Lightning Defender Should Hit New Level

Last off-season, the Tampa Bay Lightning traded star defenseman Mikhail Sergachev to the Utah Mammoth. With the Lightning needing to free up cap space, they made the tough decision to move on from the left-shot defenseman.

One of the main pieces that the Lightning received from Utah in the Sergachev trade was defenseman J.J. Moser. The hope was that the 25-year-old would prove to be a solid fit in the Lightning's top four following the move, and it is fair to say that he was just that for Tampa Bay in 2024-25.

Moser had a solid first season with the Lightning, as he recorded two goals, 14 points, and a career-high plus-20 rating in 54 games. Due to his steady all-around play, Moser found a home for himself on the Lightning's top pairing with Victor Hedman. Now, after a strong first season with the Lightning, he will be looking to take his game to a whole new level in 2025-26.

When noting that Moser is still only 25 years old and has shown good promise early on in his career, it would not be surprising if he were to improve next season. He should thrive having a big role on a top team like the Lightning, and it will be intriguing to see what kind of year he can have in 2025-26 from here because of it.

Tampa Bay Lightning top breakout candidates for 2025-26 season

With their preseason opener a month out, the Tampa Bay Lightning are continuing their prep for the 2025-26 season. This year’s team is already looking stronger than the roster that lost once again to the Florida Panthers in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Panthers’ win catapulted them to a Stanley Cup title for the second year in a row. If the Lightning hope to prevent their rivals from accomplishing that for a third time in a row, more of their roster needs to step up.

Everyone knows the exploits of players like Nikita Kucherov, Victor Hedman and Brayden Point. Andrei Vasilevskiy is considered to be one of, if not the, best goaltenders in the world today. The Lightning have had so much success in the recent past due to these stars and others. Even when former captain Steven Stamkos departed for Nashville last summer, Tampa Bay GM Julien BriseBois already had a younger and more explosive replacement in Jake Guentzel ready to go.

Despite all the stars, the Bolts went on those long Stanley Cup runs due to a deep third and fourth line that was the heart of those teams. Yanni Gourde was a big part of those Cup wins, and he’s re-signed with the team for another six years. It’s likely that he will retire once the deal is done, since he’s already almost 34 years old. With Gourde likely to lead the third line, one player who could replace him in that role by the time the season ends is the rising Gage Goncalves.