Lightning bring back Namestnikov, add three defensemen

After the NHL Draft, free agency and other offseason moves, NHL.com is examining where each team stands in preparation for the 2022-23 regular season, which starts Oct. 7. Today, the Tampa Bay Lightning:

2021-22 season:51-23-8, third in Atlantic Division; lost Stanley Cup Final to Colorado Avalanche

Key arrivals

Ian Cole, D: The 33-year-old signed a one-year contract July 13. He had 19 points (two goals, 17 assists) in 75 regular-season games for the Carolina Hurricanes last season and two points (one goal, one assist) in 14 Stanley Cup Playoff games. ... Vladislav Namestnikov, F:The 29-year-old signed a one-year contract July 13. He had 30 points (16 goals, 14 assists) in 75 games last season with the Detroit Red Wings (60 games) and Dallas Stars (15), and two points (one goal, one assist) in seven playoff games. Namestnikov played for the Lightning from 2014-18 and had 123 points (53 goals, 70 assists) in 263 games. ... Haydn Fleury, D:The 26-year-old signed a two-year contract July 13. He had four points (two goals, two assists) in 36 games for the Seattle Kraken last season. ... Philippe Myers, D:The 25-year-old was acquired in a trade with the Nashville Predators, along with forward
Grant Mismash
, for defenseman Ryan McDonagh on July 3. Myers had four points (goal, three assists) in 27 NHL games last season.

Key departures

Ondrej Palat, F:Signed a five-year contract with the New Jersey Devils on July 14. Palat had 49 points (18 goals, 31 assists) in 77 regular-season games and 21 points (11 goals, 10 assists) in 23 playoff games last season. He had 423 points (143 goals, 280 assists) in 628 games for the Lightning and helped them win the Stanley Cup in 2020 and 2021. ... Ryan McDonagh, D: Had 26 points (four goals, 22 assists) in 71 regular-season games and five points (goal, four assists) in 23 playoff games. McDonagh had 99 points (20 goals, 79 assists) in 267 games for Tampa Bay over five seasons and won the Stanley Cup twice. ... Jan Rutta, D:Signed a three-year contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins on July 13. He had 18 points (three goals, 15 assists) in 76 regular-season games and five points (one goal, four assists) in 17 playoff games. Rutta also helped the Lightning win the Cup in 2020 and 2021.

On the cusp

Cole Koepke, F:The 24-year-old, a sixth-round pick (No. 183) in the 2018 NHL Draft, had 39 points (20 goals, 19 assists) in 69 games for Syracuse of the American Hockey League last season. ... Gage Goncalves, F:Selected in the second round (No. 62) of the 2020 NHL Draft, the 21-year-old had 32 points (17 goals, 15 assists) in 70 games for Syracuse. ... Gabriel Fortier, F: The 22-year-old was a second-round pick (No. 59) in the 2018 draft. He had 35 points (14 goals, 21 assists) in 72 games for Syracuse.

What they still need

Good health and improved scoring from the third line top the Lightning's wish list. Forwards Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov each missed time last season, and center Anthony Cirelli and defenseman Zach Bogosian are expected to miss the first two months of this season recovering from shoulder surgeries. Putting 20-goal scorers Brandon Hagel and Ross Colton on the third line should increase production there.

They said it

"I don't think we're done chasing Stanley Cups here. We're set up to be a really competitive team for the foreseeable future, and hopefully stars align again for us at some point and we get to bring back the Stanley Cup to Tampa Bay." -- general manager Julien BriseBois

Fantasy focus

Defenseman Mikhail Sergachev has not had 40 points since his rookie season of 2017-18 but could return to that range in a bigger role after McDonagh was traded. Sergachev signed an eight-year contract with Tampa Bay on July 13 coming off the best points-per-game average (0.43; 10 in 23 games) of his NHL playoff career (minimum five games) and was sixth on the Lightning in power-play points per 60 minutes (3.54) last season. He should be considered a fringe top-30 fantasy defenseman and a full-fledged breakout candidate for this season. -- Anna Dua

Projected lineup

Nicholas Paul -- Brayden Point-- Nikita Kucherov
Alex Killorn -- Steven Stamkos -- Alex Barre-Boulet
Brandon Hagel -- Ross Colton -- Vladislav Namestnikov
Pat Maroon -- Pierre-Edouard Bellemare -- Corey Perry
Victor Hedman -- Erik Cernak
Mikhail Sergachev -- Cal Foote
Ian Cole -- Philippe Myers
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Brian Elliott
Injured:Anthony Cirelli, Zach Bogosian