Lightning: 3 players who won't be back next season after Stanley Cup loss

Lightning: 3 players who won’t be back next season after Stanley Cup loss

TAMPA, FLORIDA - JUNE 26: Brandon Hagel #38, Ryan McDonagh #27, and Alex Killorn #17 of the Tampa Bay Lightning look toward the goal in the first period of Game Six of the 2022 NHL Stanley Cup Final against the Colorado Avalanche at Amalie Arena on June 26, 2022 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

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TAMPA, FLORIDA – JUNE 26: Jan Rutta #44 of the Tampa Bay Lightning skates with the puck in Game Six of the 2022 NHL Stanley Cup Final at Amalie Arena on June 26, 2022 in Tampa, Florida. The Avalanche defeated the Lightning 2-1. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

These three players for the Eastern Conference Champion Tampa Bay Lightning won’t be back next season.

The Tampa Bay Lightning, arguably the best team in the NHL not named the Colorado Avalanche, entered this past season as back-to-back champions looking to become the first team since the Islanders in 80-83 (and fifth team ever) to win three straight Stanley Cups.

At the hands of the Avalanche, Tampa finally found their match and ultimately were knocked off of their throne and lost in the Stanley Cup Final in six games.

The Lightning do not have an extensive list of players set to become unrestricted free agents in the coming days, so the club is going to look pretty similar in the 2022-2023 season, although there will be a few faces likely not returning in the upcoming campaign.

Tampa Bay Lightning: 3 players who won’t be returning next season

#3 – Defenseman Jan Rutta

Jan Rutta, the 31-year-old native of Czechoslovakia has spent the last four seasons as a member of the Lightning but will likely have the 2022 loss in the Cup Final as his last hoorah in Tampa.

One of just a handful of players on this current squad that will become a UFA (unrestricted free agent), Rutta was in a position where it’d be either him or winger Nick Paul who received a contract extension this offseason. With the news of Paul’s huge seven-year extension breaking yesterday, this move signals the end of Rutta’s days with the Lightning.

While Rutta has two Stanley Cup victories under his belt, he has been used as more of a depth option throughout his tenure with the Lightning and was used fairly infrequently last year, appearing in just 39 games and averaging just over 14 minutes on-ice per game.

While Rutta has been a useful player for this Lightning squad, this just seems like an instance where the club’s funds could be better used elsewhere.

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