Nick Paul

Lore & Background

Paul grew up in Mississauga, Ontario, the son of Ellwood and Melinda. He holds dual Canadian and American citizenship through his mother, who is of Puerto Rican and Mexican descent. As a youth, he was friends with Max Domi and attended Toronto Maple Leafs games with him. His father and half-brother Christopher built a backyard rink for Paul and his older brother Jesse to practice on. Paul played minor midget hockey for the Mississauga Chargers before being selected as an overaged player by the Brampton Battalion (later the North Bay Battalion) of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). After his first OHL season, the Dallas Stars drafted him 101st overall in 2013. He later returned to the Battalion and led the team in goals, helping them reach the OHL's Eastern Conference Finals. His NHL rights were traded to the Ottawa Senators in a deal involving Jason Spezza. Paul signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Senators in December 2014 and made his NHL debut in February 2016. He struggled to secure a regular role under coach Guy Boucher but eventually became a regular during the 2019–20 season. During the 2020–21 season, he was named an alternate captain after Erik Gudbranson was traded and was nominated for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy.

Reader's Guide

Paul's tenure with the Tampa Bay Lightning began on March 20, 2022, when he was acquired from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Mathieu Joseph and a 2024 fourth-round draft pick. He scored his first goal as a Lightning two days later against the Carolina Hurricanes. In the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs, Paul made his playoff debut and scored his first two playoff goals in Game 7 of the first round against the Toronto Maple Leafs, including the series-winning goal. He contributed five goals and nine points in 23 games as the Lightning advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals, where they lost to the Colorado Avalanche. On July 1, 2022, Paul signed a seven-year, $22.05 million contract extension to remain with the Lightning. In the 2023 playoffs, he scored the game-winning goal in Game 5 against the Maple Leafs to keep the Lightning from elimination, though Toronto eliminated Tampa Bay in the following game. Paul also represented Canada internationally, winning a gold medal at the 2015 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships and scoring the overtime winner in the gold medal game at the 2021 IIHF World Championship. He again joined Team Canada for the 2024 IIHF World Championship after the Lightning's first-round playoff exit.

Did You Know?

• Paul holds dual Canadian and American citizenship because his mother is an American of Puerto Rican and Mexican descent.
• He was not drafted into the OHL in his first year of eligibility but was later selected as an overaged player by the Brampton Battalion.
• Paul scored the series-winning goal in Game 7 of the 2022 first-round playoffs against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Roots and the Long Road to the Pros

Nick Paul was born on March 20, 1995, in Mississauga, Ontario, to parents Ellwood and Melinda. His mother's American citizenship, rooted in Puerto Rican and Mexican heritage, gave him dual Canadian-American status. His father and half-brother Christopher constructed a backyard rink so Paul and his older brother Jesse could practice together. As a young player, Paul was a close friend of Max Domi, and the two attended Toronto Maple Leafs games together. His junior path was anything but straightforward. Playing minor midget hockey for the Mississauga Chargers, Paul was still just five-foot-six during his OHL draft-eligible year, posting four goals and twenty-five points in thirty-seven games. He went undrafted that first year but was later claimed as an overage player by the Brampton Battalion. There, under coach Stan Butler, he erupted with thirty-seven goals and twenty-nine assists in fifty-eight games, helping the team reach the OHL Eastern Conference Finals. By the time he signed with Ottawa in December 2014, Paul had grown to six-foot-four and two hundred twenty-five pounds.

Finding His Place in Ottawa

Paul's professional journey began with the Binghamton Senators, where he logged six goals and eleven assists across forty-five games in 2014-15. His NHL debut came on February 16, 2016, against the Buffalo Sabres, and just eight days later he scored his first career NHL goal in a four-one victory over Edmonton. The following seasons proved more turbulent. Under coach Guy Boucher, Paul struggled to secure a regular spot, and at the close of 2019 training camp he was placed on waivers before being sent to Belleville. Yet the 2019-20 season marked a turning point: he played fifty-six NHL games, a personal career high. When Erik Gudbranson was dealt during 2020-21, Paul was elevated to alternate captain and emerged as one of Ottawa's premier penalty killers, earning the Senators' nomination for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. Despite that recognition, contract talks with the franchise stalled during the 2021-22 campaign, and the organization made Paul available for a trade.

Playoff Heroics in Tampa Bay

On March 20, 2022, one day before the trade deadline, Ottawa dealt Paul to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for Mathieu Joseph and a 2024 fourth-round pick. He scored his first Lightning goal two days later against Carolina. The 2022 playoffs became a defining chapter. In the first-round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Paul found the back of the net twice in Game Seven, including the series-clinching goal. He finished the postseason with five goals and nine points across twenty-three games as Tampa advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals for a third consecutive year before falling to Colorado. Paul's impact carried into 2022-23. Once again facing Toronto in the first round, the Lightning trailed three games to one. In Game Five, with elimination looming, Paul scored the game-winner to keep Tampa alive, though Toronto ultimately closed out the series the following night. On July 1, 2022, Paul committed his future to Tampa by signing a seven-year, twenty-two-point-zero-five-million-dollar extension.

Gold Medals and a Homecoming

Paul first represented Canada on the world stage at the 2015 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, contributing three goals in seven games as the national junior team captured the gold medal. He returned to the senior international scene for the 2021 IIHF World Championship, where he delivered a moment of historic significance: at six minutes and twenty-six seconds into the first overtime of the gold medal game against Finland, Paul scored the winner, securing Canada's twenty-first all-time world championship gold. After the Lightning were eliminated in the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs, Paul again suited up for Team Canada at the 2024 IIHF World Championship, continuing his pattern of stepping onto the biggest international stages. His NHL journey eventually circled back to his roots. On July 1, 2026, Paul was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in a deal involving Dennis Hildeby, a 2027 fourth-round pick, and a 2028 third-round pick—bringing the Mississauga native to the franchise he had watched as a boy alongside his friend Max Domi.