theScore is previewing each team leading up to the 2016-17 season.
The Tampa Bay Lightning came within one win of a return trip to the Stanley Cup Final last season, and head into the 2016-17 campaign with a roster loaded with enough talent to finish the job this time around.
Here's a look at the projected depth chart for 2016-17.
Forwards
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
| Alex Killorn | Steven Stamkos | Jonathan Drouin |
| Ondrej Palat | Tyler Johnson | Nikita Kucherov |
| Vladislav Namestnikov | Valtteri Filppula | Ryan Callahan |
| Cedric Paquette | Brian Boyle | J.T. Brown |
- Callahan is expected to start the season on the sidelines after offseason hip surgery, giving Cory Conacher and Erik Condra a chance to move down from the press box and into the opening-night lineup.
Defensemen
| LD | RD |
|---|---|
| Victor Hedman | Anton Stralman |
| Jason Garrison | Andrej Sustr |
| Braydon Coburn | Nikita Nestorov |
| Slate Koekkoek |
- James Wisniewski will attend training camp on a professional tryout, and he'll have a good shot at cracking the top six if healthy, and if the Lightning can free up some cap space.
Goalies
| G |
|---|
| Ben Bishop |
| Andrei Vasilevskiy |
- Vasilevskiy appeared ready for prime time when called on to fill in for an injured Bishop during the Eastern Conference Finals, and there's a good chance the latter - an unrestricted free agent next summer - will finish the season on a different team.
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