A report came out on Twitter this afternoon that Syracuse Crunch forward Jonathan Marchessault has been recalled by the Tampa Bay Lightning:
Jonathan Marchessault recalled by the #lightning #tvasports
— Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) March 29, 2015
Marchessault is needed because of an incident that happened during yesterday’s Lightning game at Detroit. Tampa forward Cedric Paquette went awkwardly into the goal and received a lower-body injury. Although reports have varied as to the severity of the injury, and although Paquette is listed as day-to-day, there were also reports of call ups coming. Originally, it was thought those call ups would keep until the morning, but with Tampa currently in Montreal, and Syracuse just a short six hours away by car, apparently the Lightning saw no need to wait.
Marchessault currently leads the Syracuse Crunch in points, with 57 on the season (21 goals and 36 assists). He has consistently been a part of Syracuse’s top line, regardless of the changes in personnel, and is an integral part of the team’s ability to win games. This is Marchessault’s second recall by Tampa Bay since he was traded to the organization. During his first recall, he played in one game and registered no points or penalty minutes. He ended with a -1 +/-.
Marchessault came to the Lightning organization from the Columbus organization at the trade deadline last season. He was traded to the Crunch, along with Dalton Smith, for defenseman Matt Taormina and forward Dana Tyrell. Marchessault almost immediately proved to be a spark plug for Syracuse, and has since become a calming presence in the ups and downs the Crunch has seen this season (next to fellow winger Yanni Gourde).
Along with Marchessault, reports are now coming out that defenseman Luke Witkowski has also been recalled:
In addition to Marchessault being recalled, #tblightning will also call up D Luke Witkowski, official announcement may not come until A.M.
— Erik Erlendsson (@erlendssonTBO) March 29, 2015
Witkowski is needed because of a different incident that also occurred during yesterday’s Lightning game. Defenseman Jason Garrison went headfirst into the boards and did not return to the game. He flew back to Tampa yesterday to be reevaluated by the team, and apparently isn’t expected to return during the Bolt’s current road trip.
This is Witkowski’s second recall this season. Previously, he was recalled in January and made his NHL debut on January 20th, 2015. He played in 10 games for the Lightning during that stretch, registering 7 penalty minutes and finishing with a 0 +/-. Witkowski was signed to a two-year entry level contract on April 1, 2013.
New – Monday morning Update:
#TBLightning officially announce the call ups of Marchessault and Witkowski
— Joe Smith (@TBTimes_JSmith) March 30, 2015
