’Reilly really provides is a right-handed center who is very good in the face-off circle. That is something that the Lightning sorely lack, looking at this year’s squad.
Point is the lone player who has those specifics.
A year ago, James and D’Astous opened the season with American Hockey League affiliate Syracuse, before it was clear they could help in Tampa after a short stay up North. Perhaps that is the path for O’Reilly. Or perhaps he follows the path of young center Conor Geekie, who has spent the better part of each of the past two seasons (66 total games in Tampa) with the Crunch.
“He’s going to have to go through a lot of the same things that other players his age go through,” BriseBois said, “like getting used to the physicality, getting a little stronger, and he can always get quicker.
“He can work on his shot and work on his skills. Everyone can do that. But if he can adjust to the pace and the physicality, as soon as he’s got that figured out, I think his game is already (at this level).”
