As part of his opening day media address, Julien BriseBois was asked about the health of the team and his answer was a little longer than anyone was anticipating. While most of the injuries he mentioned will affect the Syracuse Crunch, there were a couple of names that were on the Lightning’s roster. The good news is that they shouldn’t be out for much of the regular season.
The first name mentioned was Mikey Eyssimont (lower-body injury) who will be out until mid-October per Mr. BriseBois. Fellow bottom-six forward Luke Glendening is expected to miss training camp, but is hopeful for the beginning of the season. The veteran is coming off of a dislocated shoulder and labral tear he suffered at the end of the regular season. With their status in doubt to begin the season, it’ll be a chance for a couple of the bubble players to earn at least a game or two at the NHL level.
As for the Crunch. The impact of the injuries will be felt a little longer – as in December. Jack Finley, Gabriel Dumont, Daniel Walcott, and Gabriel Fortier will be out for the first few months of the season. Finley, Dumont, and Walcott all had injuries at the end of the season, so it was expected that they would miss some time. Fortier, who had off-season surgery according to Mr. BriseBois, is a bit of a surprise.
Those injuries and the fact that a couple of players starting the season in Tampa instead of Syracuse are likely a big reason Jujar Khaira and Ara Nazarian were signed to AHL contracts along with Joel Teasdale getting a PTO. There will be a healthy competition for the open spots on the roster.
Mr. BriseBois alluded to that in his press conference, stating that they have a “deeper crop of players that have a shot [at making the Lightning] than in a long time.” He wouldn’t commit to any players, including Conor Geekie, having an edge to making the team, but he does like the fact that there is a feeling of competition in camp.
Some players whose chances to make the opening night roster have increased are Geekie, Max Groshev, Lucas Edmonds, Jesse Ylonen, and Lucas Svejkovsky. An intriguing play might be keeping Ethan Gauthier on the team a little longer. If Glendening or Eyssimont aren’t quite ready to go for opening night, and Gauthier has a standout camp, the Lightning could keep on the roster for up to 10 games without burning a year on his contract before sending him back to the QMJHL.
As camp continues and the cuts begin, we’ll get a better grasp on how the Lightning might handle the roster situation.
