Free Agent Focus: Tampa Bay Lightning

F Oliver Bjorkstrand – Like Perry, it’s highly unlikely that Bjorkstrand will be with Tampa Bay next season. Acquired alongside Yanni Gourde, the Lightning paid a hefty price in bringing both to the organization, and Bjorkstrand has not become what Tampa Bay hoped he would be. A quality secondary scorer earlier in his career, Bjorkstrand’s output fell to 12 goals and 32 points in 80 games for the Lightning this season, while also going scoreless in four postseason appearances. It’s apparent that he’s fallen out of favor in Tampa Bay, and the organization will likely choose to utilize its dollars elsewhere.

D Declan Carlile – Normally, Carlile wouldn’t be a key piece for the Lightning to think about retaining. However, given the amount of injuries the team dealt with on the blue line this past season, it would be prudent to keep him around for the next couple of years as insurance. He’s relatively physical and has good defensive metrics, but Carlile isn’t a defenseman who’s likely to find himself in the top four anytime soon. He finished the 2025-26 season with one goal and three points in 42 games with a +5 rating, averaging 14:47 of ice time per game.

Other UFAs: F Mitchell Chaffee, D Ian Mitchell, G Brandon Halverson, G Ryan Fanti

Projected Cap Space

For the first time in a while, the Lightning will enter the offseason with some flexibility. Knowing how much it was going to cost to retain him, Tampa Bay shipped off defenseman Darren Raddysh this morning, allowing him to sign an eight-year, $68MM extension with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Not being the ones to sign that extension, the Lightning will have approximately $13MM to use while already having 14 forwards, seven defensemen, and two goaltenders signed through next season. They’ll likely look for a veteran right-handed defenseman such as John Carlson or Jacob Trouba to replace Raddysh, but Tampa Bay should still have enough room to improve its depth after addressing that area of the roster.