Raw Charge
The static cling that brings Tampa Bay Lightning fans together.
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Sunday Night Speculation – Patrik Laine
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 h...
Injury could lead to a solution for the Lightning’s crowded crease
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 ...
Three rookies who could make their NHL debut for the Lightning this season
The original theme of this article was going to be, “Which Lightning rookie could win the Calder Trophy?” but, to be honest, the chances of that happening are about the same as Frenchy’s restaurant taking over the naming rights to Benchmark Arena. Sure, it could happen, and it would be great, but it’s probably not going to happen. The betting sharps seem to agree considering that as of the time of publication, not a single member of the Tampa Bay Lightning organization has posted odds to win t...
Could the Lightning dip into the college free agent market again?
As a team that uses its higher picks to improve their current roster through trades instead of drafting prospects, the Tampa Bay Lightning often have to find alternative means to adding young talent to the organization. Be it through European free agents or undrafted college and junior players, the Bolts have been able to find a gem or three over the years. Another means, and one that played out pretty well last summer with Dominic James , is to sign a college player whose draft rights have ex...
Lightning Morning News: Lightning prospect showcase announced
After a little bit of an unscheduled break, we are back! A big thank you for everyone who kept things going in the comment section (and with minimal folks getting thrown in jail by the auto-moderators!). Now that we’re back to regular posts (hopefully) we’ll catch up on a few things that have been announced over the last week. Sadly, an extension for Nikita Kucherov wasn’t one of those, but we’re not at the panic stage just yet. Would be nice if he was under contract, sure, but we’re not ...
The 2026 Raw Charge Top 20 Under 25 ranking is now open
It’s one hundred degrees in the shade. The water in the Gulf is only slightly cooler than a nice hot cup of tea. The Rays are fighting for a pennant. That can only mean one thing – it’s time to rank some prospects! That’s right, our annual ranking of the youngsters in the Tampa Bay Lightning organization is upon us. As always, you, the readers have a say in who the top prospects will be. In fact, you have the only say. Much like last summer, you alone will determine the final rankings. As...
With the Celebrini contract question answered, focus shifts to next year’s unrestricted free agents
Poor Kirill Kaprizov. Well, not really. He is the exact opposite of poor. However, the Minnesota Wild forward never truly got to enjoy his reign as the top paid player in the NHL. Despite garnering headline after headline last summer with his then record-setting extension that topped out at $17 million per season, he never actually skated a single game as the highest-paid player in the league. Since then he’s seen Leo Carlsson and now Macklin Celebrini surpass him in the salary game. Before th...
Pending Lightning free agent could be poised for a breakout season
The 2026 NHL Free Agent Season hasn’t even ended yet. Heck, we’re not even a full month into it yet, but that’s not going to stop us from looking ahead to the 2027 NHL Free Agent Season. A lot of focus has been on Nikita Kucherov, which is understandable considering he can lay a legitimate claim to being the best player in the league. Unfortunately, he isn’t the only Tampa Bay Lightning player that can test unrestricted free agency next season. Jonas Johansson, Zemgus Girgensons, Charle-Edouar...
Ethan Czata invited to Team Canada Summer Showcase, joins Sweden’s Morgan Anderberg
On Friday, Team Canada announced their roster for the upcoming 2026 World Junior Summer Showcase. Among the 32 names was Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Ethan Czata. For the 19-year-old forward, it’s the first step to making the cut for the World Junior Championship in late December. He’ll join Morgan Anderberg, who was named to the Swedish roster last month , in Windsor for the tournament. Neither the U.S. or Finland will have a representative from the Bolts this season. The international g...
New players = new numbers
Part of the fun of free agency is simply the fact that there are new players on the roster. Especially a team like the Tampa Bay Lightning, that has been together, for the most part, for quite a few seasons. Along with the new faces, there are new jersey numbers to learn and get used to on the ice. With the Bolts announcing, in their own creative way, which numbers the latest crop of free agents will be wearing, we also get a chance to remember some players from the past. New numbers in...
Lightning Morning News: Crunch owner comments on the extension of partnership with Tampa Bay
A week ago, the Tampa Bay Lightning and Syracuse Crunch announced an extension of their affiliation which dates back to 2012. The four-year deal will carry them through the 2029-30 season and continue the longest, and most successful, partnership in Lightning franchise history. On Wednesday, Syracuse Crunch owner Howard Dolgon released a statement about the deal on social media: A letter from owner Howard Dolgon about our four-year affiliation extension with the @TBLightning . ⚡️👊 #Tamp...
Delving into a Nikita Kucherov extension
The NHL draft is over. Free agent frenzy is over. For the most part the Tampa Bay Lightning have put their 2026-27 roster together. So, that means everything is crossed off of Julien BriseBois’ to-do list, right? Kind of. There is one highlighted item left on that list, and while it might not be urgent, getting it done sooner than later will prevent a lot of stress down the road. What is that item that is highlighted, underlined, circled, and written in bold? Getting an extension done for...
Lightning Morning News: Stars and Robertson come to an agreement
One of the biggest stories of the off-season came to a resolution. Kind of. The Dallas Stars and restricted free agent Jason Robertson have agreed to a new contract for next season. Just next season. It’s a one-year deal with a $12 million cap hit. When the deal expires on June 30, Robertson will be an unrestricted free agent. He will be eligible for an extension as of January 1, so expect the trade/contract talk to ramp back up right around that time, especially if the Stars are struggling. ...
Lightning Morning News: Milestone watch – Andrei Vasilevskiy
It’s a random Tuesday in July and there isn’t much going on in the hockey world so why not look ahead and see what type of milestones are on the horizon for Tampa Bay Lightning players. First up, The Big Cat, Andrei Vasilevskiy. 600 Games Played Vasilevskiy has appeared in 598 regular season games (588 starts). He should clear this one fairly early in the season which will make him the 56th goalie in NHL history to hit that mark. If he gets into his usual 60-ish games, he’ll be up ar...
Lightning Morning News: The big names without contracts
Today was supposed to be the day that arbitration hearings started, but the two players that were scheduled were among the handful of players that settled on new contracts with their teams over the last week. Cole Perfetti signed a five-year deal with Winnipeg that carries a $6 million AAV. Jamie Drysdale also came to an agreement with Philadelphia on a four-year contract worth $6.5 million per season. He wasn’t the only Flyer to cut a deal as Trevor Zegras also signed for four seasons , but h...
Tampa Bay Lightning announce their 2026-27 NHL schedule
Yesterday, one of the slowest days in professional sports, was a little box of sunshine for hockey fans as the NHL released the 2026-27 season. It’s that wonderful time of year where every fanbase thinks their team’s schedule is the most unfair and yet more proof that the league hates them. For the first time since the 1993-94 season, the Lightning will play 84 regular season games with 42 happening in the friendly confines of the Benchmark International Arena (that is still the name right?). ...
Lightning Morning News: Bolts place two in Top 100 prospects list
Twice a year The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler releases his Top 100 drafted NHL prospect rankings . He dropped his summer edition yesterday and the Tampa Bay Lightning had not one, but two prospects in the list! While they lag fairly far behind Chicago’s eight ranked prospects, it’s still not a bad showing for a team that has drafted one player in the first round in once in the last seven years. Based on their lack of high-end picks it’s no surprise that both players were actually drafted by o...
Lightning Morning News: The Arbitration Hearings have been set
With a lack of restricted free agents on the roster this summer, the Tampa Bay Lightning don’t have much to worry about over the next couple of weeks. Other teams (cough, Philadelphia, cough) have some work to do. It’s never fun to sit in a room and tell a player why he isn’t worth what he thinks he is, so most of the time the two sides come to an agreement. For a reminder, if any of these players do actually go to arbitration an independent adjudicator listens to the two sides and makes ...
Lightning Morning News: Three great Tampa Bay sports moments
In lieu of the Tampa Bay Rays celebrating the career of Evan Longoria*, we decided to come up with each of the major sports franchises’ most exciting moments (non-championship winning edition). What does non-championship winning mean? Well, for the Lightning it means no game-winning Stanley Cup goals (sorry Rusty Fedotenko and Ross Colton), and for the Bucs, no Super Bowl moments (sorry Dexter Jackson). We’re leaving it open for playoff moments, though, especially since two of the ones we pick...
Catching up with the Syracuse Crunch
The Syracuse Crunch probably would have liked the services of Charle-Edouard D’Astous for an entire season. The same goes for Dominic James. Alas, the lot in life of an AHL affiliate is that, sometimes, the needs of their NHL parent outweigh what is best for them. Despite the roster churn caused by the injuries that plagues the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Crunch had a really strong season. After a back-and-forth start to the season a run of twelve wins in thirteen games in February propelled...
Lightning Evening News: IOC lifts suspension on Russian Olympic Committee
Since 2023, the International Olympic Committee has suspended the Russian Olympic Comittee, which has barred their athletes from participating. On Tuesday, the IOC lifted the suspension , which paves the way for Russian participation, under their own flag, in the 2030 Summer and Winter Olympics. That could mean NHL players like Nikita Kucherov and Andrei Vasilevskiy can represent their county in a true best-on-best international tournament. There are still some hurdles for the players to ...
Lightning Morning News: Flyers’ offer sheet will affect more than just the Ducks
One advantage to having a prospect tier ranked in the lower-third of the league is that your players rarely attract offer sheet attention. It also helped that the Tampa Bay Lightning didn’t have any restricted free agents on their depth chart after they opted to not tender a contract to Ethan Samson (who signed with Montreal), so they can sit back and watch the Leo Carlsson drama from a comfortable distance. At some point this week, Pat Verbeek will make his decision about Carlsson, a bud...
What do the Tampa Bay Lightning look like after free agency
For the most part, Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois was true to his word when it came to how the 2026-27 team would look compared to the one that finished the 2025-26 season. It is, for the most part, pretty similar. Even with their big late-night signing of John Carlson, the basic layout of the roster is the same if you flip Carlson for Darren Raddysh, i.e. an offense-first defenseman on the right-side of the ice. Our way too early guess at how the roster will look: ...
Lightning sign John Carlson to two-year contract
Julien BriseBois waited until later in the day to nab the top defenseman left on the market, but he got his man as the Tampa Bay Lightning sign John Carlson to a two-year deal with an AAV of $8.5 million. We’ll have more on the signing later this afternoon, but it was a possibility we speculated about last month . The official press release: TAMPA BAY – The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed defenseman John Carlson to a two-year contract worth an AAV of $8.5 million, vice pre...
Lightning add three players on two-way contracts
Following the somewhat shocking trade of Nick Paul, the Tampa Bay Bay Lightning continued adding goaltenders to the system as they announced the signing of Olivier Rodeigue and Mads Sogaard along with defenseman Michael Callahan. All three players were signed to one-year, two-way contracts. Prior to free agency opening, the Lightning had just three goaltenders under contract for next season: Andrei Vasilevskiy, Jonas Johansson, and prospect Harrison Meneghin. Considering Meneghin had one ...
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