The Tampa Bay Lightning have been one of the NHL’s most dominant teams for over a decade, reaching and winning multiple Stanley Cup Finals. Despite their back-to-back championships in 2020 and 2021, the Lightning were eliminated early in the playoffs each of the last two seasons.

Not only have the Lightning struggled to succeed in the postseason since losing the 2022 Cup Final, but they just lost their captain Steven Stamkos to free agency. They filled some of the void with elite winger Jake Guentzel, but are the Lightning still contenders for another Stanley Cup?

“Given the wealth of experience that’s still in that locker room,” Stu Grimson said on NHL Network, “it’s a narrow path for Tampa to get there… It would require a lot of things to line up, but this team has what it takes. At least in terms of the experience of that veteran core.”

Grimson noted that core members like Nikita Kucherov, Victor Hedman and Andrei Vasilevskiy have their Cup wings and still give you a chance to win every night. The Lightning also brought back Ryan McDonagh for the blue line, who was also part of back-to-back championships.

Although Guentzel did not win with the Lightning, he was a key member of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Stanley Cup victory in 2017 and has since been considered one of the league’s best playoff players.

Sure, the Lightning took a big blow by losing Stamkos to the Nashville Predators, but they’re still a legitimate Cup contender. The big players still around, along with new additions Guentzel and Cam Atkinson and the return of McDonagh, should give the Lightning another shot at glory.

The Lightning may have slacked off a bit since their Cup years, but they can’t be written off as a team.

Don’t forget to bookmark Breakaway OnSI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, hiring reports and more!