On Monday, the Tampa Bay Lightning recalled Mitchell Chaffee from the Syracuse Crunch. The 26-year-old had been reassigned prior to the team’s break, but with Tanner Jeannot and Austin Watson still on the mend, he was recalled to help the Bolts on their upcoming road trip. While, Chaffee will help out on the forward lines, there are still some questions that need to be answered on the defensive side.
During his brief sojourn to Syracuse, Chaffee had 11 shots in 3 games, recording just one goal, but what a goal it was as he scored with just 15 seconds left in the second period in a 2-1 win over the Rochester Americans.
It was his 12th goal for the Crunch this season, which leads the team for now. Felix Robert is hot on trail with 11 goals while Max Groshev has 10. Chaffee’s third recall of the season may not last too long, however. The Lightning are hopeful that Tanner Jeannot can return to action during their upcoming roadtrip which takes them through New York, Ohio, and Massachusetts.
In three games with the Lightning Chaffee does have two points (one goal, one assist) and has shown to be a dogged forechecker. He’s likely to see at least one more game in the NHL before being reassigned. Once he is, the Crunch will be more than happy to have his services as they continue to hunt down the Cleveland Monsters, who sit atop the North Division standings.
Other Hockey News
Coach Cooper talks to the press [Tampa Bay Lightning]
Coop talked about how nice it was to see the injured guys back on the ice, Vasilevskiy’s recent play, and the impact of the younglings on the team.
Mikhail Sergachev talks to the press [Tampa Bay Lightning]
Sergy talks about Kucherov’s performance at the All-Star game and brought up a pretty good point – Kucherov did the events at his speed. We’ve said it a lot, no one does more with a hockey puck standing still on the ice than Kucherov.
Stamkos on his future in Tampa, the all-star break, and how he’s feeling [95.3 WDAE]
Stammer talked to the gentlemen on the Jay and Z show about his time off with some old friends (lots of story telling), the mental and physical break (much needed), and his future in Tampa (he wants to stay, but no new conversations), who will win the Super Bowl (the Chiefs).
Evgeny Kuznetsov enters NHL/NHLPA player assistance program [Russian Machine Never Breaks]
After he missed a practice for “personal reasons” the Washington Capitals announced that the forward was entering the player assistance program for unspecified reasons and would be on an indefinite leave from the team.
D.J. Smith joining the L.A. Kings [Eric Stephens’ Twitter]
Smith, who was relieved of his head coaching duties in Ottawa earlier this season, will join the Kings as an assistant to interim coach Jim Hiller.
Orlando Solar Bears – Bear Bites [Solar Bears]
The week that was for the Lightning’s ECHL Affiliate.
Speaking of affiliates, Gage Goncalves and Jack Thompson played for the North Division team in the AHL All-Star Challenge last night. The North didn’t make it to the final game, but Thompson did assist on one of the goals scored by Angus Crookshank. For the second year in a row, it was the Pacific Division that emerged victorious. Arshdeep Bains, a Vancouver Canucks prospect, had the game winner.
Teams with players on leave will have cap relief [Darren Dreger’s Twitter]
Philadelphia, New Jersey, and Calgary will be granted salary cap relief for the players that are currently on leave and charged in the Team Canada sexual assault case. The London, Ontario police also read a statement regarding the case earlier on Monday. The players are still under contract and are being paid during their leave of absence.
Dave Mishkin – radio guy, dog lover, author? – [Dave Mishkin’s Twitter]
The voice of the Lightning has a book coming out next month. Keep an eye out for it.
The NHL All-Star Roundtable [ESPN]
Wysh chats with the players about superstitions, expansion, and rule changes.
