TAMPA BAY – The Tampa Bay Lightning have announced their Opening Day roster for the 2023-24 season, which begins Tuesday, October 10 versus the Nashville Predators at AMALIE Arena (5:30 p.m. puck drop).
The Lightning return 16 players who saw action with the team in 2022-23, including eight of their 10 leading scorers from a season ago. Top point getter Nikita Kucherov is back after posting 113 points in 2022-23, the second most all-time in franchise history. Leading goal scorer Brayden Point will look to build off his 51-goal season in 2022-23 when he became just the third Tampa Bay player ever to eclipse the 50-goal mark in a season. Lightning captain Steven Stamkos (1,003 games played) enters the 2023-24 season just 34 games shy of matching Vinny Lecavalier’s franchise record 1,037 games played in a Lightning sweater.
The Bolts welcome eight newcomers to the squad in 2022-23, highlighted by the arrival of NHL veteran forward Conor Sheary, who recorded 15 goals and 37 points in 82 games with the Washington Capitals last season. Luke Glendening, Tyler Motte and Austin Watson bring plenty of experience to Tampa Bay’s forward group while Calvin de Haan comes over from Carolina to bolster the back end and Jonas Johansson will set up between the pipes after previous stops in Buffalo, Florida and Colorado.
Two players on Tampa Bay’s Opening Day roster are looking to make their NHL debuts: Forward Waltteri Merela, 25, comes to the Lightning after posting 15 goals in the regular season for Tappara of the Finnish Elite League and netting a team-best eight more in the postseason to help Tappara to back-to-back league titles, and goaltender Matt Tomkins, 29, went 20-12-0 in 32 games with Farjestad BK of the Swedish Hockey League in 2022-23.
The full 2023-24 Opening Day roster is below:
Forwards (14)
- Alex Barre-Boulet
- Anthony Cirelli
- Mikey Eyssimont
- Luke Glendening
- Brandon Hagel
- Tanner Jeannot
- Nikita Kucherov
- Waltteri Merela
- Tyler Motte
- Nick Paul
- Brayden Point
- Conor Sheary
- Steven Stamkos
- Austin Watson
Defensemen (7)
- Erik Cernak
- Calvin de Haan
- Haydn Fleury
- Victor Hedman
- Nick Perbix
- Darren Raddysh
- Mikhail Sergachev
Goaltenders (3)
- Jonas Johansson
- Matt Tomkins
- Andrei Vasilevskiy*
*begins season on injured reserve
