Dominic James is on the verge of rejoining the Tampa Bay Lightning, and the move is forcing the team to shuffle out a recently signed depth center to make room.
James has recovered from the broken hand he suffered during offseason workouts and could be back in the lineup as soon as Thursday night against the Minnesota Wild. To clear a roster spot, the Lightning placed center Jansen Harkins on waivers with the goal of sending him to the Syracuse Crunch.
Harkins signed a one-year, two-way deal this summer and got into the season opener, a loss for the Bolts. He played 10:55, finished with one shot on goal on one scoring chance, and was credited with five hits.
Even with a career faceoff rate of 52.5%, he lost all four draws he took against the Rangers’ centers. Once Tampa Bay shifted to an 11/7 setup, Harkins was the forward who wound up in the press box.
His strong training camp helped earn him a place with James and Yanni Gourde on the injured list, but he always looked like the most likely forward to hit waivers once one of the injured centers was ready. If he clears, he’ll bring Syracuse a veteran who has put up 161 points, with 62 goals and 99 assists, in 225 AHL games. The 29-year-old would also stay near the top of the recall list all season if Tampa Bay needs help again.
James gives the Lightning a different kind of boost. The 24-year-old got called up early last season and made it tough to send him back down, finishing with seven goals and eight assists in 43 regular-season games. A late-season injury sidelined him, but he returned for all seven games against Montreal and posted two goals and one assist, becoming one of Tampa Bay’s more dangerous skaters in the series.
His speed is the real weapon. James was one of the team’s best forwards at carrying the puck from the defensive zone into the offensive end, and that kind of transition game is exactly why he stands out. What Brayden Point does on his line, and what Brandon Hagel brings on the Anthony Cirelli line, James can provide elsewhere in the lineup.
How Jon Cooper deploys him will be worth watching. Pontus Holmberg, Zemgus Girgensons, and Ilya Mikheyev appear to have steadied the third line, so James could land on a fourth line with Jeff Veal and Conor Geekie. In the Lightning’s last full practice, he worked at wing with Gourde and Scott Sabourin.
After a shaky start as a group, Tampa Bay’s forwards have looked much better over the last two games, with contributions coming throughout the lineup. If Cooper stays with the 11/7 alignment, it may be difficult to sit any of the forwards.
That decision could come on defense instead, with either Charle-Edouard D’Astous or Max Crozier the likely odd man out for a game or two. More clarity should come after Wednesday’s practice.
In Other News...
Lightning Just Sent A Tough Message About Three Young Prospects
The Lightnings prospect pipeline got a little rougher around the edges this week, with Syracuse Crunch general manager and head coach Joel Bouchard announcing that three young players have been moved down the organization. Forward Milo Roelens, forward Connor Kurth and defenseman Dyllan Gill were all reassigned from Syracuse to the Orlando Solar Bears, a reminder that even in the AHL, development can come with a quick change in scenery.
For Tampa Bay, the move touches three different stages of the system at once. Roelens has been working to keep his momentum going, while Kurth and Gill remain part of the organizations draft stock from the 2022 NHL Draft, still trying to carve out their place in the depth chart. The Solar Bears now become the next stop, and for all three players, the task is the same: use the minutes they can get to force the Lightnings hand a little further down the line. [Read more 🡒]
Lightning Are Getting Early Signs That Could Change This Season
Through the opening stretch of the 2026-27 season, Tampa Bay has gotten a few encouraging looks from players who can shape the tone of the year in very different ways. Ilya Mikheyev has brought scoring touch along with the kind of defensive work that can steady a lineup, while Victor Hedman has been effective in a reduced role even without showing up on the scoresheet. Those are the sort of early indicators that matter for a team trying to sort out its identity before the schedule gets too deep.
Conor Geekie has also given the Lightning a glimpse of what his next step might look like, blending physical play with a timely impact on the result, and Brayden Points return from injury has been just as important for what it says about his overall game. He has already chipped in offensively and, perhaps more importantly, has started to reclaim the defensive value that slipped away last season. For Tampa Bay, the encouraging part is not just who is producing, but how several core pieces are beginning to round into form at the same time. [Read more 🡒]
Lightning Power Play Problems Already Forced An Early Shakeup
Three games into the season, the Lightning are already making adjustments around a power play that has not produced a goal yet. Tampa Bay had Jansen Harkins go on waivers and is expected to send him to Syracuse, a move that opens up some flexibility as the staff reshuffles its special-teams look and searches for a cleaner start with the man advantage.
John Carlson and Charle-Edouard DAstous were on the top power-play unit in practice, a sign the Lightning are willing to experiment early rather than let the drought linger. There is also some defensive personnel movement to monitor, with Calle Lilleberg practicing in a non-contact jersey after getting hurt in the second game of the season, and his return could give Tampa Bay another option once he is back in the mix. [Read more 🡒]