The Lightning got some good news and a few signs of change on Wednesday as they continue preparing for Thursday’s home game against the Minnesota Wild.
Jansen Harkins has cleared waivers, and after Tampa Bay moved him to make room for Dominic James, he is expected to be sent to the Syracuse Crunch. Both Harkins and James were on the ice for practice Wednesday.
Keeping Harkins in the system gives the Lightning a veteran forward option nearby, and he helped make a case for himself in preseason with a two-goal outing in a 5-3 loss to the Florida Panthers on Sept. 24.
The biggest on-ice adjustment looked to be on the power play. John Carlson and Charle-Edouard D’Astous were working with the top unit, with Carlson on the left side and D’Astous up top. The second group featured JJ Moser, Brandon Hagel, Anthony Cirelli, Conor Geekie and Gage Goncalves.
Jon Cooper made it clear he’s willing to keep experimenting.
“Like, listen, it's early in the year, and we you know we don't get a ton of practice time, so you have to try different things. So who knows? Maybe this is something we'll go with,” he said, via the Tampa Bay Times.
The reason for the shuffle is simple: Tampa Bay has opened the season 0-for-13 on the power play. Cooper said there’s no panic, but also no reason to ignore it.
"Do we deserve to be 0-for-13? We don't.
But still, you wake up in the morning, and we don't have a power-play goal. The good thing is we've won two of our three games, and we haven't had one.
But we don't want this to go on too much longer because you take pride in your special teams. It's a slow start statistically, but they've had some good ones.
It just hasn't got in yet,” Cooper said via Lightning reporter Benjamin Pierce.
There was also an update on defenseman Lilleberg, who skated Wednesday in a red non-contact jersey. The team is being careful, but Cooper said, via Lightning reporter Gabby Shirley, that he should be back in about a week. Lilleberg was hurt in the Lightning’s 3-1 win over the Capitals on Saturday, and Max Crozier filled in for him on Monday.
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 Face A Tough Roster Call With Dominic James Returning
Dominic James is nearing a return for Tampa Bay after recovering from a broken hand, and his availability could come as soon as Thursday against the Minnesota Wild. It is the kind of boost that tends to ripple through a lineup quickly, especially for a team trying to keep its forward group balanced as the season settles in.
To make room, the Lightning had to make a difficult roster decision and exposed center Jansen Harkins on waivers for reassignment to Syracuse. Harkins dressed for the season opener before a lineup rotation pushed him into the press box, and if he clears he would head to the Crunch with a veteran role in the AHL awaiting him. [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 🡒]