In less than two months, the Tampa Bay lightning will be on the ice again for the regular season. Every season brings new storylines and new milestones. Everything can pop up at any time, but it is nice to try to determine which we could see. We will try to do that here.
Here are four predictions for the coming season 2025-26.
Hail reaches 100 points
Brandon Hagel has taken a nice step forward in his production in every season of his career. He Reach 90 points last season With career heights in Doelen (35) and Assists (55). Now it’s time to hit triple figures.
If the almost 27-year-old attacker would reach the 100-point mark, this would be the eighth copy in lightning history, and he would be the fourth lightning player in general to achieve the goal.
Nikita Kucherov has five of those seven authorities, with Steven Stamkos and Martin St. Louis each picking up one. Both last players were short in other seasons. St. Louis finished another time with 99 points and Stamkos fails with 98 and 97.
Funny enough, none of these seasons when St. Louis won the Art Ross Trophy. He won it with 94 and 60 points.
Crozier plays in at least 60 NHL games
Maybe I’m crazy for making this prediction. Prior to last season, I said we would see more from Max Crozier, and he eventually played fewer NHL games. Let’s try this again. This time he settles on the Lightning defense.
The 25-year-old defender only saw action last season in five NHL matches, against 13 in 2023-24. However, he made the best of his time with the Syracuse Crunch. He saw a significant increase in his attacking production and went from 21 points in 49 games in 2023-24 to 34 points in 52 games.
That is a bump of 0.43 points per match up to 0.65 points per game. Increased production of a defender is always an advantage. Adding another level to his game as a supplement to his physicality will make him more valuable in a lightning team that is looking for more depth and to reinforce.
Mark him as the latest late bloomer to participate in the Lightning selection.
Lightning reaches play -offs … like a wildcard team
Yes, this prediction sees the lightning taking a step back in the rankings while keeping their playoff line alive. Since their current Playoff performance started in 2017-18, they have finished in the top three of each season, except for the 2023-24 season. They finished fourth in the Atlantic Ocean and took the first wildcard spot.
Related: NHL’s Atlantic Division is probably a glove in 2025-26
To be honest with lightning, it is not because they have necessarily got worse. Other teams get better. The Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators are increasing, and in turn I predict that one of them will land in the top three this season – I tend to the Canadiens here.
At a wildcard spot, however, could be a disguised blessing for this team. Entering the play-offs with a different seed can lead to a more favorable matchup in the first round.
Dylan Duke is settling in NHL this season
Dylan Duke had a nice first full season in the professional ranks last season. He played 62 games for the crunch of the American Hockey League (AHL) and set 20 goals and 20 assists for 40 points. He also had the chance to play a few games with lightning, and he made his chance Scoring his first career goal.
He will not start in the NHL. I think he will play in Syracuse for a month or so. But he will make an impression, get a chance and never give it up. The next generation starts to leave their mark. Conor Geekie and Gage Goncalves are already in the NHL and Duke will come to them soon enough.
Okay, now we sit back, relax and wait. That is the pleasure of predictions. You make them, and everything you can do is wait to see if the shovel brags in the spring and summer.
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