The Lightning are heading into training camp already thinner down the middle and on the wing, and they’ll have to wait a while before Yanni Gourde and Dominic James can help.
General manager Julien BriseBois said in his pre-camp press conference, via beat writer Benjamin Pierce, that Gourde is expected to be sidelined until December after offseason hip surgery. James, meanwhile, fractured his hand during offseason training and will miss a few weeks once the season begins.
For Gourde, the timetable means Tampa Bay will be without him for at least its first 26 regular-season games. That’s a significant absence for a player who has been a steady piece of the Lightning’s bottom six and, by his own standards, has stayed relatively healthy over the last five years.
Gourde’s offensive ceiling is no longer what it once was. He had seasons earlier in his career when he pushed toward 50 points, and he hit 64 in 2017-18.
Last season, his first full year back with Tampa Bay since 2020-21, he produced nine goals and 28 points in 82 games with a -6 rating. He averaged 16:22 of ice time, delivered 115 hits, posted a 52.2% CorsiFor at even strength and finished 10th in Selke Trophy voting.
James’ setback pushes back what was set to be his sophomore season. He made his NHL debut with Tampa Bay last year and put up seven goals and 15 points in 43 games, adding a +4 rating while averaging 12:14 per night. He also managed a 51.4% faceoff success rate, which stands out for a young center, and began 59.6% of his shifts in the offensive zone.
Even with the injuries piling up before camp, Tampa Bay has shown it can handle this kind of early-season attrition. Last year, the Lightning were hit hard by injuries on defense, yet they still pieced together a blue line that carried them to second in the Atlantic Division and third in the Eastern Conference.
In Other News...
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Kucherov has not signed an extension yet, with one year still left on his current deal, so the long view will keep hanging over the season even as camp gets rolling. For now, the focus from his side is on the present and on helping Tampa Bay chase another strong year, but this is one of those situations the Lightning cannot ignore for long, especially with a player of his caliber approaching a pivotal stretch. [Read more 🡒]
Lightning Start The Season With A Forward Problem They Can't Ignore
The Lightnings center depth took a hit before the puck even dropped, with general manager Julien BriseBois saying Yanni Gourde will remain sidelined through the early part of the season while he continues recovering from offseason hip surgery. Gourde is entering the second season of the six-year deal he signed with Tampa Bay, and his absence leaves a notable void in the middle of the lineup for a team that was counting on veteran stability down the center aisle.
Dominic James was supposed to be part of the next wave after his rookie NHL season and a new two-year entry-level contract, but he, too, is out of the picture for now after breaking his hand during training. BriseBois said James will miss the first few weeks of the season, which only heightens the pressure on Tampa Bay to patch together its forward group until reinforcements start coming back. [Read more 🡒]
Nikita Kucherov's Biggest Lightning Question Still Has No Clear Answer
Contract questions around star players can linger all season, and Nikita Kucherov has now become the latest reminder of how carefully the Lightning manage their biggest business decisions. Julien BriseBois has confirmed that extension talks with Kucherov are still ongoing, a notable backdrop for a player whose place in Tampa Bays core has long been settled on the ice even as the paperwork remains unfinished.
Kucherov is heading into the final year of his deal, and for now the Lightning are leaving the hockey side to take care of itself while the front office keeps the dialogue open. BriseBois has stayed in touch with Kucherovs agent, and both sides would have preferred to have something done already, but the lack of a clear answer is exactly what keeps this one in view as the season moves along. [Read more 🡒]