Breaking News: The Tampa Bay Lightning are closing in on an 8-year extension with Brayden Point

The Tampa Bay Lightning are closing in on an 8-year extension with Brayden Point.

Hearing @TBLightning attention closing in on an 8 yr extension with Point. @espn @NHL @NHLNetwork #TSNHockey #HockeyTwitter

— Kevin Weekes (@KevinWeekes) July 28, 2021

Point was a big reason the Tampa Bay Lightning won the second Stanley Cup championship in their history in 2020, defeating the Dallas Stars in a six-game Final. He led all players in the postseason with 14 goals; the last one, a power-play goal at 12:23 of the first period in Game 6, turned out to be the Cup-winner.

The Lightning struck gold when they selected Point in the third round (No. 79) of the 2014 NHL Draft after he scored 91 points (36 goals, 55 assists) in 72 games for Moose Jaw of the Western Hockey League.

On March 26, 2015, Point signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Lightning and played the final nine games of the American Hockey League season with Syracuse, finishing with four points (two goals, two assists).

After playing the 2015-16 season with Moose Jaw, where he scored 88 points (35 goals, 53 assists) in 48 games, Point made the Lightning out of training camp in the fall of 2016. He made his NHL debut on Oct. 13 against the Detroit Red Wings and scored his first goal on Nov. 5 in a 4-1 win against the New Jersey Devils. He finished the season in the top 10 in rookie scoring with 40 points (18 goals, 22 assists) in 68 games.

In 2017-18, Point played in all 82 games and was third on the Lightning with 66 points (32 goals, 34 assists). On Jan. 24, he was named to the 2018 NHL All-Star Game as a replacement for injured Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman. Point had 16 points (seven goals, nine assists) in 17 Stanley Cup Playoff games before the Lightning were eliminated by the Washington Capitals.

2018-19 was a breakout season for Point. He established himself as an offensive force by scoring 41 goals, including 20 on the power play, and finishing with 92 points, third on the Lightning in each category. He was also second with a plus-27 rating and helped the Lightning finish with 62 victories, tying the NHL single-season record for wins set by the Detroit Red Wings in 1995-96.

Point followed that by scoring 25 goals and 64 points in 2019-20, then scored 14 goals and 33 points in 23 games during Tampa Bay’s championship run.