Tampa Bay Lightning Activate Brayden Point
According to team insider Erik Erlendsson, the Tampa Bay Lightning have activated forward Brayden Point and defenseman Emil Martinsen Lilleberg from long-term injured reserve. Additionally, the team has placed Nick Paul on the injured reserve in a corresponding roster move.
The transactions were largely expected on all accounts. Despite being sidelined with a significant knee injury since January 12th, there was a fringe chance that Point would suit up for Team Canada at the Olympics. Although that didn’t happen, the expectation is that he would return to the team for their first game back, while taking time during the break to complete his rehabilitation.
Tampa Bay has arguably been the most dominant team in the Eastern Conference this season, and they’ve mostly done so without Point at the top of his game. When he has been healthy, Point has scored only 11 goals and 30 points in 37 games, averaging 18:02 of ice time. Still, his possession and defensive metrics have remained stable throughout his career averages.
Still, the point production has been worrisome, and would have a bigger impact if the rest of the team hadn’t been filling in the gaps. Point is only a year removed from an impressive three-year stretch where he scored 139 goals and 267 points in 240 games. Hopefully, the Olympic break provided Point with the necessary time to fully rehabilitate from the injuries that have negatively impacted his 2025-26 campaign, allowing him to regain his form in the final stretch.
Meanwhile, the Lightning are also adding some defensive depth back into the lineup. Lilleberg has missed multiple months with an undisclosed injury and is one of many Tampa Bay defenders to suffer long-term injuries this season. Before exiting the lineup in mid-December, Lilleberg scored two goals and six points in 32 games, averaging 17:21 of ice time. There’s no word on whether he’ll enter the lineup tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Lastly, Paul, like Lilleberg, is dealing with an undisclosed injury from before the Olympics. Unfortunately, the Lightning haven’t provided any rigid timeline for his return. Already seeking middle-six depth leading up to the deadline, Paul’s absence could further influence this plan. The 30-year-old veteran has registered six goals and 12 points in 34 games for the Bolts this season.
Lightning’s Victor Hedman, Brayden Point, Two Others Set To Return
Tampa Bay assistant coach Rob Zettler told reporters, including Benjamin Pierce, Beat Writer for the team, that Victor Hedman, Brayden Point, Charle-Edouard D’Astous, and Emil Martinsen Lilleberg are all expected to return tomorrow against Toronto.
Hedman, who already dealt with a nearly two-month long IR stint after elbow surgery, returned for the Bolts’ epic Stadium Series win over Boston on February 1, the first of his three games before the Olympic Break.
The Tampa captain then went off to Milan as a pillar of Team Sweden, where he sustained an apparent lower-body injury in warmups prior to last Wednesday’s game against the United States, ending his Olympic action. The 35-year-old won’t miss any more time, as he’ll look to settle in after just 21 games on the campaign so far, where he’s recorded 13 points (all assists) on 20:15 a night.
Also with ties to the Olympics, Point suffered a knee injury on January 12 that had fans fearing for the worst. Thankfully avoiding a long term recovery, Tampa’s top center attempted to get back in time for Milan and Team Canada, however, on February 5 the 29-year-old made the commendable decision to pass his spot, which was taken by Seth Jarvis.
Able to utilize the break to return to form, Point will give another boost to Tampa Bay, who maintained their elite play even without him. After a slower start to the year relative to his standards, with injuries a factor, Point was on a heater prior to his injury with 19 points in 16 games. All told, he has 30 in 37 on the season, good for sixth on the club despite missing considerable time.
Meanwhile, Lilleberg and D’Astous, both young defenseman who round out Tampa’s blueline, have been on injured reserve and are expected to be activated for tomorrow.
Lilleberg hasn’t played since mid-December, dealing with an undisclosed lingering injury. The 25-year-old had six points in 32 games before going down, averaging a career high 17:21 after emerging as a regular in the lineup in 2024-25.
D’Astous was placed on IR in late January, after a collision against Columbus on the 24th left him with a lower-body injury. The undrafted 27-year-old latched on with Tampa after three seasons in Sweden, and he looks to be the next under-the-radar contributor in the blue and white. The 6’2” lefty has 17 points in 43 games, playing over 19 minutes a night with a strong 53.4% corsi for at even strength.
The Lightning host the Maple Leafs tomorrow, and having won five in a row going into the break, it’s hard to imagine they’ll stop anytime soon, with several players back into the fold. Tampa is five points behind Colorado for first in the league.
Atlantic Notes: Senators, Lightning, Sabres
In a recent article, Bruce Garrioch from The Ottawa Citizen analyzed the Ottawa Senators’ approach to the trade deadline. To no surprise, Garrioch indicated that the Senators remain committed to winning this season, and that the team is seeking a top-six forward and top-four defenseman.
That’s a hefty wishlist, especially for a team that’s 10 points back of the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Garrioch reported that the Senators are interested in forward Blake Coleman and defenseman MacKenzie Weegar from the Calgary Flames, which would immediately fulfill both desires.
Still, Weegar has a full no-movement clause in his contract, meaning he would have to sign off on a trade to Ottawa. He is from there, but there’s been no indication that he is one of the players that the Flames are considering moving this season. At any rate, it’s clear that the Senators are trying to fill a pair of higher-level holes, and they’re looking for players with term.
Additional notes from the Atlantic Division:
- There is more positive news on the injury front for the Tampa Bay Lightning. It’s already been reported that captain Victor Hedman will return to the lineup tomorrow, and the team is only a few days away from returning a few more. According to team reporter Benjamin Pierce, the trio of Brayden Point, Emil Martinsen Lilleberg, and Charle-Edouard D’Astous all skated with the team at practice today. Once Hedman officially returns, they will be the only remaining players on the injured reserve.
- In a separate injury update, this time with the Buffalo Sabres, Bill Hoppe of The Times Herald reported that there are no plans to shut down Joshua Norris through the upcoming Olympic break. Norris has missed the Sabres’ last nine games, including tonight, due to an upper-body injury. Still, he has resumed skating over the last few days and will travel with the team for their road trip next week. Norris specifically shut down the idea of sitting out if he’s healthy, saying, “If you’re ready to go, you’re not just going to sit out. So when I feel like I’m 100 percent, I’m going to play.”
Lightning Recall Steven Santini, Place Emil Lilleberg On IR
10:30 a.m.: As alluded to earlier, the Lightning have placed Lilleberg on the team’s IR, according to Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times. Lightning insider Erik Erlendsson passed along a note from head coach Jon Cooper indicating that Tampa Bay is expecting Lilleberg to miss the next few weeks and hopes for him to return before the Olympic break.
9:34 a.m.: According to a team announcement, the Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled defenseman Steven Santini from the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch. The Lightning already have 23 players on their active roster, so another roster move will have to be made before tonight’s game against the Florida Panthers.
It’s the second recall of the year for Santini. He was initially recalled one month ago and stayed with the team until the first week of December. During that stretch, Santini registered one assist in seven games while averaging 12:01 of ice time per night.
At the time, Tampa Bay was dealing with multiple injuries to its defensive core, and not much has changed since then. Defenseman Erik Černák and Ryan McDonagh remain on the Lightning’s injured reserve, while captain Victor Hedman recently underwent elbow surgery and will be out until February.
As for the specific reasoning behind Santini’s recall, there’s some loose reporting that Emil Martinsen Lilleberg is dealing with a lingering injury from the Lightning’s shootout loss to the New York Islanders on Saturday. Lilleberg missed the third period for that game, finishing with zero points in 13:30 of action.
Meanwhile, the corresponding roster move, if it’s not moving Lilleberg to the injured reserve, will likely come from demoting one of Tampa Bay’s 15 forwards on the active roster. Scott Sabourin, who was recalled less than a week ago, is the most likely candidate. The 33-year-old veteran has scored one goal and three points in six games for the Lightning this season.
Lightning’s Emil Martinsen Lilleberg Receives Two-Game Suspension
Jan. 27th: The NHL’s Department of Player Safety has announced a two-game suspension for Lilleberg. In the announcement, the Department of Player Safety references the lateness of the hit and the significant contact of Compher’s head as their reasoning behind the supplemental discipline.
Jan. 26th: Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Emil Martinsen Lilleberg is scheduled to have a hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety for interference against Detroit Red Wings forward J.T. Compher in Saturday night’s loss. The hit came at 11:31 in the second period when Lilleberg stepped up for a late hit after Compher dumped the puck into the zone. The hit seemed high but it wasn’t clear if it contacted Compher’s head. Lilleberg received a two-minute penalty.
Lilleberg has been one of many depth defensemen to step up amid Tampa Bay’s string of blue-line injuries. He’s appeared in 45 of the team’s 48 games this season, rotating through roles on all three pairs. He has 11 assists and 76 penalty minutes on the year while playing in as little as 14 minutes or as much as 22 minutes each night. Lilleberg reached 82 career appearances with his last game, though he’s still searching for his first career goal. He recorded five assists and 16 penalty minutes in 37 appearances last season.
Tampa Bay saw the return of Erik Cernak in their Saturday matchup against Detroit, but they’re still without top-four defender J.J. Moser. Darren Raddysh has continued to serve next to Victor Hedman on the top pair, while Lilleberg and Nicklaus Perbix make up the bottom pair. Should Lilleberg face any form of suspension, the Bolts will likely turn towards one of Maxwell Crozier or Declan Carlile. The former has been the team’s de facto fill-in this month, but Carlile is the only left-shot of the team’s many injury fill-ins. Carlile has seven points and 37 penalty minutes in 36 AHL games this season but has only played in one NHL game.
Adding to this move, Tampa Bay has reassigned Crozier to the minor leagues. He served as the team’s seventh defenseman, but still dressed, for Saturday’s game – and could be called up again should Lilleberg face suspension.
Lightning To Extend Emil Martinsen Lilleberg On Two-Year Deal
The Tampa Bay Lightning are reportedly in agreement on a two-year, $1.6MM extension with defenseman Emil Martinsen Lilleberg (X Link). The deal will carry an AAV of $800K at the NHL level and is set to begin a year from today.
Lilleberg made his professional debut in North America last season with the Lightning after coming over from IK Oskarshamn of the Swedish Hockey League. Since being drafted 107th overall by the Arizona Coyotes in the 2021 NHL Draft, the Norwegian defenseman had spent all of his professional career in the SHL as he scored three goals and 18 points over 93 games.
Lilleberg went on to tally five assists in 37 games for the Lightning over two separate call-ups throughout the regular season. He spent more time with the Lightning than not this year as he only collected 33 games with the team’s AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, and scored two goals and 13 points in that time.
With Tampa Bay already having six NHL-caliber defensemen on the roster, and plenty of depth options still available on the free-agent market, Lilleberg should start the season in AHL Syracuse. Lilleberg should represent the top option to be called up if the Lightning’s blue line succumbs to injury at any point during the 2024-25 regular season.
Lightning Recall Emil Lilleberg On Emergency Basis
The Lightning have added an extra blueliner to their roster heading into their five-game road trip as the team announced that they’ve recalled defenseman Emil Martinsen Lilleberg from AHL Syracuse.
It’s the second recall of the season for the 23-year-old who was originally drafted by Arizona in 2021 but signed with Tampa Bay after the Coyotes elected not to sign him. Lilleberg played in 23 games with the Lightning during his first stint with the big club, picking up three assists along with 24 blocks and 69 hits while logging nearly 16 minutes a night of ice time. With the Crunch, meanwhile, Lilleberg has two goals and 11 helpers in 33 contests so far.
CapFriendly notes (Twitter link) that this has been classified as an emergency loan, meaning that it won’t against Tampa Bay’s four post-deadline recalls. It also suggests that the availability of one of their blueliners is in question for tonight’s game against Florida. However, that designation also means that Lilleberg has to be returned to the minors once the emergency situations ends or be converted to a regular recall which would count against their recall limit.
Atlantic Notes: Bernard-Docker, Marner, Lindholm, Lightning
The Senators received some trade interest in defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. However, it appears that Ottawa placed a fairly high price tag on the 23-year-old, one that other teams weren’t willing to pay. Bernard-Docker actually cleared waivers back in training camp but has spent most of the year up with Ottawa, picking up 12 points and 108 blocked shots in 52 games while logging just under 16 minutes a night. Signed for one more year after this one at an affordable $805K price tag, it’s understandable that the Sens would have had some interest in Bernard-Docker, perhaps not just from buyers either. Instead, he’ll remain with Ottawa through the rest of the season at least.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic:
- Maple Leafs winger Mitch Marner is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury and won’t play tonight versus Montreal, relays David Alter of The Hockey News (Twitter link). He will be re-evaluated in Toronto to assess the extent of the injury. Marner is once again one of Toronto’s top scorers this season, leading the team in assists with 51 and sitting third in points with 56. He had been on pace to reach 100 points for the first time but if he misses more than just a few games with this injury, that milestone could ultimately be out of reach.
- Before their game this afternoon against Pittsburgh, the Bruins announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Hampus Lindholm was cleared to return to the lineup. The 30-year-old had missed the last nine games due to a knee injury. Lindholm’s second full season in Boston hasn’t been anywhere near as productive as his first when he had 53 points but he still has a goal and 18 assists through 56 games while logging nearly 24 minutes a night.
- While the Lightning returned defensemen Emil Martinsen Lilleberg and Maxwell Crozier to the minors yesterday, Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times mentions (Twitter link) that one of the two could be recalled as extra depth for their upcoming four-game road trip. Martinsen Lilleberg has played in 23 games with Tampa Bay so far, logging nearly 16 minutes a night while Crozier has made 13 appearances, averaging just shy of 13 minutes per contest.
Tampa Bay Lightning Make Several Roster Moves
01/08/24: The Lightning have now reassigned Thompson back to the Crunch. The 21-year-old made his NHL debut in Tampa’s 7-3 loss against the Boston Bruins on Saturday.
Skating as the Lightning’s seventh defenseman, Thompson received 11:39 time-on-ice in which he managed one shot on goal, two hits, and had a 32.59% expected goals share when on the ice according to Natural Stat Trick.
01/05/24: The Tampa Bay Lightning have announced that defensemen Emil Martinsen Lilleberg and Jack Thompson have been recalled from their AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, while Sean Day and Declan Carlile have been sent down.
Day and Carlile were recalled yesterday, in the aftermath of Mikhail Sergachev‘s placement on long-term injured reserve. As has been a trend for Day, his recall allowed him to serve as a healthy-scratched spare blueliner, but he did not dress for the Lightning’s game. Day has been up and down from the Lightning roster frequently over the last few weeks, and the last game he’s actually played in was on December 20th.
Carlile, 23, actually did get to play and made his NHL debut last night. He skated in almost 11-and-a-half minutes of ice time in yesterday’s game, and while he didn’t end up scoring his first NHL point he did manage two blocked shots, a hit, and a plus-one rating.
Replacing Carlile on the roster (and potentially on Tampa Bay’s third pairing) is 21-year-old Thompson, a right-shot 2020 third-round pick. Thompson is in the midst of his sophomore pro campaign and has had a strong start to the year in Syracuse, scoring 20 points in 31 games. He could make his NHL debut for Tampa tomorrow in Boston.
Although he’s a left-shot blueliner and Carlile’s spot in the lineup was on the right side, there’s a chance that Martinsen Lilleberg makes his NHL debut tomorrow instead of Thompson. The 22-year-old Norwegian defenseman was a 2021 fourth-round pick of the Arizona Coyotes who spent the last two years of his career with IK Oskarshamn in the SHL.
The Lightning signed him this offseason and he’s now playing his first career season in North America. He has 12 points in 31 games alongside 45 penalty minutes for the Crunch.
Tampa Bay Lightning Sign Emil Martinsen Lilleberg
The coffee must be good in Tampa Bay today, as Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois has announced his third signing of the day. Per the team, the Lightning have signed Norwegian defenseman Emil Martinsen Lilleberg to a two-year, two-way contract.
Lilleberg was part of the Arizona Coyotes organization until four days ago, when the team let his exclusive draft rights expire by not signing him to an entry-level contract. Arizona drafted Lilleberg with the 107th overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft.
The 22-year-old left-shot defender was drafted out of Norway’s top league, a rarity among an already rare class of Norwegian nationals. Since his draft year, though, he’s made the move to the more competitive SHL, playing the last two seasons with IK Oskarshamn.
Lilleberg recently committed to SHL club Växjö Lakers HC for the 2023-24 season, so it remains to be seen whether Tampa Bay will loan him there for the first year of his contract. While he may still have some upside, he won’t be ready to see NHL ice in any event next year.
He’s represented Norway at the highest possible level of international competition for six straight years, including three World Championships, two U20 World Juniors, and two U18 World Juniors. Last year with Oskarshamn, Lilleberg recorded three goals and 11 points in 46 games, along with a -4 rating.
If he does come to North America next year, he’ll be headed to the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch.