Tampa Bay Lightning star Brayden Point was given an optimistic injury update from General Manager Julien BriseBois on Wednesday as training camp is set to break. The Lightning GM revealed that Point is back to 100% strength after he was sidelined for much of the team’s playoff run last season, via Eduardo A. Encina. That appears to be behind the superstar 26-year-old, and Point doesn’t figure to have much of any restrictions to start the new season.
Point sustained the lower-body injury during Game 7 of Tampa Bay’s first-round matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Despite skating in the remainder of that game, Point was then sidelined throughout the entirety of the series against both the Florida Panthers and New York Rangers. He was able to return in some capacity during the Stanley Cup Final, but it was clear the quad injury was laboring him.
In regards to his recovery, Point indicated he didn’t get to work on any offseason training until about a month after the season ended in order to ensure the injury was healed.
“I just let it heal fully and then start from there,” Point said of his recovery process.
Last year, Point featured in 66 games for the Lightning. He registered 58 points including 28 goals and 30 assists. He managed just nine playoff games during the Lightning’s bid for a Stanley Cup three-peat. He had two goals and five points in the playoff run in 2022, a far cry from the playoff-leading 14 goals he scored during each of Tampa’s Cup runs in 2020 and 2021.
Getting Brayden Point back to full strength for the 2022-23 season is a huge boost for the Lightning, and is hopefully an indication of a healthy season to come for the six-year veteran.
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