Tampa Bay Lightning

Tampa Bay Lightning right winger Nikita Kucherov will be sidelined in the immediate future because of an undisclosed injury.

"It's definitely not a day-to-day thing, so we'll wait until we get an official word, but he's definitely out," Lightning head coach Jon Cooper told reporters Monday. "He's going to be out for a while here. We're not going to put a timetable on it until we get an official word. In the short term here he's definitely out."

Any injury to Kucherov is sure to raise concern considering he missed the entire 2020-21 regular season with a hip injury. It ended his streak of six straight seasons playing at least 68 games.

However, the 28-year-old returned for the playoffs and helped lead the Lightning to the Stanley Cup title with 32 points in 23 games. It was an impressive display after he missed the entire season and a reminder that he is one of the league's top playmakers when healthy.

Kucherov is a three-time All-Star whose resume includes a Hart Memorial Trophy, Art Ross Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award to go with two Stanley Cup titles.

The Russian has four points in three games this season.

While Tampa Bay is not as dangerous without Kucherov on the ice, look for Steven Stamkos and Corey Perry to see more time while he is sidelined.

The Tampa Bay Lightning have agreed on a contract extension with general manager Julien BriseBois.

"I can confirm Julien is under contract beyond this year," team owner Jeff Vinik told Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic and TSN. He added: "We have agreed upon an extension."

Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times confirmed the extension news.

The Lightning are looking to become the first team since the New York Islanders to win three consecutive Stanley Cups after taking home the title in 2020 and 2021.

The Isles ended up winning four total between 1980-1983. The only other franchises to win three straight are the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs, who each did so twice. 

Montreal notably won five straight from 1956-1960 and earned another four from 1976-1979 before the Islanders' dynasty.

The 44-year-old BriseBois joined the Lightning as an assistant general manager in 2010 under ex-GM Steve Yzerman. He was promoted to GM eight years later.

As Joe Smith of The Athletic noted, BriseBois was in charge of the team's AHL affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals.

He hired future Lightning head coach Jon Cooper to be the team's leader in the summer of that year, and the two-time Stanley Cup champion got the promotion to the NHL club at the tail end of the 2012-13 season.

The 2018-19 team, which was the first under BriseBois' command, tied the NHL record with 62 regular-season wins en route to a Presidents' Trophy.

However, the Lightning suffered a massive first-round upset at the hands of the Columbus Blue Jackets, who earned a four-game sweep.

Tampa Bay got the last laugh in 2020 and 2021 with Stanley Cup victories over the Dallas Stars and Montreal Canadiens, respectively. Tampa only faced a series-deciding Game 7 on one occasion, and that was in last year's Stanley Cup Semifinals, when the Lightning beat the Islanders 1-0.

Some of BriseBois' notable moves include adding Blake Coleman, who had 31 points for last year's Stanley Cup team before moving onto the Calgary Flames. He also added Barclay Goodrow (now a New York Ranger) and Pat Maroon to help round out the deep and talented Lightning roster.

This year's Lightning team will begin its quest for a three-peat on Oct. 12 at home against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Tampa Bay Lightning have traded center Tyler Johnson and a second-round draft pick in 2023 to the Chicago Blackhawks for defenseman Brent Seabrook, per ESPN's Emily Kaplan.

Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois confirmed Johnson's move to Chicago in a statement relayed by Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times:

I'd like to personally thank Tyler for what he has meant to this organization over the past nine years since he joined the Lightning as an undrafted free agent. He played a pivotal role in the success the team has enjoyed and will forever be remembered as a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Bolts. We wish him all the best in Chicago.

Johnson had 161 goals and 200 assists during his nine seasons in Tampa and capped his Lightning stint by winning back-to-back Stanley Cups with the franchise.

Seabrook will not be playing for the Lightning. The 15-year NHL veteran announced in March that he has hung up his skates because of hip and shoulder injuries that had forced him off the ice since Dec. 2019, per Sean Leahy of NBC Sports.

However, Seabrook never officially retired. His eight-year, $55 million contract, which runs through the 2023-24 season, isn't going to be on Tampa's books because Seabrook will be placed on long-term injury reserve.

Encina and Chris Johnson of Hockey Night in Canada explained how the Lightning will save some cap space with this deal.

This was ultimately a masterstroke from BriseBois and the Lightning front office, as Cap Friendly also explained:

Seabrook was a three-time Stanley Cup champion during his 15-year Blackhawks tenure. He also made the All-Star Game in 2015.

As for Johnson, the forward is part of a massive offseason overhaul for a Blackhawks team looking to return to its 2010s glory years.

Mark Lazerus of The Athletic summed up Chicago's moves, which included trading for Vezina Trophy winner Marc-Andre Fleury and four-time NHL All-Star defenseman Seth Jones.

Last year's Blackhawks team went 24-25-7, finishing sixth in the Central Division.

Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov played through a non-displaced rib fracture in the Stanley Cup Final.

"He played with a flak jacket from that point on and also had a nerve block injection the day before every game," general manager Julien BriseBois told reporters Tuesday. "It makes his performance during these playoffs both before the injury and post-broken rib all the more impressive."

Kucherov finished with three goals and two assists in the series as the Lightning beat the Montreal Canadiens in five games. For the postseason as a whole, he put up 32 points (eight goals, 24 assists) after having not played up to that point all year.

BriseBois confirmed in December that Kucherov would miss the 2020-21 regular season because of hip surgery.

Despite missing their points leader from the past three years, the Lightning qualified for the playoffs after finishing third in the Central Division.

It took a collective effort to account for the production Tampa Bay lost, with Victor Hedman, Brayden Point, Ondrej Palat and Yanni Gourde all stepping up. Steven Stamkos was delivering as well with 34 points through 38 games before a lower-body injury curtailed his regular season.

After getting healthy enough to play again, Kucherov made a major impact for the Lightning, and news of his rib injury will make his performance even more legendary in the eyes of fans.

Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman will undergo surgery on a torn meniscus, which comes with a recovery timetable of three to four weeks.

Joe Smith of The Athletic reported Hedman initially suffered the knee injury on March 30 but played through the ailment during the Bolts' playoff run to their second straight Stanley Cup title.

The 30-year-old has emerged as one of the NHL's best defensemen in recent years, taking home the Norris Trophy in the 2017-18 season after registering 17 goals, 46 assists and a plus-minus of 32 while averaging 25 minutes, 51 seconds in ice time. He also won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the postseason MVP after helping the Lightning win the 2020 title.

A three-time All-Star, Hedman remains one of the key figures for a Lightning team that'll seek a three-peat next season. The team is stacked, led by Hedman, superstar winger Nikita Kucherov, goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy and centers Brayden Point and Steven Stamkos.

Barring any setbacks, he should be recovered before the 2021-22 season gets underway.

The Stanley Cup will require some tender loving care following the Tampa Bay Lightning's championship celebration.

The Athletic's Joe Smith shared a photo of the visibly dented trophy:

The circumstances leading up to the Stanley Cup getting a little dinged up are unclear. The Lightning held a boat parade down the Hillsborough River on Monday after beating the Montreal Canadiens to successfully defend their title.

If it could talk, the Stanley Cup would undoubtedly have some great stories to tell. This isn't the first time and it probably won't be the last time the legendary prize has sustained some damage.

With the Tampa Bay Lightning winning their second straight Stanley Cup trophy, fans in the city were once again treated to a boat parade along the Hillsborough River.

Just like after the Lightning's title in 2020 and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Super Bowl in February, fans lined alongside the Tampa Riverwalk to see their favorite players celebrate while holding a trophy.

The Stanley Cup made its way around the water with a lot of people getting their hands on it:

The players also had their fair share of fun during the celebration:

Even owner Jeffrey Vinik and head coach Jon Cooper got in on the action:

The day showed that fans and players do not get tired of winning and celebrating champions. The well-attended event was another exciting moment for a city that has become known for titles.

The Tampa Bay Rays will hope to be the next squad to enjoy a championship in the region.

The Tampa Bay Lightning are the best hockey team in the NHL and back-to-back champions.

But they don't have the greatest quarterback of all time to throw the championship trophy during the celebration like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers did after they won the Super Bowl. Just to be safe, the Tampa Police Department announced its "dive team is ready" if one of the hockey players attempts such a throw with the Stanley Cup:

Brady famously threw the Lombardi Trophy during the Buccaneers' boat parade, but he completed the pass.

"It's their day," Tampa Mayor Jane Castor told reporters when asked about the possibility of the Lightning attempting the same move. "We are always prepared. We have divers if Stanley gets wet. We'll get him back in short order."

The Lightning earned their celebration with a convincing five-game victory over the Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley Cup Final. The series was never truly in doubt after a commanding 5-1 win in Game 1, as Tampa Bay completed a dominant playoffs that featured a 16-7 record.

Still, the team might need some passing lessons from Brady before anyone attempts to throw the Stanley Cup.

Bud Light announced Friday it has signed Tampa Bay Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov to an endorsement contract after he drank the company's beer during his now-viral shirtless press conference after the NHL team won its second straight Stanley Cup title on Wednesday night.

Kucherov delivered some brutally honest postgame remarks in wake of the championship celebration, most notably taking aim at fans of the runner-up Montreal Canadiens for their response to a Game 4 overtime win despite the Bolts' 3-1 lead in the series at the time (NSFW language):

The Lightning scored a 1-0 victory in Game 5 on Wednesday to close out the series. They are the NHL's first back-to-back champions since the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017.

Kucherov, who missed the entire 2020-21 regular season while recovering from hip surgery, didn't miss a beat when he returned for the postseason. He led all playoff scorers with 32 points (eight goals and 24 assists) in 23 games during Tampa's title run.

The 28-year-old Russian, who was equally impactful with 34 points in last year's playoffs, is a three-time All-Star and won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL's MVP for the 2018-19 season.

Kucherov, a 2011 second-round pick, has averaged better than a point per game (546 points in 515 appearances) in the regular season since making his debut for Tampa in 2013.

The Bolts will face difficult roster decisions in the offseason as they deal with a salary-cap crunch while trying to keep as many pieces from their championship rosters together, but Bud Light's newest endorser is a lock to return for the three-peat bid.