The Headline
The Tampa Bay Lightning issued their largest training camp cut yesterday, and by the end of the day 27 players were trimmed from their roster and assigned to the Syracuse Crunch. Five of them are awaiting waiver results to see if they’ll be sent to Syracuse. [Raw Charge]
This list doesn’t contain any major surprises, except for maybe Andreoff. Most of these players were slated to play in Syracuse this year, with a few likely heading to Orlando. Crunch camp gets underway on Tuesday, and they will now have a nearly full group to start preparing for the season.
All players on waivers yesterday cleared.
Waivers Today :
Eric Tangradi (NJD)
Brian Strait (NJD)
John Ramage (NJD)
Blake Pietila (NJD)
Gabriel Dumont (TBL)
Andy Andreoff (TBL)
Edward Pasqualle (TBL)
Carter Verhaeghe (TBL)
Cameron Gaunce (TBL)Continued..https://t.co/Py76o9jtAs
— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) September 23, 2018
The Lightning also hosted their fan fest yesterday, a day which contained many tidbits and meet-and-greets for fans:
-Fans of the Lightning have been begging for an outdoor game for many years, and it was revealed that maybe, just maybe, they’re finally going to get their wish.
Vinik says he thinks #Bolts are closing to getting an outdoor game, says in mid-February there’s a 90-95% chance the weather will be cooperative enough to hold an outdoor game. #BoltsFanFest
— Bryan Burns (@BBurnsNHL) September 23, 2018
-Ryan Callahan opened up about his injury:
Callahan said when he was injured in mid-December, he knew he was in trouble. Had the option to play through the pain or have surgery at that time.
He played through the pain.
“I knew how special of a team we had last year…I wanted to be a part of it.” #BoltsFanFest
— Bryan Burns (@BBurnsNHL) September 23, 2018
-Danick Martel made his debut in front of the fans, and impressed pretty quickly:
Danick Martel, claimed off waivers yesterday from Philly, is skating with the #Bolts during the Fan Fest practice session. Wearing No. 61. #BoltsFanFest
— Bryan Burns (@BBurnsNHL) September 23, 2018
Danick Martel introduces himself to Lightning fans, springs free on a shorthanded breakaway during a power-play drill and beats Vasilevskiy. #Bolts
— Bryan Burns (@BBurnsNHL) September 23, 2018
Martel said his game is a lot like Yanni Gourde’s.
“I’m pretty much the same player. Hard-worker, a lot of speed, skills. If I get beat by bigger bodies in the corner, I’ll come back and make the 2nd and 3rd effort every time. I’ll try my best every game and be a pro every game”
— Bryan Burns (@BBurnsNHL) September 23, 2018
(Note: the goalie was, in fact, Domingue)
“He won’t even let us score on him in practice.” 🤣#BoltsFanFest pic.twitter.com/sxGTlY6OmD
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) September 23, 2018
-Alex Killorn gave an assist – in the form of his signature – to a young fan in a cast:
You want your jersey signed? Great. You want your cast signed? Done.@akillorn19 doing it all. #BoltsFanFest pic.twitter.com/9xjJpFf5DZ
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) September 23, 2018
-Here’s a full recap from Bryan Burns:
From #BoltsFanFest notebook, owner Jeff Vinik talks outdoor game and Water Street Tampa, Danick Martel introduces himself and Tyler Johnson sits w/ an upper-body injury. #Boltshttps://t.co/El52RbSvk1
— Bryan Burns (@BBurnsNHL) September 23, 2018
The Bolts
It was revealed yesterday that forward Tyler Johnson might not be ready to play opening night, as he is out day-to-day:
Tyler Johnson is not practicing today. He has an upper-body injury and is day-to-day. #BoltsFanFest
— Bryan Burns (@BBurnsNHL) September 23, 2018
Although the Lightning’s roster took on more of a definite shape yesterday, there’s still some questions out there about the team and the upcoming season in general. Joe Smith took some time to answer those questions (and stuck them behind a paywall). [The Athletic]
Manon Rheaume and the Lightning had a bit of an anniversary yesterday:
On this day in hockey… Sept 23, 1992, Manon Rheaume became the 1st female athlete to play in any of the 4 major sports leagues in North America. She helped Team Canada win silver in women’s hockey at the Nagano Olympics & gold at the ’92 & ’94 IIHF Women’s World Championships pic.twitter.com/SD0EhAylWE
— NHL Alumni (@NHLAlumni) September 23, 2018
The Crunch
Syracuse, while certainly bolstered by the arrival of so much talent, also got some awful news yesterday in terms of the injuries to Kevin Lynch and Daniel Walcott suffered during the Lightning’s preseason:
Injury updates: Daniel Walcott is out 5-6 months with a shoulder injury and Kevin Lynch is out 4-6 weeks with a lower-body injury.
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) September 23, 2018
(We will have more on this later on this morning.)
The Crunch’s guys showed well during training camp:
Lightning assistant coach Derek Lalonde told me the trophy gets awarded to the “fitness testing winners.” This year’s fittest rookie winner is Mathieu Joseph, and overall was Walcott. pic.twitter.com/DZswzPLrAa
— Caley Chelios (@CaleyChelios) September 23, 2018
Connor Ingram posted some great shots of his time during training camp to his Instagram:
It’s certainly hoped that Crunch goalie Eddie Pasquale will indeed clear waivers so that fans can see this helmet in action:
20 P.C. Labrie-themed days until the Crunch’s home opener!
#IsItOctoberYet pic.twitter.com/6mH3ZOlB5i
— Syracuse Crunch (@SyracuseCrunch) September 23, 2018
Meanwhile, at the Onondaga County War Memorial, things are progressing rapidly:
Ribbon lights going up on the War Memorial suites. pic.twitter.com/xcN20vYsQc
— Jim Sarosy (@JimSarosy) September 23, 2018
Thanks @LukasFavale, @Stef_Gale20, @CooperGillogly, @ToddNY25 and @Matt_ThompsonSC for moving roughly 1,776 pounds of scoreboard equipment to the production box! #CrunchFamily pic.twitter.com/2n0qsW1MzI
— Jim Sarosy (@JimSarosy) September 23, 2018
The Game
A reminder about roster cuts and roster finalization:
Mandatory cap compliancy and opening day playing rosters are due on Tuesday, October 2, 5:00pm EST.
— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) September 21, 2018
The Montreal Canadiens secured Paul Byron for another four years yesterday:
The Canadiens have signed forward Paul Byron to a 4-year contract extension (AAV of $3.4M) through the 2022-23 season. #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/WKcjND98cT
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) September 23, 2018
The Buffalo Sabres trimmed their roster up a bit, too:
Sabres roster down to 42 players after sending Tyler Randell to Rochester. That number does include the injured players (Malone, Sheary, Hunwick). Three more games this week including back-to-back on Tuesday and Wednesday.
— Joe Yerdon (@JoeYerdon) September 23, 2018
This young man has a bright future in sound effects ahead of him:
Reaves out here being the goal siren 🚨during practice 😂 pic.twitter.com/1A2FASBduk
— Kevaney Martin (@KevaneyMartin) September 23, 2018
…It’s spelled “Draco.”
Seeing Ristolainen again is like the first time Harry Potter runs into Drako Malfoy each year at Hogwart’s.
— Steve Dangle Glynn (@Steve_Dangle) September 22, 2018
Former Crunch goalie Mike McKenna had a startling and hilarious revelation yesterday:
Oh no I’ve been using the same pattern for longer than some of my teammates have been alive
— Mike McKenna (@MikeMcKenna56) September 23, 2018
