Gabby Shirley: Lightning Reporter, Her Leave and Return

Gabby Shirley of the Tampa Bay Lightning Broadcast

Gabby Shirley is the rinkside reporter on Tampa Bay Lightning television broadcasts, which air free over the air in the Tampa market on Scripps-owned The Spot Tampa Bay 66. Gabby Shirley came to the Lightning from a Tampa news station, has reported on the club through three different television homes, and was away from the microphone for part of one season while another reporter filled the role.

Fast facts: Gabby Shirley
Known for	Reporting rinkside on Tampa Bay Lightning broadcasts
Current role	Rinkside reporter
Channel	The Spot Tampa Bay 66, a Scripps broadcast station, free over the air
With the Lightning since	2022
Previous roles	Reporter at WFLA-TV in Tampa; reporter for the club’s earlier network partners
Also hosts	Into The Blue, a podcast
Based	Florida
Wikipedia page	None. The hits on her name belong to other people

Who is Gabby Shirley?

Gabby Shirley is the reporter who works ice level on Lightning television broadcasts, interviewing players between periods and reporting from beside the bench during games. She is named as the rinkside reporter in the club’s own announcement of its Scripps television line-up, alongside play-by-play announcer Dave Randorf and analyst Brian Engblom.

The rest of that crew is deep in club history. Paul Kennedy hosts from the studio, and the analyst bench includes Dave Andreychuk, Braydon Coburn, Adam Hall, Pat Maroon and Ryan Malone, all of whom played for the Lightning. The channels and streams for every club are in our guide to how to watch NHL hockey.

Is Gabby Shirley still the Lightning’s rinkside reporter?

Yes. Gabby Shirley holds the rinkside role for the 2026-27 season, which Sports Media Watch confirmed in its survey of every club’s local broadcast arrangements, published in September 2026. It is the second season the Lightning have been carried on The Spot Tampa Bay 66.

Did Gabby Shirley have a baby?

Gabby Shirley was away from Lightning broadcasts for part of the 2025-26 season on maternity leave, which is how the arrangement was described when her replacement was announced publicly.

Who filled in for Gabby Shirley?

Julie Stewart-Binks. She announced the role herself in a public post at the end of December 2025, saying she was thrilled to take it on and adding that fans should not worry about Gabby Shirley because she would be back.

Stewart-Binks was already a well-known broadcaster across several American sports networks before the Lightning job, so the fill-in was a recognizable name rather than an unknown one.

What is Gabby Shirley’s career?

Year	Role	Outlet
2021	Reporter, with bylines across Tampa news coverage	WFLA-TV, Tampa
2022	Joined the club as a reporter	Tampa Bay Lightning
Through the FanDuel era	Reporter on the club’s regional sports network broadcasts	FanDuel Sports Network
2025-26 onward	Rinkside reporter on the club’s broadcast-television coverage	The Spot Tampa Bay 66, Scripps
Alongside	Host	Into The Blue, a podcast

Gabby Shirley has reported on the same hockey club through three separate television homes. The Lightning were on Bally Sports Sun, then on FanDuel Sports Network, and then moved to Scripps under a deal announced in May 2025 that put the games on free broadcast television for the first time.

That is unusual. Most reporters who survive a regional sports network collapse change clubs; she changed networks and kept the club. Her professional listing is the source for the WFLA bylines and the podcast.

Where are Lightning games with Gabby Shirley shown?

On The Spot Tampa Bay 66, a Scripps broadcast station, free with an antenna in the Tampa market. In-market streaming runs through the club’s own app on a season pass rather than through a cable subscription.

Radio is separate and has its own crew: Dave Mishkin on play-by-play on 102.5 The Bone, with Phil Esposito as analyst for home games and Greg Linnelli hosting. Esposito is the same Phil Esposito who founded the franchise.