Following Saturday’s 5-4 win against the Nashville Predators at Amalie Arena, the Tampa Bay Lightning announced their biggest round of cuts to date as 30 players were reassigned. That leaves 26 players in camp as the regular season roster begins to take shape.
There weren’t many surprises to the cuts and most of the players are heading to Syracuse where the Crunch will open up their training camp later this week. Goaltender Hugo Alnefelt was part of the group that was reassigned, indicating that general manager Julien BriseBois will either go with Matt Tomkins as the back-up to Jonas Johansson, or is waiting to see what the waiver wire brings to see if a veteran is available as other teams reduce their rosters.
Max Groshev played well in preseason and at the rookie showcase and was a dark horse for a spot on the fourth line, but looks like he will start his North American career in Syracuse as he was sent down. With Logan Brown starting the season injured, the battle for the 12th and 13th forward roles will come down to Alex Barre-Boulet, Gabriel Fortier, Austin Watson, and Walterri Merela (who had two goals and an assist against the Predators).
It does appear that the three players that need to clear waivers (Mitchell Chaffee, Sean Day, and Philippe Myers) will likely make it. Brown, Jack Finley, Roman Schmidt, and Daniel Walker are all considered injured, non-roster players to begin the season. Goaltender Ben Gaudreau, who was an invitee, will be heading back to Sarnia, while another invitee, Gabriel Szturc, will head to Syracuse’s training camp in hopes of earning a professional contract.
There will be some cap manipulations in the next week by Mr. BriseBois as he tries to figure out what his season-opening roster will look like. The decision to put Andrei Vasilevskiy or Brown on Long Term Injury Relief will likely come when he decides what will happen with the back-up goaltending situation. A couple of netminders did hit the waiver wire on Sunday in Michael DiPietro (Boston) and old friend Louis Domingue (New York Rangers). Are they better options then what is already in house? Domingue does have some familiarity with the system, having played 38 games for the Bolts over two seasons from 2017-2019 and filling in for Vasilevskiy when he was out for a month with an injury during the 2018-19 season.
Another old friend, Spencer Martin, was claimed by Columbus after Vancouver put him on waivers on Friday. There are still a few other waiver wire candidates in camps with other teams such as Martin Jones (Toronto), Alex Lyon (Detroit), and Anthony Stolarz (Florida). Mr. BriseBois has a week to figure it all out before needing to submit their roster to the league next Monday, the day before the season officially begins.
Lightning / NHL News
Lightning player buys Beach Park home [WFLA]
Mikhail Sergachev is putting his new contract to good use as he plunked down a cool $9 million on an 8,077 square-foot home on the water in Tampa.
For veterans phased out by salary cap, Lightning camp offers opportunity [Tampa Bay Times]
Tyler Motte wasn’t even supposed to be here, but he’s seized the opportunity by putting up 2 points (1 goal, 1 assist) in 2 games with the Lightning so far this preseason. He’s also created a team-high 4 individual high-danger chances in his 42+ minutes of ice-time.
Gone fishin’ 🎣 pic.twitter.com/536vrTY4Qk
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) October 1, 2023
Alex Killorn out 4-6 weeks with broken finger [ESPN]
One of the most durable players in the organization during his days with the Lightning, Killer will have to wait a few weeks to make his debut with his new team as a broken finger will keep him on the sidelines. Luckily, the Ducks don’t head to Tampa until January, so he should be back on the ice by then.
Brandon Sutter retires from hockey [SportsNet]
The longtime Vancouver Canuck was attempting a comeback after long COVID symptoms had kept him off of the ice the last couple of seasons. On Sunday he announced the comeback was over. The 34-year-old ends his career with 289 points scored over 770 games with the Canucks, Penguins, and Hurricanes.
Calgary Flames assistant GM, Chris Snow, passes away [Daily Faceoff]
Snow, who was diagnosed with ALS in 2019, passed away at the age of 42 following a brain injury earlier in the week. An inspiration to many in and out of the sport, Snow donated his kidneys, liver, and lungs, prior to his passing according to a Tweet from his wife Kelsie.
One player to get excited about on every NHL team [Bleacher Report]
Tanner Jeannot? Okay. Honestly, I’m more excited to see how Connor Sheary does on the second line.
Ring of Fire 🔥 #Flames pic.twitter.com/9dKipsQoRj
— Ryan Popowich (@DownWithPopo) September 30, 2023
