Lightning roster coming into focus as Milton, season opener loom

BRANDON — Just days before they are scheduled to open the season Friday at Carolina, Lightning players took the ice Sunday at TGH Ice Plex uncertain of what the next few days might bring.

Still reeling from Helene, which damaged several players' homes, the team is preparing for the arrival of another hurricane as Milton is expected to reach the west coast of Florida sometime early on Wednesday.

Monday's preseason finale against Nashville — which had been rescheduled from Sept. 27 due to Helene — was canceled Sunday afternoon as the organization planned for the storm. Among the options the Lightning were considering was evacuating on Tuesday to Raleigh, North Carolina, where they will open the season.

"We've been working on those for the last 24 hours now to see what avenues we have moving forward here, not only just for our team, but families and everybody involved," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "We don't even know it quite yet, but trust me, we've got a crew of people digging into it."

Most of the Lightning players live on Davis Islands and in South Tampa, areas that were flooded by storm surge from Helene.

Center Nick Paul, whose garage was flooded, said players have been keeping each other updated in the group chat just as they did throughout Helene.

"We're looking after each other and each other's families and our own families," he said. " So I think this group's pretty good at staying together and making the right decisions as a whole and not selfishly as individuals. The main thing is just take care of the home right now, get everything ready, and then see what the team does, if we're evacuating as a team or what goes on there.

"Luckily, it's preseason right now. The season's starting pretty soon, but hopefully this thing is not as crazy as it sounds. But, I mean, you've got to take your precautions and get ready to be safe."

Two years ago, Hurricane Ian forced the Lightning to move their training camp to Nashville. But the timing is different. Ian arrived in late September, not days before the opening of the season, and ended up impacting the Fort Myers area. Helene brought major storm surge, though its eye was 100 miles off shore. MIlton appears to have Tampa Bay much more in its crosshairs.

"I guess the good and the bad is that we have gone through this before, and we've had some players here that have gone through this," Cooper said. "But it's tough, because players' minds are distracted, as well they should be. And for us on the management/coaching/team services side, we had to do what's best for our team, and our team includes the families, and so this is part of it.

"It does take a little bit of mental fortitude to say, 'Today's hockey practice. This is what we're focusing on. We have to get better. Trust me, people are in the background looking after the other things.' But I think our guys have done a pretty good job with that. It's just the uncertainty right now."

Cooper said finalizing the team's plan over the next 24 hours should help put people more at ease.

"It's just unfortunate, because in the last one it was a pretty chaotic time and it was damaging, and I think now people are a little more on edge," he said. "So, we've got to make sure that we ease everybody's mind."

The 23-player group that skated Sunday brought clarity to what the opening night roster will look like, with all signs pointing to top prospect Conor Geekie making the team.

Geekie not only survived the latest round of cuts — which included forwards Gage Goncalves, Jesse Ylonen and Maxim Groshev — he received a bigger role in Sunday's practice as the right wing on the third line. He also saw reps with the second-team power-play unit in the right circle spot.

"It's still the preseason, and so we're where we can afford to give him a look, especially with the fact that we do have some guys that are injured in the balance," Cooper said. "But I would sit here and say, when we've watched him play he's not given us any excuses (to send him down), and he has continued to progress and he's fit right in, and he's outplayed everybody else that was in his way."

Center Luke Glendening and wing Mikey Eyssimont have shed their red no-contact jerseys and returned to practice. Cooper said the team hopes to have both available on opening night.

Geekie said Sunday he had not yet been told he had made the team.

"I'm just trying to enjoy it," he said. "Very fortunate to be here and kind of get the opportunity. I'm not taking it for granted at all. I think I try to come to the rink every day with a smile on my face, and you play it by ear. You can get told what the situation is anytime, anyplace, anywhere. So, I just try to live in the moment. And obviously, when you get to be in a room of guys like this, it's fun every day."

The Lightning must submit their season-opening roster by Monday at 5 p.m., and it must be compliant with the $88 million salary cap. The team can then make additional roster moves before Friday's opener.

With the 23 players that are currently active, the Lightning are $249,000 over the cap, according to CapWages. But they're carrying eight defensemen and could easily become cap-compliant by reassigning either Emil Lilleberg or Max Crozier (who are on entry-level contracts and waiver exempt) to the minors to start the season.

• • •

, Rays, Lightning and college football across Florida.