The Tampa Bay Lightning have had a fairly quiet off-season, but they did add to their depth a bit.
One player who the Lightning brought in this summer was forward Jakob Pelletier. The Bolts signed the Quebec City, Quebec native to a three-year contract with an average annual value (AAV) of $775,000. While this is certainly not among the most-talked-about NHL signings this summer, it has the potential to be a good one for the Bolts.
At just 24 years old, Pelletier still has time to hit a new level and become a nice part of the Lightning's roster. The 2019 first-round pick has shown promise early on in his career, and it will be interesting to see if playing for a top team like the Lightning can help him take that next step. When noting that Lightning have a history of helping players take their games to new heights, they certainly could again with Pelletier.
Pelletier also put up decent numbers with the Calgary Flames last season before being traded to the Philadelphia Flyers. In 24 games with the Flames in 2024-25, he posted four goals, 11 points, and a plus-10 rating. While this sample size was small, the possibility of Pelletier providing the Lightning with decent secondary offensive production should not be ruled out. He was doing just that for Calgary before being traded to Philly.
Overall, when noting that the Lightning landed a former first-round pick for multiple years at the league-minimum, it is hard not to like this low-risk move for Tampa Bay. It will be interesting to see if Pelletier can break out for the Bolts and become a nice part of their roster from here.
2 Lightning Players Who Could Be Nice Surprises
Now that we are inching closer to September, hockey season is right around the corner. The <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning">Tampa Bay Lightning</a> will certainly be an interesting team to watch next season, as they will be looking to prove that they are still legitimate contenders.