Lightning Round: Former Bolt Announces Retirement

Okay, I might be taking a few liberties on the “former Bolt” because while technically Marian Gaborik was on the Tampa Bay Lightning salary cap last year, he never played a game for the team. That said, Gaborik played 1035 games for some other teams and yesterday he officially announced his retirement from the NHL. I hope Marian get the recognition he deserves as one of the best Bolts to ever play the game.

Okay, tongue out of cheek now, here’s the news on the Lightning. The team lost 2-1 in overtime to the Toronto Maple Leafs last night despite another heroic performance from Andrei Vasilevskiy. Victor Hedman had a bad night, while Mikhail Sergachev had an even worse night. [Raw Charge]

“Andrei Vasilevskiy put on a goaltending clinic in a Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 OT loss at the hands of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Pat Maroon scored in the first period, but it took over 47 minutes of scoreless hockey before John Tavares scored in the last minute of regulation to send the game to overtime. Victor Hedman took a penalty in the extra frame and fellow Swede William Nylander won the game with a one-timer from Auston Matthews.”

The veteran defenseman took two bad penalties (the latter of which gave away the game) and made a turnover on the game-tying goal. Not to be outdone, the young defenseman clipped a Leafs player in the head and will likely face a suspension.

For a time, Tampa Bay and Toronto shared joint custody of the Toronto Raptors, so sometimes it’s awkward when both parents are in town and one wants to play some basketball. Mathieu Joseph has a pretty good shot, though.

Thin organizational depth at defense has led to the Solar Bears signing yet another PTO. I’m sure that Sergachev suspension is going to help matters.

As we noted in yesterday’s LR, Jack Eichel is now a player for the Vegas Golden Knights. Here’s some interesting insight that’s come out of Vegas since the trade happened.

First, the Golden Knights have a penchant for pulling the trigger on trades and making big splashed. I can’t argue with their results, they have a great roster that’s even better now with Eichel. As long as they can keep finding depth players (and revelations like Zach Whitecloud), they’ll keep being good.

Just look at their first round pick trades! All of them are gone!

And one last note on the phumphering on this trade. Buffalo tried to get more but no one budged. That Calgary rumor was probably one last desperation attempt.

Good news for young Blue Jackets prospect Cole Sillinger, who was picked 12th overall only a few months ago and already gets to stay in the NHL.

After the Eichel move, the Sabres needed to add some salary to help them hit the cap floor, so they reached out to the Islanders for Johnny Boychuk’s unplayable contract.

Former Syracuse Crunch goalie Scott Wedgewood got claimed from New Jersey by the Arizona Coyotes. The Yotes then sent down their kid goalie who was playing well but getting utterly shelled each night. Best to have him develop in the AHL and subject the 29-year-old pro in Wedgewood to a bad team.