Lightning sign 20-year old Finnish star to 3-year contract
The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed 20-year-old Finnish forward Benjamin Rautiainen to a three-year entry-level contract. Rautiainen was recognized as the top player in the Finnish Liiga this season, scoring 77 points in 59 games. He is expected to compete for a spot in the AHL or NHL in the upcoming season.
- ▪Benjamin Rautiainen was the best player in the Finnish Liiga this season.
- ▪He scored 77 points in 59 games and helped his team, Tappara, win the league title.
- ▪Rautiainen was drafted by the Lightning in the fourth round of the 2025 NHL Draft.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","mainEntityOfPage":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/lightning-sign-20-old-finnish-200517542.html","headline":"Lightning sign 20-year old Finnish star to 3-year contract","datePublished":"2026-05-29T20:05:17.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-29T20:05:17.000Z","keywords":["Tampa Bay Lightning","Benjamin Rautiainen","Tappara","Rautiainen","Finland","Finnish league","Mitch Marner","Tampa Bay","Maple Leafs"],"description":"Tampa Bay is bulking up its youth.","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Yahoo Sports","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://s.yimg.com/cv/apiv2/default/icons/favicon_y112_112.png","width":112,"height":112},"url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/"},"author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Billy…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Yahoo Sports.