Lightning Have Every Reason to Be Excited About Benjamin Rautiainen

The Tampa Bay Lightning locked down another pivotal piece of their future. They announced on Friday (May 29) that they signed prospect forward Benjamin Rautiainen to a three-year entry-level contract. After making history over in Finland, he heads stateside to continue his professional career.

He’s proving to be another example of the Lightning’s eye for talent in the middle rounds. The 20-year-old was a fourth-round pick in the most recent NHL Draft. At the time, he had a solid showing for Tappara in the Finnish Liiga and the World Juniors. Then, the breakout came.

Many Lightning fans who keep track of the prospect pool have been excited for some time. This isn’t even the first time that I’ve written about him lately – I gave him a shout in a prospect update. However, now that he’s officially signed on, he’s due for his own full-fledged solo story.

For everyone else, it’s time for a deeper dive into what could be coming. We’ll look back at the history he made in Finland, and then talk about his potential in the NHL system.

Best Finnish Scoring King in Many Years

In 59 games for Tappara, Rautiainen scored 25 goals and totaled 77 points. Not only did that lead the whole league, but he was the first player to surpass 70 points since the 2007-08 Liiga season.

Along with the historic run, he improved his season totals by 15 goals and 44 points. It’s quite the leap in a league that can give young players a run for their money. For context, before going first overall in the 2022 Draft, Montreal Canadiens star Juraj Slafkovsky put up 10 points in 31 games.

Granted, Slafkovsky was younger (18), and his time in the Liiga was much shorter. However, his performance was considered impressive given the league he played in. You now have someone who had better per-game averages in his first year erupt to have a monster season in his second season.

There is no guarantee that he will be another Slafkovsky. He’s a little bit smaller, and that can make a difference. Even after the solid year he had in his first Liiga season, he dropped to the fourth round as opposed to being a top pick. While the Lightning traded up to get him, this was in response to some notoriety that he built up after the World Juniors. The stat sheet isn’t everything. However, his latest season rightfully garnered some hype.

Expectations With the Lightning

After this latest season, the question is whether he can become a key piece of the core in the future. According to the Tampa Bay Times, Rautiainen will attend training camp in September with the goal of making the opening-night roster.

So, he’s considered to be in a place where he can vie for an NHL roster spot. However, there are no guarantees. He has to earn the spot. If he doesn’t, he’ll play in Finland one more year. Tappara has him under contract for another season.

Per International Ice Hockey Federation rules, he would be there for the full season. After that, he would be able to come play for the Lightning or their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch (from ‘Lightning sign prospect Benjamin Rautiainen to entry-level contract,’ Tampa Bay Times, May 29, 2026).

So, for now, the expectation is that he’s either going to be ready out of the gate or we’ll see him the following season. Tappara went on a run to a championship this season. It ended in mid-May. From how it seems, the only way he would be available is if they missed the playoffs or were eliminated in an early round. Given that Tappara has won four of the last five championships, don’t count on it.

However, if he were to crack the opening-night roster, he would provide a young offensive piece to the staff. His cap hit is just over $1 million per season, which could provide them a lot of flexibility.

At the beginning, you’d expect him to play more of a role as a depth piece as he finds his footing. Every league brings a different style of play, and he’ll likely go through an adjustment period in North America. Ideally, some of that adjusting could be done in the AHL. But, per the rules, he either has to do it in the NHL out of the gate or wait.

More than likely, it’ll be a waiting game. However, it could be worth the wait. Since he’s only 20, he can get another season in Finland, start the following season in the AHL before moving up to the NHL and still be a very young prospect. That wouldn’t be a bad deal.