TAMPA BAY - The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed defenseman Emil Lilleberg to a two-year, one-way contract extension worth an average annual value of $800,000, vice president and general manager Julien BriseBois announced today. The contract extension will begin with the 2025-26 season and run through 2026-27.
Lilleberg, 23, skated in 37 games for Tampa Bay during the 2023-24 regular season, recording five assists while averaging 16:12 time on ice per game. The left-shot defenseman made his NHL debut January 6 at the Boston Bruins, collecting two hits and one takeaway in 11:48 time on ice. He posted his first career NHL point (an assist) in his second game January 9 versus the Los Angeles Kings and finished the regular season averaging 10.5 hits per 60 minutes, the highest among all Lightning defensemen.
Signed to a two-year, two-way contract by Tampa Bay as a free agent on June 5, 2023, the 6-foot-2, 202-pound blueliner made his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut April 21 at the Florida Panthers, recording one hit and one blocked shot in 18:28 time on ice. A native of Sarpsborg, Norway, Lilleberg also skated in 38 games with the American Hockey League’s Syracuse Crunch last season, notching two goals and 15 points.
Lilleberg was originally a fourth-round selection, 107th overall, of the Arizona Coyotes at the 2021 NHL Draft.
