It was a busy day at the Channelside office as the Tampa Bay Lightning signed a few contracts on Monday. They brought in two new players, and then re-signed someone already in the organization. The Bolts are bringing defender Sean Day back for another season as they announced that they signed him to a one-year, two-way contract.
Sean Day #GoBolts
1 year / 2 way extension$775k / $250k ($350k guaranteed)https://t.co/Ay8pCi3wT1
— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) June 5, 2023
The 25-year-old gets a small bump in salary and a chance to show the organization that he can regain the production he showed in 2021-22 when he put up 8 goals and 32 assists in 69 games for the Syracuse Crunch. He also made his NHL debut that year, appearing in two games for the Lightning.
Last season was a bit of a step back as he had 14 assists in 63 games. Injuries shortened his regular season a bit, but he did come back for Game 5 in the first round for the Crunch.
As a left-shot blueliner, he’ll likely be in the mix for the sixth/seventh defenseman battle in training camp. Should he end up in Syracuse, he could be one of the veteran leaders that Coach Ben Groulx likes to lean on throughout the season. If he’s able to put his career back on track, he could be another late-developing prospect that ends up having an impact on the organization a la Darren Raddysh.
Lightning/ NHL News
Bolts sign Emil Martinsen Lilleberg [Raw Charge]
Tampa Bay dipped into the Swedish Hockey League to add some defensive depth as they signed the former Arizona Coyote draft pick.
Bolts sign Waltteri Merelä [Raw Charge]
It wasn’t all defense for Julien BriseBois as he also inked the 24-year-old forward from Finland to a contract. Big guy who can skate.
Lightning Radio rolled it back to the beginning as they continues their Lightning Lore series with Phil Esposito and Henry Paul.
Our latest episode of Lightning Lore is out as @PhilEspo7 and Henry Paul discuss with @PKennedyMedia meeting the investors as they started the @TBLightning franchise https://t.co/3Y9X8VrYWy
— Lightning Radio (@BoltsRadio) June 5, 2023
Speaking of podcasts, Steven Stamkos chatted with the gentlemen at Clearing the Crease about hockey and fighting Auston Matthews (he joins the show about 24 minutes in).
NHL Draft Combine is under way [NHL.com]
The future stars of the NHL are gathering in Buffalo this week to show off their skills, and answer awkward questions for general managers around the league.
Anaheim Ducks name Greg Cronin head coach [The AHL]
Another head coaching gig has been filled. The Ducks dipped into the AHL to grab their next coach as they plucked Greg Cronin from the Colorado Eagles. For the last five years the 60-year-old has been helping to develop prospects for the Avalanche and has coached players such as Alex Newhook, Ryan Graves, and Pavel Francouz.
Habs sign Cole Caufield [Eyes on the Prize]
Montreal goals all in with their young goal-scorer as they sign Caufield to an 8-year deal with an AAV of $7.85 million. That’s not bad for a player that has 40-goal potential.
Vegas Golden Knights 7-2 over Florida Panthers [Vegas leads series 2-0]
Sergei Bobrovsky was pulled in the second period. Radko Gudas was knocked out of the game in the first period. Matthew Tkachuk had 22 of the Panthers 84 penalty minutes. Old friends Jonathan Marchessault and Brett Howden scored for the Golden Knights as Vegas dominated Game 2 from pretty much the beginning. The series flips to Sunrise on Thursday for Game 3.
