Anthony Cirelli

Anthony Cirelli (, ; born July 15, 1997) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is a centre for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Lightning in the third round, 72nd overall, of the 2015 NHL entry draft. Cirelli won the Stanley Cup back-to-back with the Lightning in 2020 and 2021.

Playing career

Juniors

Cirelli started his junior career with the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Cirelli went undrafted in the OHL draft and ended up making the team as a walk-on. Cirelli scored the game-winning goal in overtime against the Kelowna Rockets in the 2015 Memorial Cup. On June 27, 2015, the Tampa Bay Lightning selected Cirelli 72nd overall in the 3rd round of the 2015 NHL entry draft. On January 28, 2016, Cirelli was named as captain of the Generals. On May 19, 2016, the Lightning signed Cirelli to a three-year entry-level contract.

On January 9, 2017, Cirelli was traded by the Oshawa Generals to the Erie Otters. Cirelli scored another championship clinching goal in overtime, the 2017 J. Ross Robertson Cup winning goal for the Otters in Game 5 of the OHL championship series against the Mississauga Steelheads . However, the Otters would ultimately fall in the championship game of the 2017 Memorial Cup tournament to the host Windsor Spitfires.

Professional On March 1, 2018, Cirelli was recalled by the Tampa Bay Lightning from the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League. Prior to his recall Cirelli was enjoying a productive rookie season with the Crunch. He had appeared in 51 games where he had 14-goals and 37 points. Cirelli would make his NHL debut that night against the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center. Cirelli recorded his first career NHL goal and assist in the game, which resulted in a 5–4 overtime win. Cirelli also became only the fourth player in Lightning history to have a multiple point game in their NHL debut. On April 12, Cirelli made his NHL Stanley Cup Playoff debut in a 5–2 Lightning victory over the visiting New Jersey Devils. On April 21, Cirelli recorded his first career playoff assist and point in a 3–1 Lightning series clinching win over the New Jersey Devils. On May 2, he recorded his first career playoff goal in a 4–1 win over the Boston Bruins in Bruins’ goaltender Tuukka Rask.

Building on his impressive overtime goal-scoring resume from his junior days, on September 17, 2020, he scored the winning goal in overtime of Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals against the New York Islanders.

On December 24, 2020, Cirelli signed a three-year, $14.4 million contract with the Lightning.

On July 13, 2022, Cirelli signed an eight-year, $50 million contract extension with the Lightning. His teammates Mikhail Sergachev and Erik Černák also signed eight-year extensions on the same day.

In the 2024–25 season, Cirelli had 27 goals and 32 assists for 59 points in 80 games. He was named a finalist for the Frank J. Selke Trophy for the first time in his career, which went to Florida Panthers center and captain Aleksander Barkov.

He received a second consecutive Selke finalist honour for the 2025–26 season with the award ultimately going to Montreal Canadiens canter and captain Nick Suzuki.

Personal life Born in Woodbridge, Ontario, Cirelli is of Italian descent.

International play

On April 29, 2019, Cirelli was selected to make his full international debut after he was named to the Team Canada roster for the 2019 IIHF World Championship, held in Slovakia. He helped Canada progress through to the playoff rounds before losing the final to Finland to finish with the silver medal on May 26, 2019. Cirelli finished the tournament posting 3 goals and 4 points in 10 games. Cirelli also participated in the 2017 World Junior Championship with Canada, winning a silver medal.

On December 31, 2025, he was named to Canada's roster to compete at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2014–15 Oshawa Generals OHL 68 13 23 36 22 21 2 8 10 0 2015–16 Oshawa Generals OHL 62 21 38 59 27 5 2 3 5 0 2015–16 Syracuse Crunch AHL 3 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2016–17 Oshawa Generals OHL 26 13 21 34 8 — — — — — 2016–17 Erie Otters OHL 25 12 18 30 4 22 15 16 31 4 2016–17 Syracuse Crunch AHL — — — — — 6 0 0 0 6 2017–18 Syracuse Crunch AHL 51 14 23 37 14 — — — — — 2017–18 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 18 5 6 11 6 17 2 1 3 4 2018–19 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 82 19 20 39 34 4 1 1 2 0 2019–20 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 68 16 28 44 30 25 3 6 9 2 2020–21 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 50 9 13 22 10 23 5 7 12 20 2021–22 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 76 17 26 43 70 23 3 5 8 8 2022–23 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 58 11 18 29 33 6 3 3 6 4 2023–24 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 79 20 25 45 38 5 0 2 2 0 2024–25 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 80 27 32 59 28 5 1 0 1 18 2025–26 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 71 23 29 52 48 7 0 2 2 2 NHL totals 511 124 168 292 249 115 18 27 45 58

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2017 Canada WJC 7 3 4 7 2 2019 Canada WC 10 3 1 4 6 2025 Canada 4NF 4 0 0 0 0 Junior totals 7 3 4 7 2 Senior totals 14 3 1 4 6

Awards and honours Award Year CHL Memorial Cup champion 2015 Memorial Cup Most Sportsmanlike player 2017NHL NHL All-Rookie Team 2019 Stanley Cup champion ,