Lightning re-sign Maxim Groshev to two-year contract
The Tampa Bay Lightning announced on Tuesday that they’ve re-signed defenseman Maxim Groshev to a two-year contract with an $875,000 cap hit.
We have re-signed defenseman Max Groshev to a two-year, two-way contract. 🗞️ tbl.co/5-19groshev
Groshev was in the final year of his three-year entry-level contract with a $867,500 cap hit, and was set to become a restricted free agent with arbitration rights this summer. He sees a slight raise with his new contract, making $7,500 more on this deal.
Groshev’s contract sees a slight change in salary structure between the two years, going from $850,000 to $900,000 in the two years. The deal is also a two-way contract, so those salaries will only be active when he’s in the NHL. Otherwise, he will make $200,000 and $750,000 in the next two years when he is in the AHL.
Groshev took another step forward in his career trajectory in the 2025-26 season, as he managed to crack the NHL and play two games with the Lightning last season, and got his first NHL point with an assist in his first game. He also had three goals and 18 assists for 21 points in 58 games in the AHL with the Lightning’s minor-league affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch.
While Groshev’s AHL season wasn’t officially a career-high in points, it was his highest output as a defenseman. Originally drafted as a forward when the Lightning selected him in the third round of the 2020 NHL Draft, Groshev made the transition to defense in the 2024-25 season.
Groshev’s extension is the Lightning’s first transaction of the offseason, as the team joined that state of the NHL calendar when they were eliminated by the Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Lightning are projected to have just over $13 million in cap space this summer with nine unrestricted free agents and three RFAs to re-sign, highlighted by Darren Raddysh, Oliver Bjorkstrand and Corey Perry. However, the Lightning’s bigger focus this summer will be locking down an extension for Nikita Kucherov, who is set to become a free agent at the end of the 2026-27 season.