Rautiainen Cut on Final Day of Lightning Roster Decisions, Returns to Tappara

Benjamin Rautiainen came close to making the Tampa Bay Lightning roster but was sent back to Tampere on the final possible day, Aamulehti reports. The 21-year-old rejoined Tappara last week after several weeks at Tampa's training camp. His short NHL stint followed a preseason shootout winner in Aleksander Barkov's home arena in Tampa's final exhibition and capped a sensational SM‑liiga campaign in which he scored 77 points and won the league scoring title earlier this season.

He played two Liiga games almost immediately despite jet lag, and said the experience highlighted specific areas to improve: stronger board play, tighter small-area battles and quicker decision-making in traffic. Tampa Bay could not assign him to the AHL because he was not a first-round draft pick. The club therefore returned him to Finland, where he has a valid contract.

Rautiainen welcomed Tappara's new, stricter system under coach Kari Jalonen, and expects this season in Tampere to help him develop a more complete game before returning to the Gulf Coast next year. He left a memorable mark in Tampa with a stylish penalty-shot goal he likened to a move he has seen from Aleksander Barkov.