3 Players Entering Final Season With Tampa Bay Lightning

The Tampa Bay Lightning have their core locked in for a number of years, but this is a team where the depth changes quite frequently. That will be the case again after the season as there are some questionable players with one year left on their deals who can be replaced with younger talent or different styles.

Cam Atkinson

Cam Atkinson was bought out this summer by the Philadelphia Flyers after scoring just 13 goals and 28 points. He missed the entire season prior, but before that, scored 23 goals and 50 points. The more realistic number to expect from a 35-year-old Atkinson who might have some healthy issues is closer to what he put up last season. That being said, there's still not going to be a lot of cap space for the Lightning to work with, but with what they do have, the team will have to grab another top-6 player that's better than Atkinson and let him go to free agency.

Luke Glendening

Luke Glendening is going into the second and final year of a two-year deal and is coming off a season in which he struggled, scoring 10 goals and 11 points. He should be the fourth line center, but he is also 35 years old and his underlying numbers were bad. The Lightning need better depth and it's hard to come by when the top of the lineup is taking up so much cap space. It's likely the team will be looking younger next offseason instead of bringing back a 36-year-old.

Jonas Johansson

Jonas Johansson served his purpose last season and held it together decently well for the Lightning through an Andrei Vasilevskiy injury even though Johansson's numbers weren't great. He is a backup at best, but if he records something similar to a 3.37 GAA and .890 SV% again, the Lightning will be looking elsewhere for a backup. There are even still options this season who would do better than Johansson is capable of.