For all of our Florida folks, we hope you made it through Hurricane Milton as safely as possible. The aftermath isn’t going to be fun in the immediate future, but time will bring some sense of normalcy back. Speaking of normalcy, it’s about time we got back to being a hockey site that brings you some of the news from around the league and sport.
Going forward this year, the Lightning Round posts probably won’t be appearing every day during the season. The plan is to have them on non-game days. Believe it or not, rounding up a bunch of hockey-related posts is a bit time consuming, and as a stripped-down operation, that time can be better spent working on more Lightning-specific posts and breakdowns. We think it’s still important to know what’s going on around the league (and with the youths), and to highlight other hockey writers that are out there. Hopefully we find the right balance.
While the NHL is officially back in action we still have another day before the Bolts kick off the 2024-25 season, so expect a few season-preview type of posts over the next few days.
There will be some questions about the Lightning’s schedule over the next week, but we won’t have any concrete answers until officials are able to survey any possible damage to Amalie Arena or the surrounding area. Even if the building is safe for fans to enter, recovery and repair work to the surrounding area may not make it wise to have thousands of fans coming to a game.
The Bolts are scheduled to play Carolina at home on Saturday night, but that might be postponed to a later date. The next home game wouldn’t be until Tuesday when Vegas comes to town. Rescheduling that game might be a bit more difficult for the league. We will keep you posted on any developments as we learn of them.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Top prospect proves to be right fit for Lightning roster [Tampa Bay Times]
He made it. Yes, we were wary that the Bolts would actually keep Conor Geekie on the roster, but here it is Season Opening Eve and he’s earning that NHL paycheck. Why? Well, as Coop says in the article, “He hasn’t given anybody in our organization a reason to send him down.” Now, that could change if Mikey Eyssimont and Luke Glendening are good to go for tomorrow, but for now we’re looking forward to him playing some meaningful NHL minutes.
The League
Carter Verhaeghe can get the dinner tab next time he’s in town [Florida Hockey Now]
Old friend Carter Verhaeghe isn’t going anywhere. The Florida Panther forward signed an eight-year extension with an AAV of $7 million to stay with the team. While he will continue scoring for our cross-state rivals, it’s nice to see the hard work he’s put in over the years be rewarded financially.
Los Angeles to host the NHL Draft (report) [The Fourth Period]
The first decentralized draft in league history will take place in the City of Angels according to The Fourth Period. Despite the amazing spectacle that was Vegas over the summer, it seems the league is going forward with having the teams draft from their own cities while the potential draftees gather in one place, kind of like the NFL.
New rule changes for the 2024-25 NHL season [Lightning Insider – free article]
Over at Lightning Insider, Jodi breaks down some of the rule changes that are going into effect this season. The biggest is probably the over-the-glass challenge.
The Youth
Isaac Howard earns B1G honors [Michigan State]
The Lightning’s number-two ranked prospect (at least according to us) kicked off his junior year in style by earning Big Ten First Star of the Week honors. The forward had five points (3 goals, 2 assists) in two games as Michigan State defeated Lake Superior State to begin their season.
Jayson Shaugabay named NCHC Rookie of the Week [University of Minnesota-Duluth]
Another Lightning prospect (ranked sixteenth by our count) also had a pretty good opening week. Jayson Shaugabay began his UMD career with two goals and an assist against Bemidji State University, a performance good enough to earn Rookie of the Week honors.
Crunch add familiar name on PTO [Syracuse Crunch]
The Syracuse Crunch continue to round out their roster prior to their season starting as they signed Gemel Smith to a PTO. The 30-year-old spent last season in the KHL, but returns to the team that he spent parts of four seasons with from 2019-2023.