Tampa Bay Lightning Re-Sign Defenseman Max Crozier To Three-Year Contract
The Tampa Bay Lightning announced they have re-signed defenseman Max Crozier to a three-year contract.
The contract is a two-way deal for the 2025-26 season and transitions to a one-way contract for the remaining two seasons.
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Crozier served as an assistant captain and recorded 34 points in 52 games with the Syracuse Crunch this season and went pointless while averaging 16:41 of ice time in five games with the Lightning.
The 25-year-old had a strong season and will take on even more responsibility moving forward. He has two assists in 18 career NHL games and 58 points in 110 career NHL games.
Originally a fourth round selection of the Lightning in 2019, Crozier won the USHL's Clark Cup in 2018-19 with the Sioux Falls Stampede and was a two-time Hockey East Third Team All-Star.
The North Vancouver, B.C., native had 17 goals and 71 points in 119 career games with the NCAA's Providence College, he also served as captain in 2022-23 before joining the Crunch.
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Check out The Hockey News' Tampa Bay Lightning team site for more updates.
Tampa Bay hired Colorado Eagles associate head coach Dan Hinote as an assistant coach earlier today.
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NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman talks NHL Finals
The Florida Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers gear up for Game 3 in the NHL Finals after each winning a previous match. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman discusses this season's thrilling end. June 7, 2025
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Stanley Cup Final live updates: Florida Panthers vs Edmonton Oilers, Game 2
Will the Florida Panthers even up the series? Or will they fall behind 0-2 in the Stanley Cup Final before they get to home ice? After an overtime defeat in the series opener against the Edmonton Oilers, the Panthers know they have to respond on Friday night to keep serious hopes of repeating as champions alive. Advertisement It's a tall task. Will they get it done? Puck drop for Game 2 from Edmonton's Rogers Place is at 8 p.m. The game will be broadcast on TNT and truTV and is available via stream on Max. Follow along throughout the game for live updates, news, analysis and commentary. Panthers win! Series tied on Marchand's double OT goal The Panthers and Edmonton head to Sunrise for Monday's Game 3 tied in the Stanley Cup Final after Brad Marchand's goal at 8:05 of double overtime gave the Panthers a 5-4 win in one of the best Stanley Cup Final games — ever. In a repeat of Marchand's second period shorthanded goal that gave the Panthers a 4-3 lead, Anton Lundell picked up the puck high in the Panthers zone and Marchand took off behind the Edmonton defense. Lundell fed Marchand again. Marchand fought off the tie up attempt his stick and nudged it through Edmonton goalie Stuart Skinner's pads. Advertisement The Panthers and Oilers will have two days off before Game 3, Monday, in Sunrise at Amerant Bank Arena. The game's last three goals were scored by Marchand, 37; Edmonton's Corey Perry, 40; and Marchand. Three regulation periods & one sudden death period down Game 2 remains 4-4. Edmonton outshot the Panthers, 14-9, but the Panthers had the two best scoring chances, Sam Reinhart's breakaway and Brad Marchand on the doorstep (see below). Panthers' defenseman Seth Jones (32:00) and Aaron Ekblad (29:45) lead the defending Cup holders in Game 2 ice time. Connor McDavid's 31:41 and defenseman Evan Bouchard's 31:23 lead Edmonton in ice time. Leon Draisaitl, who scored Game 1's overtime winner, has played 29:06. More overtime scoring chances The Panthers had their leading regular season goal scorer each of the last two years, Sam Reinhart, on an overtime breakaway. Reinhart tried to go low stick side on Edmonton goalie Stuart Skinner and missed the net. Advertisement On an odd-man rush, Edmonton's Evander Kane tried a pull-and-drag to give himself an open look in the slot, but a spinning snow angel move by Gustav Forsling stripped Kane and started a counter rush. Off a rebound with Skinner on the edge of his crease, Panthers winger Evan Rodrigues from low on the left side, backhanded it on the net and it went behind Skinner and across the goalmouth. Marchand almost wins it As the Panthers started to resemble their Game 1 overtime form — a fatigued team without physical and mental acuity — off a turnover, Brad Marchand nearly won it 8:17 into overtime. Marchand took a feed while cutting to the net, Edmonton's Stuart Skinner did the splits for the first save, Marchand's second rap got under Skinner's pad and hit the inside of the left post. The Corey Perry Zombie gets the Panthers. Overtime. Win a defensive zone face-off. Win a defensive zone face-off, clear the puck, maybe take a shot at an open net, but outlast an exhausted Edmonton group that was on the ice for almost the last three minutes of the game. Advertisement The Panthers couldn't do it. Game 2 is going to overtime, 4-4. Up 4-3 in the last minutes, the Panthers kept losing defensive zone face-offs until the Panthers Aleksander Barkov actually got something of a tie against Leon Draisaitl. Niko Mikkola couldn't control the puck, Edmonton got it and Jake Walman's wrister was kicked out by Sergei Bobrovsky. The rebound went past Barkov and Seth Jones to 40-year-old Corey Perry, who swatted it home while Eeto Luostarinen fruitlessly tried to tie him up. Perry's goal, with only 17.8 seconds left, was the latest tying goal in Stanley Cup Finals history, breaking the record of Toronto's Tod Sloan, who scored with 31 seconds left in Game 5 of the 1951 Stanley Cup Final. That final ended 2:53 into overtime when Toronto's Bill Barilko scored on a diving slapshot, the image immortalized in one of hockey's all-time photos. Barilko died that offseason in a plane crash. Edmonton pulls goalie Stuart Skinner With the Panthers up 4-3, Edmonton pulled goalie Stuart Skinner during a McDavid-Draisaitl shift. After the Panthers forced an offside call with 1:31 to go, the Oilers used their timeout to give their six on the ice a rest. Advertisement From the left circle, McDavid zipped a pass over to Draisaitl in the right circle but Bobrovsky got over on his one-timer with a minute left. The Panthers later iced the puck with 30.5 seconds left. Panthers still lead at the first third period TV timeout, but... Two ways to look at the first 8:20 of the third period, which ended with the Panthers still leading 4-3. Good for the Panthers: no penalties after starting the period finishing a penalty kill, only three shots for Edmonton. Good for Edmonton: after an early push by the Panthers, the Panthers seemed to forget about taking even token shots on goal or trying to create offense. The Oilers had four scoring chances and the Panthers zero before Leon Draisaitl skated through half the Panthers roster on a solo rush. Advertisement This is what the third period looked like in Game 1 before the Oilers tied it. End of two periods: Panthers 4, Edmonton 3. For the second consecutive game — and the third straight Finals game over the last two years — the Panthers took a one-goal lead into the third period. Want to know which team's speed and hitting dictates the play? Look at the giveaways, which are 12-6 in favor of the Panthers after two periods. The Panthers aren't owning the circle as they did in Game 1's first two periods, with only a 52-48 percentage advantage. Going into the third period, as far as how much Edmonton's Power Pair have played, Connor McDavid has been out for 15:04 of the first 40 minutes and Leon Draisaitl has played 14:02. Expect to see them double shifted if the Panthers still lead by the 10-minute mark. Advertisement As for the defensemen the Panthers like on the ice against McDavid and Draisaitl, Aaron Ekblad has played 15:27 and Gustav Forsling has been on the ice for 15:06. The Panthers' ice time leader is Seth Jones, 17:48. Among the forwards, center Aleksander Barkov has played 14:09. Panthers back in the take the lead Even the pterodactyl reach of Panthers defenseman Niko Mikkola couldn't prevent him from drawn into a hooking penalty by Connor McDavid. Remember what Gretz said between periods about the Panthers staying out of the box? Sure enough, there was a goal and a 4-3 lead. But, the Panthers got that goal and that lead. Advertisement As Anton Lundell foiled another Edmonton zone entry on a fantastic penalty kill, Brad Marchand took off and Lundell saw him. Lundell nudged the puck ahead and Marchand scored on the breakaway at 12:09. Panthers 4, Edmonton 3. Only a couple of moments of brilliance from Skinner kept the Oilers close over the next four minutes. Kulikov almost struck again when his slapshot hit an Edmonton defenseman and turned into a skipping stone, forcing a spectacular adjustment by Skinner. Second period replay halfway through, Panthers tie it Though Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky had to make two fantastic saves on Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard, the second on a two-on-one with Connor McDavid, the Panthers began to take over the game on the forecheck, as they did in Game 1's second period. Advertisement That grinding produced the game's tying goal, at 8:23 of the second. From Sam Reinhart, who had a few chances in the slot? Nope. Carter Verhaeghe, who also got couple of good looks? Nah, Stuart Skinner rejected him, too. No, silly, the goal came from the stick of dfenseman Dmitri Kulikov, he of two previous career playoff goals. Barkov lifted Ekholm's stick to prevent him from playing the dump-in and, soon after, Kulikov sent a wrister through a screen (and with Tkachuk crowding Skinner's workspace) to tie the game. First period thoughts from the press box What a period. Five combined goals. Fifty combined shot attempts. Eleven penalties leading to seven power plays and some time at 4 on 4 mixed in there as well. Only 8:09 of the opening 20 minutes was played at full strength. Advertisement Each team dominated for stretches of the period, as was the case throughout Game 1. A few thoughts as we wait for Period 2... ▪ Connor McDavid is special. That goes without saying. But watching him in person and up close gives an even better appreciation for his ability to make world-class plays. ▪ There was high-flying action in the opening frame, but will either team settle in when (if?) the game is able to get into an extended stretch at five-on-five? ▪ How about some love for Nate Schmidt? The Panthers' third-pair defenseman has assists on four of Florida's first five goals of this series, including three primary assists. Advertisement ▪ The goalie numbers: Sergei Bobrovsky is 11 for 14, including 3 of 4 on high-danger shots and 5 of 6 against Edmonton's power play; Stuart Skinner is 9 for 11. End of the first period: The Oil 3, Cats 2 'Was that the best period of hockey you've ever seen live in your life?' former NHL forward Anson Carter asked on the TNT broadcast after the first period. 'Probably,' former Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist said. 'I'm speechless.' A first period with more action than some entire Stanley Cup Final's games — and some entire Final series during the Dead Puck Era — ended 3-2, Edmonton after the Panthers survived a two-man down shorthanded situtation. Only 8:09 of the first period was played five-on-five. Between periods, Wayne Gretzky said the Panthers 'have no chance' if they can't stay out of shorthanded or four-on-four situations. Bennett in his office, McDavid does his work, Oilers lead again Edmonton wanted goalie interference on Bennett during the Panthers' first goal in Game 1, and not only didn't get the call on the challenge, but got a delay of game and the Panthers scored on the power play. But, they got the goalie interference call 12:04 into Game 2, even though, this time, Ekholm clearly pushed Bennett into Skinner and neither referee had signalled a penalty before Skinner was down for a bit with a twisted leg. Advertisement On the power play, the Panthers seemed to get a break as one of the Oilers went to the bench to get a new stick. But, the brief four-on-four provided McDavid room for a breathtaking stickhandling show. McDavid zigzagged by Barkov, sent Ekblad into a stumbling flop then slipped a pass by Anton Lundell to Draisaitl in the low right circle. Edmonton, 3-2. Draisaitl saluted the brilliant play by letting McDavid go first in dapping up the Edmonton bench, something usually reserved for the goal scorer. What is this, the 1980s? Panthers tie the game Is it Wayne Gretzky being in the house for TNT? Because the goals are coming at the rate that the 1980s Oilers, who averaged 5.0 goals per game for five consecutive regular seasons, used to score and allow. Advertisement Panthers defenseman Nate Schmidt jumped on a soft clearing attempt by Edmonton's Kaspari Kapanen just inside the left point and passed to Eetu Luostarinen in the right circle. With Kapanen still scolding himself high in the zone, Luostarinen saw wide open defenseman Sean Jones breaking through the left circle. Jones fired into a gaping net at 11:37: 2-2. Edmonton takes the lead Everybody in the NHL knows that four-on-four is not even strength against Edmonton because when, say Edmonton's Darnell Nurse and the Panthers Matthew Tkachuk go off cross checking and slashing each other, the Oilers throw out Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl with more room to work. Advertisement McDavid's speed pushed the Panthers into retreat as he hit the Panthers blue line, giving defenseman Evan Bouchard room to shoot. Bouchard's wrister was blocked right back to him, but his second shot got past Sam Reinhart, Aleksander Barkov and Sergei Bobrovsky (screened by Reinhart and Barkov). Edmonton's second goal in 1:40 gave them the lead, 2-1, 9:19 into the game. Kane redeems himself, ties the game, 1-1 From the Edmonton blueline, defenseman Evan Bouchard quickly headmanned the puck to Viktor Arvidsson, who turned it to a flying Evander Kane. Kane, named after 1990s world heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield, punched the Panthers the face with a whistling left circle wrister over Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky's glove and off the right post. Advertisement Tie game, 1-1, 7:39 into the first. Panthers win the first shift, take a 1-0 lead The Panthers altered first line produced a scoring chance, Sam Reinhart from between the circles, less than 10 seconds into the game. Edmonton's Evander Kane reached back to deflect Reinhart's shot over the net, but took an offensive zone penalty 37 seconds into the game when he high sticked Carter Verhaeghe while finishing a check. Kane helped establish Edmonton's physical play in Game 1. On the Panthers power play, Sam Bennett mishit a one-timer off a pass from Nate Schmidt, but got enough for it to get by goalie Stuart Skinner 2:07 into the game. An infuriated Oilers bench wanted a penalty on Bennett, who, while turning to get into position for Schmidt's pass, skated Edmonton defenseman Mattias Ekholm's dropped stick away from him. Advertisement Panthers 1, Edmonton 0, as Bennett's 13th goal of this year's playoffs gave him an NHL single-playoff record 12 on the road and ended an Oilers run of scoring first in nine consecutive games. Moving people pieces For Game 2, Panthers coach Paul Maurice moved Carter Verhaeghe to left wing with center Aleksander Barkov and right wing Sam Reinhart and Evan Rodrigues down to the second line with Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk. This puts three of the top four regular season scorers on the first line and adds even more bang and jam to Bennett's line, where Tkachuk's been laboring akin to a wounded bull throughout the playoffs. Maurice did this in the second period of Eastern Conference Final Game 5, when the Panthers trailed Carolina 2-0. The Panthers stormed back to clinch the series with a 5-3 win, Verhaeghe getting the game winner off a dazzling Barkov stickhandle-and-dish play. Getting back on the cycle A chart by NHL Network from stats by Sportlogiq said the Panthers ground out an 11-4 advantage in scoring chances off the offensive zone cycle in Game 1, 6-3 in slot shots and 5-2 in forechecking chances. That begat the Panthers first goal, Carter Verhaeghe's shot bouncing in off Sam Bennett as the center sprawled in the crease, as well as solid control of the second period and first minutes of overtime. Series schedule ▪ Game 1 — Oilers 4, Panthers 3 (overtime): The Panthers had a two-goal lead early in the second period but couldn't hold on as Edmonton tied the game early in the third and won it on a Leon Draisaitl power-play goal with 31 seconds left in overtime. Advertisement ▪ Game 2: Tonight ▪ Game 3: Monday, June 9, 8 p.m., TNT, truTV, Max, Sunrise's Amerant Bank Arena ▪ Game 4: Thursday, June 12, 8 p.m., TNT, truTV, Max, Sunrise's Amerant Bank Arena ▪ Game 5 (if necessary): Saturday, June 14, 8 p.m., TNT, truTV, Max, Edmonton's Rogers Place ▪ Game 6 (if necessary): Tuesday, June 17, 8 p.m., TNT, truTV, Max, Sunrise's Amerant Bank Arena ▪ Game 7 (if necessary): Friday, June 20, 8 p.m., TNT, truTV, Max, Edmonton's Rogers Place Pregame reading Need to catch up ahead of Game 2? Here are the highlights of the Miami Herald's coverage over the past few days. ▪ With margin for error thin in Cup Final, Panthers need to regroup after Game 1 overtime loss Advertisement ▪ With two goals in Game 1 of Stanley Cup Final, Sam Bennett makes Panthers history ▪ Maurice's message to Nosek after game-deciding penalty in Florida's Game 1 Cup Final loss ▪ Will Panthers make lineup changes for Game 2 of Stanley Cup Final? ▪ Joining the Florida Panthers 'revitalized' Seth Jones. The next goal: Win a Stanley Cup
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Oilers' Leon Draisaitl Issues Warning to Panthers Before Stanley Cup Final
Oilers' Leon Draisaitl Issues Warning to Panthers Before Stanley Cup Final originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Edmonton Oilers are back in the Stanley Cup Final for the second straight year after falling to the Florida Panthers in a seven-game series last June. Advertisement The rematch begins Wednesday at Rogers Place, with Edmonton hosting the first two games after not having home-ice advantage in last year's finals. In the 2024 playoffs, Florida let a 3-0 series lead slip away before closing the finals out in Game 7. Edmonton, however, enters this year's series with strong goaltending from Stuart Skinner and arguably the most talented and motivated core in hockey. For Leon Draisaitl, there's no mystery about the opponent they will face during the next few days. The Oilers forward said after Sunday's practice that he's been keeping a close eye on Florida's run, sending the Panthers a warning before their rematch. Advertisement "Yeah, I like watching hockey at home," Draisaitl said. "So obviously I've been paying attention to their series, and you know, the way they play, it's not like anything new to us." The Oilers lost both regular-season meetings against Florida this season but enter the finals with momentum, having eliminated Dallas in five games and putting together a 12-2 record in their last 14 outings. Edmonton Oilers center Leon Draisaitl warms up before a game against the Florida Belski-USA TODAY Sports Draisaitl acknowledged that the Panthers' style won't catch them off guard this time. "They look to, you know, be in your face," Draisaitl said. "And, yeah, I mean again, nothing that we haven't faced already or nothing that we're not aware of." Advertisement The forward closed his remarks by hinting at unfinished business. "We know what they're about," Draisaitl said. "It's nice to get a shot at getting some revenge, but we're a long ways from that." Game 1 is Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET. It will air on TNT. Related: Oilers Get Definitive Injury Update on Top-Six Forward Before Stanley Cup Final Related: Connor McDavid Sends Clear Warning to Panthers Before Stanley Cup Final This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 2, 2025, where it first appeared.
