Each year, we see several players break out and cement themselves as true NHL players. This will undoubtedly occur during the 2025-26 season, and the Tampa Bay Lightning have a promising breakout candidate in defenseman Max Crozier.
Crozier has been knocking on the door to gaining a more significant role on the Lightning, and he has a good chance of doing just that in 2025-26. After losing Nick Perbix to the Nashville Predators, a spot on the Lightning's NHL roster has opened up, and Crozier should compete for it.
Crozier appeared in 18 games over the last two seasons with the Lightning, where he recorded two assists and 27 hits. He also played in three post-season games for the Lightning during the 2024 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. Overall, he has shown signs of promise when getting the opportunity for the Lightning, and that should help him get more this upcoming season.
Yet, Crozier's play this past season at the AHL level with the Syracuse Crunch should only create more optimism about his future with the Bolts. The 6-foot-3 blueliner took a nice step forward in his development with Syracuse in 2024-25, recording new AHL career highs with nine goals, 25 assists, and 34 points in 52 games.
It will now be interesting to see what kind of season Crozier puts together in 2025-26, but the possibility of him cementing himself as a nice part of Tampa Bay's roster is undoubtedly there.
Lightning Made Great Move Keeping Forward Around
The <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning">Tampa Bay Lightning</a> have made multiple moves during this off-season. One of their most notable ones was re-signing veteran forward Yanni Gourde to a six-year contract with an average annual value of $2.33 million.