The Tampa Bay Lightning accelerated the timeline of one of their more intriguing prospects. On Friday, they announced that they signed Benjamin Rautiainen to a three-year entry-level contract. The 20-year-old is now set to start next season in North America with either the Syracuse Crunch or the Tampa Bay Lightning. While this wasn’t entirely unexpected, the Lightning did have to buy out the final season of his contract with Tappara in order to facilitate the deal.
With the signing, Rautiainen, who turns 21 in June, can begin his journey to the NHL in the Lightning system. Coming off a season where he led the Liiga in scoring with 77 points (25 goals, 52 assists), the 6’0″ forward will see if his skills translate to the North American game.
Rautiainen wasn’t even in the organization a year ago. Despite a 2023-24 season where he put up 62 points in a Finnish junior league he was passed over in the 2024 draft. As a rookie with Tappara in 2024-25 he put up 33 points over 50 games in the Finnish league. That was enough to peak Tampa Bay’s interest and they took him in the fourth round.
His skills and profile helped him make his Top 25 Under 25 debut at the 20th spot last summer. As we wrote in his profile, his playmaking skills are what defines him as a player,
“He has excellent vision on the ice and excels at setting up his linemates. He processes the game quickly and creates offense with well strung-out passes. While not the fleetest of skaters he has decent speed and is crafty on his edges, able to turn in tight spaces and dance around defenders.”
He has the skill to be a top-six forward in the NHL, there is no doubt about that. The big question in his development will be how the other aspects of his game comes along. Can he flourish in the dirty areas along the boards and in front of the net? Can he get his shot off quick enough to avoid it being blocked? Is he good enough in his own zone to not be a liability when he’s on the ice?
For Rautiainen and the Lightning, a lot of those questions can be answered at the AHL level next season. Unless he absolutely blows the brass away, he’s going to start next season with the Crunch. North America’s second-best professional league will be a big proving ground for him, and he’ll have to work on a lot of things that will make him successful at the next level.
The ceiling for him is the type of playmaker the Lightning really don’t have in their system. It will be fun to watch him next season, especially on a Syracuse team that could be teeming with talent. Sam O’Reilly, Ethan Gauthier, Conor Geekie, Noah Steen, and possibly Ethan Czata could all be skating together for the Crunch. That’s not a bad collection of under-23 talent. In fact, on paper, it could be the best set of players for the Lightning’s affiliate since the original TampaCuse invasion.
PuckPedia has the financial breakdown of the three-year deal:
The #GoBolts signed ‘25 4th rounder 20 y/o F Rautiainen to 3yr ELCyr 1 Sal 850K, SB 102.5K, GP Bonus 72.5Kyr 2 800/107.5K/67.5Kyr 3 850/112.5K/62.5K Cap Hit 1.01M, AAV 1.075M 25G 77P in 59 Liiga GP Rep’d by @alroy42 @rsghockey https://puckpedia.com/player/benjamin-rautiainen?6a1a0f7295c7d
— PuckPedia (@puckpedia.com) May 29, 2026 at 7:00 PM
[image or embed]
