While there will be a new number 74 for the Tampa Bay Lightning beginning this fall, as John Carlson will retain the number he's used throughout the entirety of his career to this point, there have been four players to wear the number for the Lightning previously.

The first player to wear the number 74 for the Lightning was enforcer Brantt Myhres who appeared in 62 games for the Bolts across two seasons. During that time, he six points and a whopping 217 penalty minutes. He made his final NHL appearance for the Boston Bruins during the 2002-03 season before retiring entirely after spending the 2006-07 season in Europe.

Nearly a decade after Myhres wore the number, Nick Tarnasky became the second player in Lightning history to wear the number 74. The Lightning's ninth-round selection in 2003, Tarnasky played 169 games for the Bolts, scoring 11 goals and 20 points, along with 162 penalty minutes. He retired from professional hockey following the 2016-17 season.

While Ondrej Palat is mainly remembered for wearing the number 18 for most of his run with the Lightning, he did initially wear the number 74 during the 2012-13 season. Palat spent a decade with the  Lightning, scoring 143 goals and 423 points in 628 games before heading to the New Jersey Devils ahead of the 2022-23 season.

Currently, Palat is a member of the New York Islanders organization.

The most recent player to wear the number 74, until Carlson takes the ice that is, was Sean Day. A highly touted prospect well before his draft year, Day never quite panned out as expected, appearing in just two NHL games, both of which were with the Lightning. He has never recorded an NHL point, at least to this stage in his career, and he spent the 2025-26 season with the Bridgeport Islanders in the AHL.