Editing Tampa Bay Lightning (section)

====Early playoff exits and Stamkos departure (2022–present)====
In the [[2022–23 NHL season|2022–23 season]], the Lightning finished in third place in the Atlantic Division and sixth in the Eastern Conference, and once again played the [[Toronto Maple Leafs]] in the first round of the [[2023 Stanley Cup playoffs|2023 playoffs]]. However, this time, the Maple Leafs would avenge their loss the previous year and eliminated the Lightning 4–2. After a 7–3 game one win, Tampa lost 7–2 in game two. The Lightning then became the first team in Stanley Cup playoffs history to lose three overtime games at home, including a 2–1 loss in the deciding game six. It was the first time since 2019 that the Lightning failed to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals.<ref>{{cite web |title=NHL Morning Skate: Stanley Cup Playoffs Edition – April 30, 2023 |url=https://media.nhl.com/public/news/17012 |website=NHL.com |access-date=November 28, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241128075459/https://media.nhl.com/public/news/17012 |archive-date=November 28, 2024 |date=April 30, 2023}}</ref>

In the [[2023–24 NHL season|2023–24 season]], the Lightning finished in fourth place in the Atlantic Division and the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference, and qualified for the [[2024 Stanley Cup playoffs|2024 playoffs]] as the first wild card, but were eliminated by their in–state rivals and eventual Stanley Cup champions, the [[Florida Panthers]], in five games in the first round.

In the 2024 off-season, longtime captain [[Steven Stamkos]] signed with the [[Nashville Predators]] on the first day of free agency after Stamkos and the team were unable to come up with a contract extension agreement prior to start of free agency.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theplayerstribune.com/posts/steven-stamkos-nhl-tampa-bay-lightning-hockey |title=Thank You, Tampa Bay |author=Steven Stamkos |publisher=The Players Tribune |website=theplayerstribune |date=July 15, 2024 |access-date=July 22, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://sports.yahoo.com/puzzling-strange-steven-stamkos-speaks-191728674.html |title='Puzzling and strange': Steven Stamkos speaks after saying goodbye to Lightning |author=Kaycee Sloan |website=yahoo.com |publisher=Sports Yahoo |date=July 1, 2024 |access-date=July 2, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nhl/news/steven-stamkos-leave-lightning-tampa-bay-captain-predators/fe2f9f8421a0f9154e7a89f6 |title=Why did Steven Stamkos leave the Lightning? Jake Guentzel deal leads to Tampa Bay captain signing with Predators |website=sportingnews.com |publisher=Sporting News |author=Bryan Murphy |date=July 1, 2024 |access-date=September 28, 2024}}</ref> They would subsequently name [[Victor Hedman]] as the next captain.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nhl.com/lightning/news/lightning-name-victor-hedman-the-11th-captain-in-franchise-history |title=Lightning name Victor Hedman the 11th captain in franchise history |website=nhl.com |publisher=Tampa Bay Lightning |date=September 18, 2024 |access-date=September 18, 2024}}</ref>

In the [[2024–25 NHL season|2024–25 season]], the Lightning placed second in the Atlantic Division and the third seeding in the Eastern Conference. They played the [[Florida Panthers]] in the in the first round of the playoffs and lost 4–1. During the series [[Brandon Hagel]] was concussed by [[Aaron Ekblad]] in the second period of game 4, missing the rest of game 4 and also missed game 5.<ref>{{cite news |last=Russo |first=Michael |title=Panthers’ Aaron Ekblad suspended 1 game for hit on Lightning’s Brandon Hagel |url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6320962/2025/04/29/panthers-aaron-ekblad-suspension-brandon-hagel/ |work=The Athletic |publisher=The New York Times |date=April 29, 2025 |access-date=May 7, 2025}}</ref>