If one word could sum up the Tampa Bay Lightning offseason, “change” is the first that comes to mind. The Lightning moved on from several vital pieces of their core that helped them capture back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021. The franchise traded one of their best defenseman, Mikhail Sergachev, to the Utah Hockey Club in exchange for multiple younger assets. Furthermore, the Bolts lost their captain, Steven Stamkos, to free agency, where he signed a four-year deal with the Nashville Predators.
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With Sergachev and Stamkos out of the picture, the Lightning added new pieces to fill the void these two left. Tampa Bay traded for the signing rights of Carolina Hurricanes’ forward Jake Guentzel. General manager Julien BriseBois followed up his trade by signing Guentzel to a seven-year, $63 million contract with an average annual value of $9 million. It’s no secret the Lightning lost two critical pieces of their power play, which operated as the best unit in the NHL last season at a 28.6% success rate. With training camp underway, the Lightning power play looks new for the 2024-25 season. What changes did they make to their lethal unit with the losses of Stamkos and Sergachev?
New Faces on the Lightning Power Play For 2024-25
Tampa Bay’s power play setup will remain a staple in hockey for players of all ages. Stamkos has ripped one-timers from the left circle since he was drafted by the Lightning first overall in 2008. With the Bolts’ famous sharpshooter and icon off to Nashville, the Lightning must adjust to find other ways to score. Therefore, they added two new faces to the first power play unit, newly acquired Guentzel and rising star Brandon Hagel.
The Lightning upgraded significantly at the net-front position on the power play with Guentzel. Throughout his career, he played the net front role for the Pittsburgh Penguins top unit, where he took advantage of his stellar hand-eye coordination by deflecting and batting pucks out of the air. Moreover, Guentzel knows how to properly position his skates to make himself available for back-door plays, similar to Zach Hyman of the Edmonton Oilers. Hyman scored numerous goals with his skate and stick positioning on the back door last season, where superstars like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl just rifled pucks to the area near his body. From there, Hyman would re-direct the puck into an open cage. We picture a scenario where Guentzel and Nikita Kucherov connect to score similarly.
Another new face on the Lightning’s top power-play unit is 26-year-old Brandon Hagel, who exploded onto the scene with the Lightning last season after being acquired two seasons ago. He scored 75 points in 82 games with Tampa Bay last season without minutes on the first power play unit. Head coach Jon Cooper has him in the left circle spot to replace Stamkos. The main difference here is that Hagel is a left-handed shot, which doesn’t allow him to take one-timers like Stamkos did. He will be on his strong side and have to catch pucks before he fires a shot on goal. Regardless, Hagel works extremely hard and will be a fantastic addition to the power play unit.
Closing Thoughts: How the Power Play Might Run
The Lightning power play usually had two players available for one-timers on their off-side in Stamkos and Kucherov. However, this is not the case with Hagel and Kucherov on the half walls this season. They will likely shift to a power play that dominates down low as opposed to up top now that Guentzel is in front of the net. Tampa Bay might look to replicate what the New York Rangers did on the power play last season, with Chris Kreider dominating down low and leading the team in power-play goals with 16. Furthermore, they moved away from using Mika Zibanejad’s one-timer and let Artemi Panarin shoot the puck more often on his strong side.
I believe the Lightning could do something similar, where the net front and bumper players lead the team in power-play goals instead of the players on the circles. One play we will likely see is Guentzel pop out down low at the side of the net to receive a pass from Kucherov, then a one-touch pass to the bumper for a Brayden Point one-timer. Victor Hedman will quarterback the top, so maybe we will see more shots from the point with a talent like Guentzel screening the goaltender. The Lightning also tried Hagel on his off-wing and Kucherov on his strong side, so we will wait and see what they plan to run. Regardless, fans should remain optimistic that this unit will continue to thrive as one of the best in the NHL.
