With some major heavy lifting to do this offseason, the Tampa Bay Lightning got the ball rolling by inking Scott Sabourin to a new one-year, two-way contract extension. This wasn't the biggest way for general manager Julien BriseBois to kick off the summer, but deals with the likes of Nikita Kucherov and Darren Raddysh are probably going to take more time to hammer out and work through.
Sabourin appeared in 26 games for the Lightning in 2025-26, scoring once, adding four assists, and racking up 89 PIMs. He also threw 63 hits while averaging just 7:57 a game--good for the 21st-highest hits per 60 in the NHL. Known largely for his willingness to throw the gloves, the 33-year-old fought seven times in the NHL last season, according to HockeyFights.com.
Scott Sabourin has clear organizational role to play for Lightning
Odds are good that Sabourin's 2026-27 will look similar to his output last season. Hopefully, he doesn't get knocked out by Arber Xhekaj in the first period of a December game again. Yet it's that willingness to engage physically that has kept the formerly undrafted wing in professional hockey for 14 years.
While he's known for his fists, he also has worn a letter for Tampa's AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, and provides a pretty outstanding example to players on that roster. Skaters don't typically go undrafted and then go on to carve out a career that spans a decade and a half. While Sabourin isn't going to end up in the Hockey Hall of Fame, he has been through the ups and downs of developing in the AHL, felt the highs of getting called up to the NHL, only to land back in the minors.
Through it all, Sabourin has continued to work to become a better player, and people like that are invaluable in terms of culture. Characterized as a "madman" and "nail gun" byPaul Bissonnette on the Spittin' Chiclets podcast following that gnarly loss to Xhekaj, he is widely respected for his willingness to fight anyone, despite possible weight disadvantages or style mismatches.
Sabourin will--probably literally--be fighting for a roster spot during training camp next fall, and the Lightning would risk losing him on waivers if they decided to send him back to the Crunch. We could see Tampa try to get him through when there is a glut of other demotions happening toward the end of camp, but scrappy glue guys like Sabourin do get claimed sometimes. He made it through last September, but there's no guarantee it'd happen again, though.
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