Three Tampa Bay Lightning Prospects for the 2024–2025 Campaign
It has been one of the more active and newsworthy offseasons for the Tampa Bay Lightning in recent memory. The team decided to part ways with longtime captain Steven Stamkos and talented two-way defenseman Mikhail Sergachev while adding Jake Guentzel via free agency and Ryan McDonaugh via a trade with the Nashville Predators. Tanner Jeannot, Tyler Motte, Calvin de Haan, and rentals are also gone, as are Matt Dumba and Anthony Duclair. At the same time, Cam Atkinson, Zemgus Girgensons, and Jesse Ylonen have been added to the roster.
The Lightning felt that these moves, however unpopular they may be with the fanbase, were needed to make the Lightning a tougher team to play against in 5-on-5 situations. In 5-on-5 play, they were 25th in the NHL in scoring differential per 60 minutes. They were outscored 190-172, which is not what you expect from a team that one would hope could make a deep run in the playoffs.
There is little doubt that Andrei Vasilevskiy had the worst statistical season of his career last season. Much of this could have been contributed to surgery to repair a herniated lumbar disc in his back last September, pushing his season debut until the end of November.
After returning, Vasilevskiy posted multiple career lows at 5-on-5 than previous seasons. His .904 save percentage (SV%) ranked last in his ten-year tenure in the NHL, and it was the first time he had a SV% below .920 at 5-on-5. Hopefully, a fully healthy Vasilevskiy can return to form, but he and the team will need some help on the nights he needs rest.
In this offseason, the Lightning decided not to bring in an inexpensive veteran backup and appears willing to let Jonas Johansson take on that role for the upcoming season. The 28-year-old appeared in a career-high 26 games with the Lightning last season, posting a 12-7-5 record, two shutouts, and a .890 SV%.
However, this is a slight dropoff from when he was the starter in Vasilevskiy’s absence and was named the NHL’s second star for the last week in October 2024, when he went 4-1-2 through his first seven total games, compiling a 2.56 goals-against average (GAA) and .925 SV%. It is difficult to post those numbers when playing sparingly, but the Lightning need something close to that production when their star goaltender is given the night off.
