Lightning forward Nick Paul out until November with upper-body injury

The Tampa Bay Lightning will be without forward Nick Paul for the start of the 2025-26 season as he recovers from offseason surgery to address an upper-body injury.

Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois addressed the media on Wednesday morning and revealed that Paul dealt with the injury for much of the 2024-25 season and finally made the decision to undergo surgery last week.

Paul, 30, collected 22 goals and 41 points in 76 games with the Lightning last season. The 6’4″ winger isn’t expected to return to the Lightning lineup until the start of November at the earliest.

Paul is slated to take part in his fourth full season with the Lightning in 2025-26. The Mississauga, Ontario product is midway through the seven-year, $3.15 million AAV deal he signed with the club as a pending UFA in 2022.

A fourth-round pick (No. 101 overall) of the Dallas Stars in 2013, Paul never played for his draft club. He was traded to the Ottawa Senators in 2014 as part of the return for team captain Jason Spezza.

It took the better part of five years for Paul to break through as an everyday player with the Sens, but the former Brampton Battalion standout finally made his presence felt on a consistent basis in Ottawa starting in the 2019-20 season. He established himself as a quality bottom-six forward in Canada’s capital before being sent to the Lightning at the 2022 trade deadline in exchange for Mathieu Joseph and a fourth-round pick.

Since arriving in Tampa Bay, Paul has fashioned himself as more of a middle-six secondary scorer, amassing 17, 24, and 22 goals in his three full seasons with the Bolts. He also played a key role in the team reaching the 2022 Stanley Cup Final, where they fell to the Colorado Avalanche.

In 486 career NHL games over parts of 10 seasons with the Senators and Lightning, Paul has collected 97 goals and 199 points. He’s added 10 goals and 14 points in 39 playoff contests, all with Tampa Bay.