It goes without saying that the Tampa Bay Lightning will need to see continued production from their key players in order to qualify and then make a deep run in the 2024 NHL Playoffs. Even after Saturday night’s (Feb. 17) 9-2 loss to the Florida Panthers, there is no reason to worry that the core of the Lightning lineup will still be a factor in determining if they can win a playoff spot. Instead, they will need solid contributors from outside of the core group if they intend to do so.
When the Lightning won their back-to-back Stanley Cup titles, players such as Blake Coleman and Yanni Gourde played integral parts in the team’s success. However, salary cap issues and other circumstances have led to these players and many other contributors finding homes in other NHL cities. This means that if the Lightning want to qualify and make a deep run in this year’s playoffs, they will need at least these three players to step up and make meaningful contributions.
Brandon Hagel
When Brandon Hagel was traded from the Chicago Blackhawks to the Lightning in March 2022, he did provide the needed impact that the team had hoped for when they gave up two conditional first-round draft picks (2023 and 2024), Boris Katchouk and Taylor Raddysh for him. By his admittance, the then-23-year-old struggled for the rest of the season. “Getting traded was tough. I didn’t know a single person with the Lightning. I was trying to juggle fitting in with my new team and getting all my stuff moved from Chicago to Tampa. Processing everything in such a short amount of time was a bit of a challenge.”
Those struggles are now in the past. In what head coach Jon Cooper calls his “Swiss Army knife” Hagel has been the player that goes to the hard areas, plays quickly, creates offense, and can be used in various roles. It was this kind of play that led to the Lightning’s only highlight against the Panthers when a hard-driving Hagel took a pass from Anthony Cirelli and beat Panthers’ netminder Sergei Bobrovsky through the five-hole just 24 seconds into the game.
Hagel’s forechecking and willingness to get to the dirty areas of the ice has been one of the factors in the games when the Lightning have been successful. His goal against the Panthers allowed him to become the fourth Lightning player this season to hit the 20-goal mark. The former Buffalo Sabres draft pick has amassed seven goals and seven assists during his career-best nine-game point streak. He has 52 points through 56 games, which puts him on pace to possibly hit the 75-point plateau. This continued play will be crucial for the Lightning to be successful for the rest of the season.
Erik Cernak
Erik Cernak’s role on the team became bigger after Mikhail Sergachev was lost after undergoing surgery on his broken leg. While he is not expected to replace Sergachev’s offensive numbers, his leadership and physical play will be critical in helping Victor Hedman lead a relatively inexperienced defensive group. Through 45 games this season, the 26-year-old has tallied 126 hits and 71 blocked shots. This puts him on pace to surpass last season’s totals in these two areas, as he had 209 hits and 100 blocked shots in the 2023-24 season.
The Los Angeles Kings’ second-round draft pick in 2015 did score his first goal of the season in Tuesday’s (Feb. 13) 3-2 shootout win over the Boston Bruins. However, his value down the stretch will be the continued physical play by using his 6-foot-4 frame to continue to be an aggressive back skater in the defensive zone, as well as to knock opposing players off balance and keep opposing offenses out of rhythm.
Luke Glendening
There was one particular skill set the Lightning were looking at when they signed Luke Glendenning to a two-year, $1.6 million contract back in July: winning faceoffs. In an area they struggled mightly with last season, the 34-year-old has a history of winning faceoffs everywhere he has played. Throughout his 10-year career, he has a 55.7% faceoff win percentage and averaged an impressive 58.9% with the Dallas Stars the previous two seasons. This season, the Lightning are ninth in the NHL with just over a 51% win rate.
While not known as a scorer, Glendening has eight goals so far this season, which has him ahead of pace to surpass his career best of 12 goals scored in the 2014-15 season with the Detroit Red Wings. Along with his face-off skills, his veteran presence anchoring the fourth line will be valuable down the stretch.
Related: Defenseman Emil Lilleberg’s Path to the Lightning
While many eyes will be focused on the Lightning’s core group of players, Hagel, Cernak, and Glendening will be worth watching to see if they can make significant contributions and put the Lightning in position for another deep playoff run.