Lightning sign Maxim Groshev to two-year, two-way deal

The Syracuse Crunch kept one of Tampa Bay’s most intriguing development projects in the pipeline when the Lightning signed Maxim Groshev to a two-year, two-way deal, a move that protects a 24-year-old defender who already showed he can help at both levels. Groshev finished last season third among Syracuse defensemen in points, assists and plus/minus, and his 21 points in 58 AHL games gave the Crunch a legitimate puck-moving option on the back end.

The signing matters because Groshev is not a conventional defense prospect. Tampa Bay drafted him 85th overall in the third round of the 2020 NHL Draft as a winger, and his shift from forward to defense has been a relatively recent development. That kind of transition usually takes time, but Groshev has already logged 181 career AHL games, all with Syracuse, and turned them into 20 goals and 65 points. For an organization that has leaned heavily on player development to keep its roster competitive, that track record makes him more than a placeholder.

His NHL audition added to the case. Groshev made his debut on Dec. 28, 2025, against the Montreal Canadiens, and he marked it with his first NHL assist and first NHL point while skating 13:03 and finishing plus-1. He appeared in two NHL games for Tampa Bay during the 2025-26 season and left with one assist, a small sample but one that suggested he could survive the pace and details of the league’s top level.

The deal also reflects Tampa Bay’s need for organizational blue-line insurance after a season battered by injuries on defense. Groshev’s new contract carries an annual cap hit of $875,000 and runs through the end of the 2027-28 season, with NHL salaries of $850,000 in year one and $900,000 in year two, AHL salaries of $200,000 and $750,000, and a $300,000 guarantee in the first year. He was set to become a restricted free agent this summer, so the Lightning chose certainty over another round of negotiation.

For Syracuse, Groshev’s return is more than bookkeeping. He played four Calder Cup playoff games and added one assist, giving the Crunch a defender who has already handled the pressure of both a postseason push and a brief NHL call-up. At 6-foot-2 and 196 pounds, and coming out of Agryz, Russia, he now looks like a real candidate to become an AHL difference-maker again, with a path to NHL depth role if Tampa Bay needs a low-maintenance defender who can move the puck and survive the grind.