# 2020–21 Tampa Bay Lightning season

The 2020–21 Tampa Bay Lightning season was the 29th season for the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise that was established on December 16, 1991. The Lightning entered the season as the defending Stanley Cup champions. In a joint announcement from the NHL and NHLPA on October 6, 2020, a target date of January 1, 2021 was set for the start of the season. It was reported December 18, 2020 that the two parties had tentatively agreed to a 56-game season scheduled to begin on January 13, 2021.
Because the COVID-19 pandemic was still ongoing prior to the season, as part of the league's return to play protocols, the divisions were realigned and the Lightning were put into the Central Division. This new configuration retained Chicago, Dallas, and Nashville, while it added Detroit and Florida from the Atlantic Division, as well as Carolina and Columbus from the Metropolitan Division. The regular season schedule was announced on December 23, 2020. Opponents in each game during the regular season and potentially the first two rounds of the playoffs are from within the new division.
The Lightning entered the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs as the defending Stanley Cup champions and the third seed in the Central Division. In the first round, the Lightning defeated their in-state rival the Florida Panthers in six games. They went on to defeat the Carolina Hurricanes in five games to earn a spot in the Semifinals, where they defeated the New York Islanders in seven games to reach the Stanley Cup Finals for the second consecutive season. Tampa Bay would then repeat as champions in five games against the Montreal Canadiens.

## Off-season
### September

The Lightning's off-season began after the team captured its second Stanley Cup in franchise history in a 4–2 series win over the Dallas Stars.

### October

On October 7, 2020, the Lightning re-signed forwards Mitchell Stephens and Gemel Smith to contract extensions. Stepehens was signed to a two-year extension after being part of the 2020 Stanley Cup championship roster. Smith signed a one-year deal after appearing in three regular season games for the Lightning and spending the majority of the season with the Lightning's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch.
At the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, the Lightning selected Jack Finley, Gage Goncalves, Maxim Groshev, Jack Thompson, Eamon Powell, Jaydon Dureau, Nick Capone, Amir Miftakhov and Declan McDonnell. Later in the evening, the Lightning announced that it had issued qualifying offers to Anthony Cirelli, Erik Cernak, Ross Colton, Mathieu Joseph, Dominik Masin, Mikhail Sergachev, Ben Thomas and Alex Volkov. The team did not issue qualifying offers to Devante Stephens, Carter Verhaeghe and Dennis Yan.
On October 9, 2020, the Lightning placed Tyler Johnson on waivers after being unable to trade him prior to free agency. Johnson has a $5 million cap hit with four years remaining on his current contract with the Lightning. Johnson cleared waivers the following day after going unclaimed by another team.
That same day, the Lightning announced that it had signed forward Patrick Maroon to a two-year contract extension. Maroon skated in all of the Lightning's playoff games on their way to winning their second Stanley Cup in franchise history.
Around the same time, the Lightning re-signed defenseman Luke Schenn to a one-year contract extension. Scheen appeared in 25 regular season games and 11 playoff games during the Lightning's championship run the prior season. Schenn's contract counted for $800,000 against the salary cap.
The Lightning also made a series of depth signings that day. The Lightning signed defenseman Andreas Borgman and goaltender and Christopher Gibson. The Lightning also re-signed Spencer Martin to a one-year contract extension. Martin had spent the previous season with the Syracuse Crunch in the AHL. Borgman played in 53 games this past season for the AHL's San Antonio Rampage. Gibson appeared in net in 25 games for the AHL's Bridgeport Sound Tigers during the prior season.
On October 12, 2020, the Lightning announced the re-signing of defensemen prospect Ben Thomas. Thomas had been playing for the Syracuse Crunch for the past four seasons, during which time he appeared in over 200 career games. Thomas was originally drafted by Lightning in the fourth round of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.
On October 14, 2020, the Lightning announced that it had re-signed forward prospect Ross Colton. Colton had spent the last two years playing for the AHL's Syracuse Crunch. Colton was drafted by the Lightning in the fourth round of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.
On October 23, 2020, it was announced that assistant coach Todd Richards was leaving the Lightning to take an assistant coaching job with the Nashville Predators. Richards spent the past four seasons with the Lightning and helped the team capture its second Stanley Cup.

### November

On November 25, 2020, the Lightning announced the re-signing of defenseman Mikhail Sergachev to a three-year contract extension. The contract carried a $4.8 million cap hit. Since coming over to the Lightning via trade, Sergachev produced three straight seasons of more than 30 points and helped the franchise to its second Stanley Cup.

### December

On December 7, 2020, the Lightning announced the hiring of assistant coach Rob Zettler. Zettler was previously an assistant of Lightning head coach Jon Cooper when he was the head coach of the AHL's Syracuse Crunch. Zettler took over as head coach of the Crunch after Cooper was promoted to be the Lightning's head coach. Zettler was released by the team after three seasons. Zettler went on to spend two seasons as an assistant coach with the San Jose Sharks and a season of prospect coaching for Adam Oates and the Oates Sports Group. Zettler filled the vacancy left by the departure of Todd Richards. Richards worked with the Lightning defensemen and handled the team's penalty kill.
On December 12, 2020, the Lightning announced the signing of 2020 NHL draft pick Jack Finley. Finley spent the past three seasons with the Spokane Chiefs of the Western Hockey League (WHL), where he has skated in 131 career WHL games and recorded 28 goals and 77 points.
On December 13, 2020, the Lightning announced the signing of another 2020 NHL draft pick, center Gage Goncalves, to a three-year entry-level contract. Goncalves was previously an undrafted camp invite by the WHL's Everett Silvertips before being drafted by the Lightning. Gonclaves appeared in 128 career WHL games, recording 34 goals, 52 assists and 86 points.
On December 22, 2020, the Lightning announced the re-signing of defenseman Erik Cernak to a three-year contract extension. Cernak played in 67 games last season and lead the team in hits with 172. In the Lightning's championship run, Cernak appeared in all 25 games, during which he averaged over 20 minutes of ice time per game, fourth-highest amongst Lightning defensemen.
On December 23, 2020, the Lightning announced the re-signing of forwards Mathieu Joseph and Alexander Volkov. Joseph was signed to a two-year extension and Volkov was signed to a one-year extension. Both forwards split the season between the Lightning and the Syracuse Crunch. Joseph played in 37 regular season games with the Lightning, scoring four goals and three assists. Volkov appeared in nine regular season games, recording one assist. Volkov also drew into the Lightning's Stanley Cup-clinching game win over the Dallas Stars.
The Lightning also announced the re-signing of defenseman Jan Rutta to a two-year extension. Rutta played in 33 regular season games, recording a goal and six assists. Rutta also plated in six playoff games, recording a lone assist during the Lightning's Stanley Cup run. Rutta was originally acquired by the Lightning via trade from the Chicago Blackhawks in 2019.
On December 24, 2020, the Lightning announced the re-signing of forward Anthony Cirelli to a three-year contract extension. Cirelli had 16 goals and 28 assists over 68 games in the regular season. Cirelli also recorded six assists in the Lightning's 25 playoff games. Along with winning the Stanley Cup, Cirelli finished the past season fourth in Frank J. Selke Trophy voting, which trophy is awarded to the NHL's best defensive forward.
On December 27, 2020, the Lightning announced that it had traded Braydon Coburn, Cedric Paquette and their 2021 second-round draft pick to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Anders Nilsson and Marian Gaborik. Both Nilsson and Gaborik were immediately placed on long-term injured reserve for additional salary cap space to allow the Lightning to become salary cap compliant for the upcoming season.

## Training camp
### January

On January 1, 2021, the Lightning announced its training camp roster for the 2020–21 season, which consisted of 25 forwards, 14 defensemen and 4 goaltenders. The notable absence from the roster was forward Nikita Kucherov, who was to miss at least all of the regular season after having hip surgery, with optimism that he would return to action in the playoffs.
The forward roster consists of Alex Barre-Boulet, Anthony Cirelli, Ross Colton, Blake Coleman, Jack Finley, Gage Goncalves, Barclay Goodrow, Yanni Gourde, Jimmy Huntington, Tyler Johnson, Mathieu Joseph, Boris Katchouk, Alex Killorn, Ryan Lohin, Patrick Maroon, Boo Nieves, Ondrej Palat, Brayden Point, Taylor Raddysh, Gemel Smith, Steven Stamkos, Mitchell Stephens, Alexander Volkov and Daniel Walcott.
The defensemen group consisted of Andreas Borgman, Erik Cernak, Sean Day, Cal Foote, Alex Green, Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh Jan Rutta, Luke Schenn, Dmitry Semykin, Mikhail Sergachev, Devante Stephens, Ben Thomas and Luke Witkowski.
The goaltending group consisted of Christopher Gibson, Spencer Martin, Curtis McElhinney and Andrei Vasilevskiy.
On January 8, 2021, the Lightning announced its first roster cuts for the upcoming season. The team assigned Ryan Lohin and Devante Stephens to Orlando Solar Bears of the ECHL. There were 41 players remaining after the first round of roster cuts.
On January 11, 2021, the Lightning announced the final round of roster moves for the start of the season. The Lightning assigned Alex Barre-Boulet, Ross Colton, Sean Day, Jack Finley, Gage Goncalves, Alex Green, Jimmy Huntington, Boris Katchouk, Taylor Raddysh and Dmitry Semykin to the Syracuse Crunch. The Lightning placed Spencer Martin, Daniel Walcott and Luke Witkowski on waivers for purposes of assignment to Syracuse.
The Lightning also announced that it had placed Andreas Borgman, Christopher Gibson, Tyler Johnson, Luke Schenn, Gemel Smith and Ben Thomas on waivers. If the players cleared waivers, they were to likely be destined for the team's taxi squad, which roster group the NHL created for teams' predicted roster challenges during the season due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The following day, all the players that were placed on waivers the previous day had cleared without being claimed by another team. Those not destined for Syracuse were set to be assigned to the taxi squad on opening night the following day.
Latter that day the Lightning also announced that it had signed forward Boo Nieves to a one-year contract after joining the team on a PTO contract for training camp. Nieves had previously played in the New York Rangers system for the past four seasons.
After completing these moves, the team set-up its opening night roster: forwards Anthony Cirelli, Blake Coleman, Barclay Goodrow, Yanni Gourde, Mathieu Joseph, Alex Killorn, Patrick Maroon, Ondrej Palat, Brayden Point, Steven Stamkos, Mitchell Stephens and Alexander Volkov; defensemen Erik Cernak, Cal Foote, Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh, Jan Rutta and Mikhail Sergachev; and goaltenders Andrei Vasilevskiy and Curtis McElhinney.
The taxi squad roster consisted of Tyler Johnson (C), Gemel Smith (C), Luke Schenn (RD), Andreas Borgman (LD), Ben Thomas (RD) and Christopher Gibson (G). Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois stated that Johnson would be added to the active roster after the first game due to cap reasons. Due to the timing of his signing, Boo Nieves was unable to be assigned to the taxi squad until after the first game.

## Standings

Central Division :
| Pos | Team v t e | GP | W | L | OTL | RW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | y – Carolina Hurricanes | 56 | 36 | 12 | 8 | 27 | 179 | 136 | +43 | 80 |
| 2 | x – Florida Panthers | 56 | 37 | 14 | 5 | 26 | 189 | 153 | +36 | 79 |
| 3 | x – Tampa Bay Lightning | 56 | 36 | 17 | 3 | 29 | 181 | 147 | +34 | 75 |
| 4 | x – Nashville Predators | 56 | 31 | 23 | 2 | 21 | 156 | 154 | +2 | 64 |
| 5 | e – Dallas Stars | 56 | 23 | 19 | 14 | 17 | 158 | 154 | +4 | 60 |
| 6 | e – Chicago Blackhawks | 56 | 24 | 25 | 7 | 15 | 161 | 186 | −25 | 55 |
| 7 | e – Detroit Red Wings | 56 | 19 | 27 | 10 | 17 | 127 | 171 | −44 | 48 |
| 8 | e – Columbus Blue Jackets | 56 | 18 | 26 | 12 | 12 | 137 | 187 | −50 | 48 |

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

2020–21 Regular season game log :
January: 4–1–1, 9 Points (home: 3–0–0; road: 1–1–1)
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
1January 13Chicago Blackhawks5–1VasilevskiyAmalie ArenaHeld without fans1–0–02
2January 15Chicago Blackhawks5–2VasilevskiyAmalie ArenaHeld without fans2–0–04
—January 17Dallas StarsPostponed due to positive COVID-19 tests of Dallas Stars players and staff. Makeup date: May 5.
—January 19Dallas StarsPostponed due to positive COVID-19 tests of Dallas Stars players and staff. Makeup date: May 7.
3January 21@ Columbus Blue Jackets3–2OTVasilevskiyNationwide ArenaHeld without fans3–0–06
4January 23@ Columbus Blue Jackets2–5VasilevskiyNationwide ArenaHeld without fans3–1–06
—January 26@ Carolina HurricanesPostponed due to multiple Carolina Hurricanes players placed in COVID-19 protocol. Makeup date: February 22.
5January 28@ Carolina Hurricanes0–1OTVasilevskiyPNC ArenaHeld without fans3–1–17
6January 30Nashville Predators4–3VasilevskiyAmalie ArenaHeld without fans4–1–19 :
February: 10–3–0, 20 Points (home: 6–1–0; road: 4–2–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
7February 1Nashville Predators5–2VasilevskiyAmalie ArenaHeld without fans5–1–111
8February 3Detroit Red Wings5–1VasilevskiyAmalie ArenaHeld without fans6–1–113
9February 5Detroit Red Wings3–1VasilevskiyAmalie ArenaHeld without fans7–1–115
10February 8@ Nashville Predators4–1McElhinneyBridgestone ArenaNot reported8–1–117
11February 9@ Nashville Predators6–1VasilevskiyBridgestone ArenaNot reported9–1–119
12February 11@ Florida Panthers2–5VasilevskiyBB&T Center3,8089–2–119
13February 13@ Florida Panthers6–1VasilevskiyBB&T Center4,50910–2–121
14February 15Florida Panthers4–6McElhinneyAmalie Arena10010–3–121
—February 18@ Dallas StarsPostponed due to winter storm affecting the area. Makeup date: March 2.
—February 20@ Dallas StarsPostponed due to winter storm affecting the area. Makeup date: March 16.
15February 20@ Carolina Hurricanes0–4VasilevskiyPNC ArenaHeld without fans10–4–121
16February 22@ Carolina Hurricanes4–2VasilevskiyPNC ArenaHeld without fans11–4–123
17February 24Carolina Hurricanes3–0VasilevskiyAmalie Arena50012–4–125
18February 25Carolina Hurricanes3–1McElhinneyAmalie Arena53613–4–127
19February 27Dallas Stars5–0VasilevskiyAmalie Arena53714–4–129 :
March: 10–5–1, 21 Points (home: 4–2–0; road: 6–3–1)
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
20March 2@ Dallas Stars2–0VasilevskiyAmerican Airlines Center4,06715–4–131
21March 4@ Chicago Blackhawks3–2OTVasilevskiyUnited CenterHeld without fans16–4–133
22March 5@ Chicago Blackhawks3–4SOMcElhinneyUnited CenterHeld without fans16–4–234
23March 7@ Chicago Blackhawks6–3VasilevskiyUnited CenterHeld without fans17–4–236
24March 9@ Detroit Red Wings4–3OTVasilevskiyLittle Caesars ArenaHeld without fans18–4–238
25March 11@ Detroit Red Wings4–6McElhinneyLittle Caesars ArenaHeld without fans18–5–238
26March 13Nashville Predators6–3VasilevskiyAmalie Arena3,80019–5–240
27March 15Nashville Predators1–4McElhinneyAmalie Arena3,80019–6–240
28March 16@ Dallas Stars4–3SOVasilevskiyAmerican Airlines Center4,05720–6–242
29March 18Chicago Blackhawks4–2VasilevskiyAmalie Arena3,80021–6–244
30March 20Chicago Blackhawks4–1VasilevskiyAmalie Arena3,80022–6–246
31March 21Florida Panthers5–3McElhinneyAmalie Arena3,80023–6–248
32March 23@ Dallas Stars2–1VasilevskiyAmerican Airlines Center4,10324–6–250
33March 25@ Dallas Stars3–4VasilevskiyAmerican Airlines Center4,18724–7–250
34March 27@ Carolina Hurricanes3–4VasilevskiyPNC Arena4,43324–8–250
35March 30Columbus Blue Jackets1–3McElhinneyAmalie Arena3,80024–9–250 :
April: 10–5–0, 20 Points (home: 7–3–0; road: 3–2–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
36April 1Columbus Blue Jackets3–2VasilevskiyAmalie Arena3,80025–9–252
37April 3Detroit Red Wings2–1VasilevskiyAmalie Arena3,80026–9–254
38April 4Detroit Red Wings1–5GibsonAmalie Arena3,80026–10–254
39April 6@ Columbus Blue Jackets2–4VasilevskiyNationwide Arena4,08026–11–254
40April 8@ Columbus Blue Jackets6–4VasilevskiyNationwide Arena4,14327–11–256
41April 10@ Nashville Predators3–0VasilevskiyBridgestone ArenaNot reported28–11–258
42April 13@ Nashville Predators2–7McElhinneyBridgestone ArenaNot reported28–12–258
43April 15Florida Panthers3–2OTVasilevskiyAmalie Arena3,80029–12–260
44April 17Florida Panthers3–5VasilevskiyAmalie Arena3,80029–13–260
45April 19Carolina Hurricanes3–2OTVasilevskiyAmalie Arena3,80030–13–262
46April 20Carolina Hurricanes1–4VasilevskiyAmalie Arena3,80030–14–262
47April 22Columbus Blue Jackets3–1McElhinneyAmalie Arena4,20031–14–264
48April 25Columbus Blue Jackets4–3OTVasilevskiyAmalie Arena4,20032–14–266
49April 27@ Chicago Blackhawks7–4VasilevskiyUnited CenterHeld without fans33–14–268
50April 29Dallas Stars3–0VasilevskiyAmalie Arena4,20034–14–270 :
May: 2–3–1, 5 Points (home: 1–1–0; road: 1–2–1)
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
51May 1@ Detroit Red Wings0–1SOMcElhinneyLittle Caesars ArenaNot reported34–14–371
52May 2@ Detroit Red Wings2–1GibsonLittle Caesars ArenaNot reported35–14–373
53May 5Dallas Stars6–2VasilevskiyAmalie Arena4,20036–14–375
54May 7Dallas Stars2–5McElhinneyAmalie Arena4,20036–15–375
55May 8@ Florida Panthers1–5VasilevskiyBB&T Center5,04036–16–375
56May 10@ Florida Panthers0–4VasilevskiyBB&T Center5,04036–17–375 :
Lightning score listed first;
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)
  Postponement :

### Playoffs

2021 Stanley Cup playoffs :
First Round vs. Florida Panthers (C2) - Tampa Bay wins series 4–2
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceSeriesRecap
1May 16@ Florida Panthers5–4VasilevskiyBB&T Center9,6461–0
2May 18@ Florida Panthers3–1VasilevskiyBB&T Center9,6462–0
3May 20Florida Panthers5–6OTVasilevskiyAmalie Arena9,5082–1
4May 22Florida Panthers6–2VasilevskiyAmalie Arena9,7623–1
5May 24@ Florida Panthers1–4VasilevskiyBB&T Center11,5513–2
6May 26Florida Panthers4–0VasilevskiyAmalie Arena10,0924–2 :
Second Round vs. Carolina Hurricanes (C1) - Tampa Bay wins series 4–1
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceSeriesRecap
1May 30@ Carolina Hurricanes2–1VasilevskiyPNC Arena16,2991–0
2June 1@ Carolina Hurricanes2–1VasilevskiyPNC Arena16,2992–0
3June 3Carolina Hurricanes2–3OTVasilevskiyAmalie Arena13,5442–1
4June 5Carolina Hurricanes6–4VasilevskiyAmalie Arena13,7733–1
5June 8@ Carolina Hurricanes2–0VasilevskiyPNC Arena16,2994–1 :
Stanley Cup Semifinals vs. New York Islanders (E4) - Tampa Bay wins series 4–3
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceSeriesRecap
1June 13New York Islanders1–2VasilevskiyAmalie Arena14,5130–1
2June 15New York Islanders4–2VasilevskiyAmalie Arena14,7711–1
3June 17@ New York Islanders2–1VasilevskiyNassau Coliseum12,9782–1
4June 19@ New York Islanders2–3VasilevskiyNassau Coliseum12,9782–2
5June 21New York Islanders8–0VasilevskiyAmalie Arena14,7913–2
6June 23@ New York Islanders2–3OTVasilevskiyNassau Coliseum12,9783–3
7June 25New York Islanders1–0VasilevskiyAmalie Arena14,8054–3 :
Stanley Cup Finals vs. Montreal Canadiens (N4) - Tampa Bay wins series 4–1
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionLocationAttendanceSeriesRecap
1June 28Montreal Canadiens5–1VasilevskiyAmalie Arena15,9111–0
2June 30Montreal Canadiens3–1VasilevskiyAmalie Arena17,1662–0
3July 2@ Montreal Canadiens6–3VasilevskiyBell Centre3,5003–0
4July 5@ Montreal Canadiens2–3OTVasilevskiyBell Centre3,5003–1
5July 7Montreal Canadiens1–0VasilevskiyAmalie Arena18,1104–1 :
Lightning score listed first;
  Win
  Loss
  If necessary :

## Player stats

Final

### Skaters

Regular season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Brayden Point | 56 | 23 | 25 | 48 | 2 | 11 |
| Ondrej Palat | 55 | 15 | 31 | 46 | 1 | 26 |
| Victor Hedman | 54 | 9 | 36 | 45 | 5 | 28 |
| Yanni Gourde | 56 | 17 | 19 | 36 | 10 | 44 |
| Steven Stamkos | 38 | 17 | 17 | 34 | 4 | 16 |
| Alex Killorn | 56 | 15 | 18 | 33 | −1 | 37 |
| Blake Coleman | 55 | 14 | 17 | 31 | 15 | 37 |
| Mikhail Sergachev | 56 | 4 | 26 | 30 | 5 | 30 |
| Anthony Cirelli | 50 | 9 | 13 | 22 | 0 | 10 |
| Tyler Johnson | 55 | 8 | 14 | 22 | −1 | 16 |
| Barclay Goodrow | 55 | 6 | 14 | 20 | 16 | 52 |
| Mathieu Joseph | 56 | 12 | 7 | 19 | 3 | 10 |
| Erik Cernak | 46 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 8 | 38 |
| Patrick Maroon | 55 | 4 | 14 | 18 | 2 | 60 |
| Ross Colton | 30 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 3 | 16 |
| Ryan McDonagh | 50 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| Jan Rutta | 35 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 12 | 22 |
| Alexander Volkov$^‡$ | 19 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 4 |
| Luke Schenn | 38 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 51 |
| Alex Barre-Boulet | 15 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Cal Foote | 35 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 29 |
| Gemel Smith | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 11 |
| Andreas Borgman | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −2 | 4 |
| Mitchell Stephens | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −5 | 0 |
| David Savard$^†$ | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| Ben Thomas | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Fredrik Claesson$^†$ | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 12 |
| Daniel Walcott | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 5 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Nikita Kucherov | 23 | 8 | 24 | 32 | 6 | 14 |
| Brayden Point | 23 | 14 | 9 | 23 | 7 | 8 |
| Steven Stamkos | 23 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 0 | 4 |
| Victor Hedman | 23 | 2 | 16 | 18 | 1 | 8 |
| Alex Killorn | 19 | 8 | 9 | 17 | −1 | 6 |
| Ondrej Palat | 23 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 8 | 10 |
| Anthony Cirelli | 23 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 9 | 20 |
| Blake Coleman | 23 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 5 | 22 |
| Erik Cernak | 21 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 16 |
| Ryan McDonagh | 23 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 18 | 14 |
| Yanni Gourde | 23 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 13 |
| Tyler Johnson | 23 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 0 |
| Ross Colton | 23 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 12 |
| Barclay Goodrow | 18 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 26 |
| David Savard | 20 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 6 |
| Patrick Maroon | 23 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 37 |
| Jan Rutta | 23 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 8 |
| Mikhail Sergachev | 23 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 18 |
| Mathieu Joseph | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Luke Schenn | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 |

### Goaltenders

Regular season :
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Andrei Vasilevskiy | 42 | 42 | 2524 | 31 | 10 | 1 | 93 | 2.21 | 1237 | .926 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Curtis McElhinney | 12 | 12 | 660 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 37 | 3.09 | 296 | .875 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Christopher Gibson | 2 | 2 | 113 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2.66 | 40 | .875 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Andrei Vasilevskiy | 23 | 23 | 1390 | 16 | 7 | 44 | 1.90 | 699 | .937 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
$^†$Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Tampa Bay. Stats reflect time with Tampa Bay only. $^‡$Traded from Tampa Bay mid-season. Bold/italics denotes franchise record

## Suspensions/fines

| Player | Explanation | Length | Salary | Date issued |
| Patrick Maroon | Suspended for unsportsmanlike conduct against Brandon Montour during the regular season game against the Florida Panthers on May 8, 2021, at the BB&T Center. | 1 game | $7,758.62 | May 9, 2021 |
| Patrick Maroon | Fined for unsportsmanlike conduct for his actions at the end of the game on May 24, 2021, against the Florida Panthers at the BB&T Center. | — | $3,879.31 | May 25, 2021 |
| Ryan McDonagh | Fined for cross-checking Mason Marchment during the playoff game on May 24, 2021, against the Florida Panthers at the BB&T Center. | — | $5,000 | May 25, 2021 |

## Awards and honors
### Awards

Regular season :
| Player | Award | Awarded |
| Steven Stamkos | NHL Third Star of the Week | January 18, 2021 |
| Andrei Vasilevskiy | NHL First Star of the Week | March 1, 2021 |
| Andrei Vasilevskiy | First Team All Star | June 29, 2021 |
| Victor Hedman | Second team all star | June 29, 2021 |
| Andrei Vasilevskiy | Conn Smythe Trophy | July 7, 2021 |

### Milestones

Regular season :
| Player | Milestone | Reached |
| Cal Foote | 1st career NHL game | January 13, 2021 |
| Ryan McDonagh | 300th career NHL point | January 21, 2021 |
| Ondrej Palat | 500th career NHL game | January 23, 2021 |
| Brayden Point | 300th career NHL game | January 28, 2021 |
| Cal Foote | 1st career NHL goal 1st career NHL point | January 30, 2021 |
| Anthony Cirelli | 100th career NHL point | January 30, 2021 |
| Blake Coleman | 100th career NHL point | February 3, 2021 |
| Alexander Volkov | 1st career NHL goal | February 13, 2021 |
| Alex Killorn | 600th career NHL game | February 20, 2021 |
| Alex Barre-Boulet | 1st career NHL game | February 22, 2021 |
| Ross Colton | 1st career NHL game 1st career NHL goal 1st career NHL point | February 24, 2021 |
| Patrick Maroon | 100th career NHL goal | March 7, 2021 |
| Barclay Goodrow | 300th career NHL game | March 9, 2021 |
| Ross Colton | 1st career NHL assist | March 16, 2021 |
| Victor Hedman | 500th career NHL point | March 16, 2021 |
| Mikhail Sergachev | 100th career NHL assist | March 20, 2021 |
| Cal Foote | 1st career NHL assist | March 25, 2021 |
| Ben Thomas | 1st career NHL game | April 4, 2021 |
| Anthony Cirelli | 200th career NHL game | April 4, 2021 |
| Victor Hedman | 800th career NHL game | April 4, 2021 |
| Yanni Gourde | 100th career NHL assist | April 8, 2021 |
| Ryan McDonagh | 700th career NHL game | April 13, 2021 |
| David Savard | 600th career NHL game | April 17, 2021 |
| Victor Hedman | 400th career NHL assist | April 17, 2021 |
| Brayden Point | 300th career NHL point | April 19, 2021 |
| Alex Barre-Boulet | 1st career NHL goal 1st career NHL point | April 25, 2021 |
| Andrei Vasilevskiy | 300th career NHL game | May 6, 2021 |
| Tyler Johnson | 200th career NHL assist | May 6, 2021 |
| Blake Coleman | 300th career NHL game | May 8, 2021 |
| Daniel Walcott | 1st career NHL game | May 10, 2021 |
Playoffs :
| Player | Milestone | Reached |
| Ross Colton | 1st career playoff game | May 16, 2021 |
| Patrick Maroon | 100th career playoff game | May 18, 2021 |
| Ross Colton | 1st career playoff goal 1st career playoff point | May 20, 2021 |
| Nikita Kucherov | 100th career playoff point | May 20, 2021 |
| Jon Cooper | 100th career playoff game | May 30, 2021 |
| Tyler Johnson | 100th career playoff game | May 30, 2021 |
| Alex Killorn | 100th career playoff game | June 1, 2021 |
| Ondrej Palat | 100th career playoff game | June 1, 2021 |
| Nikita Kucherov | 100th career playoff game | June 5, 2021 |
| Ross Colton | 1st career playoff assist | June 5, 2021 |
| Jan Rutta | 1st career playoff goal | June 15, 2021 |
| Andrei Vasilevskiy | 5th career playoff shutout | June 25, 2021 |
| Erik Cernak | 1st career playoff goal | June 28, 2021 |
| Mathieu Joseph | 1st career playoff assist 1st career playoff point | July 2, 2021 |

## Transactions

The Lightning have been involved in the following transactions during the 2020–21 season.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| October 7, 2020 (2020-10-07) | To Montreal Canadiens4th-round pick in 2020 2nd-round pick in 2021 | To Tampa Bay Lightning2nd-round pick in 2020 |
| October 7, 2020 (2020-10-07) | To Philadelphia Flyers4th-round pick in 2020 | To Tampa Bay Lightning4th-round pick in 2020 5th-round pick in 2020 |
| December 27, 2020 (2020-12-27) | To Ottawa SenatorsCedric Paquette Braydon Coburn 2nd-round pick in 2022 | To Tampa Bay LightningAnders Nilsson Marian Gaborik |
| March 24, 2021 (2021-03-24) | To Anaheim DucksAlexander Volkov | To Tampa Bay LightningAntoine Morand conditional 7th-round pick in 2023 |
| April 10, 2021 (2021-04-10) | To Detroit Red Wings4th-round pick in 2021 | To Tampa Bay LightningDavid Savard |
| April 10, 2021 (2021-04-10) | To Columbus Blue Jackets1st-round pick in 2021 3rd-round pick in 2022 | To Tampa Bay LightningBrian Lashoff |
| April 12, 2021 (2021-04-12) | To San Jose SharksMagnus Chrona | To Tampa Bay LightningFredrik Claesson |

### Free agents

| Date | Player | Team | Contract term |
| October 9, 2020 (2020-10-09) | Kevin Shattenkirk | to Anaheim Ducks | 3-year |
| October 9, 2020 (2020-10-09) | Carter Verhaeghe | to Florida Panthers | 1-year |
| October 9, 2020 (2020-10-09) | Andreas Borgman | from San Antonio Rampage | 1-year |
| October 9, 2020 (2020-10-09) | Christopher Gibson | from Bridgeport Sound Tigers | 1-year |
| October 11, 2020 (2020-10-11) | Zach Bogosian | to Toronto Maple Leafs | 1-year |
| October 11, 2020 (2020-10-11) | Scott Wedgewood | to New Jersey Devils | 1-year |
| January 12, 2021 (2021-01-12) | Boo Nieves | from New York Rangers | 1-year |
| May 12, 2021 (2021-05-12) | Simon Ryfors | from Rogle BK | 1-year |

### Waivers

| Date | Player | Team | Ref |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Contract term |
| October 7, 2020 (2020-10-07) | Mitchell Stephens | 2-year |
| October 7, 2020 (2020-10-07) | Gemel Smith | 1-year |
| October 9, 2020 (2020-10-09) | Patrick Maroon | 2-year |
| October 9, 2020 (2020-10-09) | Luke Schenn | 1-year |
| October 14, 2020 (2020-10-14) | Ross Colton | 1-year |
| November 25, 2020 (2020-11-25) | Mikhail Sergachev | 3-year |
| December 12, 2020 (2020-12-12) | Jack Finley | 3-year |
| December 13, 2020 (2020-12-13) | Gage Goncalves | 3-year |
| December 22, 2020 (2020-12-22) | Jan Rutta | 2-year |
| December 22, 2020 (2020-12-22) | Erik Cernak | 3-year |
| December 23, 2020 (2020-12-23) | Alexander Volkov | 1-year |
| December 23, 2020 (2020-12-23) | Mathieu Joseph | 2-year |
| December 24, 2020 (2020-12-24) | Anthony Cirelli | 3-year |
| March 9, 2021 (2021-03-09) | Daniel Walcott | 2-year |
| March 31, 2021 (2021-03-31) | Odeen Tufto | 1-year |
| April 19, 2021 (2021-04-19) | Cole Koepke | 2-year |
| May 1, 2021 (2021-05-01) | Hugo Alnefelt | 3-year |
| May 2, 2021 (2021-05-02) | Amir Miftakhov | 3-year |
| May 11, 2021 (2021-05-11) | Spencer Martin | 1-year |
| May 19, 2021 (2021-05-19) | Jack Thompson | 3-year |

## Draft picks

Below are the Tampa Bay Lightning's selections at the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, which was held on October 6 and 7, 2020, via video conference call due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
| Round | # | Player | Pos | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 2 | 57$^1$ | Jack Finley | C | Canada | Spokane Chiefs (WHL) |
| 2 | 62 | Gage Goncalves | C | Canada | Everett Silvertips (WHL) |
| 3 | 85$^2$ | Maxim Groshev | RW | Russia | HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk (KHL) |
| 3 | 93 | Jack Thompson | D | Canada | Sudbury Wolves (OHL) |
| 4 | 116$^3$ | Eamon Powell | D | United States | USA Hockey National Team Development Program |
| 5 | 147$^3$ | Jaydon Dureau | LW | Canada | Portland Winterhawks (WHL) |
| 6 | 157$^4$ | Nick Capone | RW | United States | University of Connecticut (Hockey East) |
| 6 | 186 | Amir Miftakhov | G | Russia | Ak Bars Kazan (KHL) |
| 7 | 217 | Declan McDonnell | RW | United States | Kitchener Rangers (OHL) |
Notes:
* The St. Louis Blues' second-round pick went to the Tampa Bay Lightning as the result of a trade on October 7, 2020, that sent a fourth-round pick in 2020 (124th overall) and a second-round pick in 2021 to Montreal in exchange for this pick.
    Montreal previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on February 18, 2020, that sent Marco Scandella to St. Louis in exchange for a conditional fourth-round pick in 2021 and this pick.
* The Philadelphia Flyers' third-round pick went to the Tampa Bay Lightning as the result of a trade on February 24, 2020, that sent Anthony Greco and a first-round pick in 2020 to San Jose in exchange for Barclay Goodrow and this pick.
    San Jose previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on June 18, 2019, that sent Justin Braun to Philadelphia in exchange for a second-round pick in 2019 and this pick.
* The Philadelphia Flyers' forth and fifth-round pick went to the Tampa Bay Lightning as the result of a trade on October 7, 2020, that sent Detroit's fourth-round pick in 2020 (94th overall) to Philadelphia in exchange for a fourth-round pick in 2020 (116th overall) and fifth-round pick in 2020 (147th overall) for this pick.
* The Tampa Bay Lightning's fifth-round pick will go to the Ottawa Senators as the result of a trade on July 30, 2019, that sent Mike Condon and a sixth-round pick in 2020 to Tampa Bay in exchange for Ryan Callahan and this pick.