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Lightning Round: Tampa Bay re-claims Gemel Smith off waivers

Finland wins their first ever Olympic hockey gold medal

By Igor Nikonov
Carolina Hurricanes v Tampa Bay Lightning Photo by Mark LoMoglio/NHLI via Getty Images

Yesterday the Tampa Bay Lightning announced that they claimed forward Gemel Smith off of waivers from the Detroit Red Wings. Smith returns to Tampa Bay after spending the previous month in the Red Wings organization, who claimed him off waivers on January 18.

The start of the season was spoiled for Smith due to an injury he suffered during training camp. This injury had sidelined him for several months until mid-January, when he finally started to practice with the team. The Lightning placed him on waivers with intentions to assign him to the Syracuse Crunch to get some ice time, but he was claimed by the Red Wings and re-assigned to the Grand Rapids Griffins. Overall Smith appeared in three games for the Red Wings and three games for the Griffins, recording an assist in both AHL and NHL. On Friday the Red Wings, who were expecting to return Carter Rowney and Vlad Namestnikov, placed Smith on waivers with desire to assign him to the AHL.

While in Detroit Gemel got a chance to play with his younger brother Givani Smith, who plays for the Red Wings. The brothers made their joint debut on February 14 in the game against the Minnesota Wild.

Lightning Links

Goaltender Daren Puppa was featured in the latest edition of Lightning Retro Profile [Raw Charge]

Next up in the series is goaltender Daren Puppa. It’s always hard, especially for an expansion team, to find a goaltender that can help cover up some of their issues (see the Seattle Kraken as the latest example). Puppa came to the Lightning shortly after their entry into the NHL as an expansion team and gave them a solid option in net and helped the Lightning to their first playoff appearance.

The Syracuse Crunch continued their winning streak this weekend with a win over the Rochester Americans on Saturday night. Six different players scored a goal for Syracuse, including the Lightning’s prospects Gage Goncalves and Gabriel Fortier.

The Orlando Solar Bears took revenge on the Indy Fuel, beating them 1-0 in a shootout.

Hockey News

Finland defeated team ROC 2-1 in the gold medal game at the Winter Olympic in Beijing to take their first ever Olympic hockey gold medal.

Former Tampa Bay Lightning player Valtteri Filppula added an Olympic gold medal to his Stanley Cup title, which he won with the Detroit Red Wings in 2008.

Slovakia earned their first ever Olympic hockey medal after beating Sweden in the bronze medal game.

Former assistant coach of the Lightning, Craig Ramsey has earned an Olympic bronze medal as a head coach of Slovakia.

17-year-old forward Juraj Slafkovsky has been named MVP of the men’s Olympic hockey tournament. He scored seven goals in seven games in Beijing, leading all players in the tournament in goals and points. Slafkovsky is one of the top prospects for the upcoming 2022 NHL Entry Draft.

The Edmonton Oilers, who are scheduled to play against the Lightning next week, defeated the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday.

The Toronto Maple Leafs acquired defenceman Ilya Lyubushkin and forward Ryan Dzingel from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for forward Nick Ritchie and a conditional 2nd round pick

The Dallas Stars’ forward Jamie Benn was fined $5,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct during the game against the Chicago Blackhawks.

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