It’s officially 2025 NHL Draft week. The Tampa Bay Lightning will be sitting out the first day of action since they don’t have a first-round pick yet again. Day two will be busy as they try to make the most of their second-round, fourth-round, fifth-round, and four seventh-round picks.
Rest assured, the Lightning fans out there. Even without a first-round pick, there are still Lightning angles that can be found during that first day of the draft. It just requires you to look a little deeper. Fortunately, that deeper dig has already been done.
Watch Out for Nashville
The Nashville Predators have the Lightning’s first-round pick. A couple of seasons ago, the Lightning really, and I mean really, wanted this Tanner Jeannot guy and were willing to send off a conditional first-rounder along with (checks notes) a lot more to acquire him.
I’ll be fully transparent and say I defended that trade at the time because there’s a cost to winning now. That is probably my most freezer-burnt take. Anyway, the fans might as well see who the Predators take with this 23rd-overall pick in the draft.
This draft pick could potentially be a teammate of Lightning legend, now Predators forward, Steven Stamkos. He has three more years on his contract, providing some potential overlap. It likely wouldn’t be next season. Later first-rounders frequently wait to sign their entry-level contract. However, there is a chance.
The Predators provide Lightning fans with a couple of angles to view the draft from; certainly more than others.
Lightning Legend to Gain More Impact Pieces in Montreal?
Lightning legend turned Montreal Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis is coming off getting his team to the playoffs for the first time in his tenure. Coincidentally, it’s the first time the Canadiens reached the playoffs since they lost to the Lightning in the Stanley Cup Final in 2021.
Montreal has back-to-back first-round picks this season (16th and 17th overall). According to NHL insider Pierre LeBrun, the Canadiens are “leaving no stone unturned” ahead of the draft (from ‘NHL rumblings: Why it could be a long summer, plus latest on Canadiens, Pettersson, Rust and more,’ The Athletic, June 24, 2025). They could potentially use these picks to provide St. Louis with some major upgrades for another playoff run next season.
The Canadiens lost in the first round to the Washington Capitals in five games. They put up a fight in the series, but the offense struggled to keep up. Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes would love to add middle-six depth to give head coach and team team a better edge next season.
A Key Rival Has a Top-10 Pick
Beware, the arrival of a new Boston Bruins player to hate for the next several years is imminent. After a two-season run that saw them break records in the standings and flop after being seen as a bona fide Stanley Cup favorite, the Bruins stumbled and now have the seventh-overall pick in the draft.
Related: Lightning: 5 Best Yzerman-Era Draft Picks
They’re setting themselves up for the future with this pick, and Lightning fans can get to know him early. They’ll ultimately be seeing him a few times a season for the foreseeable future.
A Former Lightning Defenseman Is Gaining a New Top Teammate
The now-named Utah Mammoth have the fourth-overall pick in the draft. It’s not certain that this pick will play right away, but he will ultimately become a teammate of former Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev. Last offseason, the then-named Utah Hockey Club acquired Sergachev in exchange for forward prospect Conor Geekie, defenseman JJ Moser, a 2024 seventh-round pick and a 2025 second-round pick.
Fun fact: The Lightning don’t even have that pick anymore. They shipped it off to Seattle as part of the trade that netted them a Yanni Gourde reunion and Oliver Bjorkstrand in March.
As the Mammoth looks to establish themselves in the NHL, nailing that pick for Sergachev’s new teammate will go a long way to making it happen.
To actually see the Lightning draft a player, you’ll have to wait until day two. However, just because the Lightning don’t have a pick doesn’t mean there aren’t Lightning=adjacent storylines happening in Round 1.
