Lightning’s Dominic James out 8-10 weeks after undergoing surgery
The Tampa Bay Lightning could be without Dominic James for the remainder of the season.
The forward had surgery for a lower-body injury and will be out eight to 10 weeks, according to Lightning media manager Benjamin Pierce.
Injury updates for the @TBLightning: #GoBolts forward Gage Goncalves is day to day with a lower body injury. Forward Dominic James had surgery for a lower body injury, he’s out 8-10 weeks.
Tampa Bay forward Gage Goncalves is also day to day with a lower-body injury.
The two forwards suffered injuries during the team’s 6-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres last Saturday. Head coach Jon Cooper told reporters that they would be out for at least the next two games.
James appeared to suffer an injury after getting cross-checked into the boards by Sabres’ defenseman Michael Kesselring, with the two falling awkwardly after the initial contact.
James is playing in his first professional season. Through 43 games with the Lightning, the Plymouth, Mich., native has seven goals and eight assists for 15 points. He also played four games with Tampa’s AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, where he posted three goals and two assists for five points.
James, 23, was a 2022 sixth-round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks but did not sign a contract with the club and eventually became an unrestricted free agent.
He played four seasons of college hockey with the University of Minnesota-Duluth, and in his 2024-25 senior season, scored 14 goals and 16 assists for 30 points in 35 games. Through four NCAA seasons, James scored 30 goals and recorded 47 assists for 77 points.
James also represented the United States at the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship, both the complete and canceled tournaments. In the August rendition of the event, he registered an assist in five games.