While Julien BriseBois is still lining up the pieces (hopefully) for another out-of-the-blue acquisition for at the NHL trade deadline, his counterpart in Syracuse, Stacy Roest, isn’t waiting until Friday to make some moves. On Tuesday, the Crunch acquired a somewhat familiar face to help fill in on the blueline as they traded future considerations to the Chicago Wolves for defenseman Tyson Feist.
The 23-year-old defenseman had a short spell with the Crunch last season as he spent six games with them without recording a point. He also played 29 games for the Orlando Solar Bears where he had 16 points (5 goals, 11 assists). This season with Chicago he had 1 goal and 4 assists over 23 games.
With the Lightning constantly recalling defensemen due to injury issues, along with their own injury problems, the Crunch needed to add a little depth to the blue line. Their latest injured player, Jack Thompson, hasn’t played since February 23rd, forcing the Crunch to sign several players to PTOs just to make sure they could ice a team. Their most recent signing, Cole Moberg, has appeared in four games for them.
Adding Feist gives them another right-handed option with experience while Max Crozier is in Tampa. If the Lightning don’t add another defenseman at the trade deadline, Crozier and Emil Lilleberg could be up in Tampa for the remainder of the NHL season. As the Crunch are fighting for their own playoff spot and hopefully long run in the postseason, they wanted to solidify their backend, and Roest handled that on Tuesday.
One note to add – in order for a player to be eligible to play in the AHL playoffs, they have to be on an AHL roster at 3:00 PM EST on Friday. So that means Lilleberg and Crozier will likely be paper-transacted back to the Crunch at some point on Friday afternoon and then recalled after the deadline. They would probably like to add Mitchell Chaffee to that list, but the forward would have to go through waivers again, and much like Darren Raddysh last season, the Lightning aren’t likely to take the chance he gets claimed by another team.
It’s doubtful the Crunch will be too active in the AHL trade deadline this week as they have a pretty set roster and had the forward ranks boosted by the return of Cole Koepke and the addition of Alex Barre-Boulet. There is always the possibility that they would need to replenish a player like Koepke or Gage Goncalves if they’re part of a trade the Lightning make, but unfortunately there isn’t much Mr. Roest can do about that if it happens later in the day on Friday.
Other Hockey News
Lightning mix up lines at practice on Tuesday [Chris Krenn Twitter]
Steven Stamkos wasn’t on the ice (body maintenance was the official line from the team). Tanner Jeannot took his spot on the top line while Mitchell Chaffee took shifts with Cirelli and Hagel on the second line. Hopefully, that’s a sign that Jeannot is ready to come back this week. “Hopefully it’s not too much longer,” is how he put it after practice.
Frantz Jean speaks about the importance of the break [Lightning video]
Jean spoke about the team focusing on their execution and taking advantage of the break to reset as the get ready for the end of the season.
TRRRRRRRRAAAAADDDDEEE [Knights on Ice]
Anthony Mantha is on the move again at the trade deadline. The Washington Capitals traded him to Vegas for a 2024 second-round pick and a 2026 fourth-round pick. The Caps also retaining 50% of his salary.
Jason Zucker held out for trade-related purposes [Chris Johnston’s Twitter]
The 32-year-old forward has 9 goals and 16 assists in 51 games for the Coyotes this season. He could be a depth add for a team shopping for a middle-six forward.
Zach Bogosian reportedly re-signs in Minnesota [Hockey Wilderness]
It looks like Bogo will be BBQing in the Twin Cities for another two seasons as he reportedly signed a two-year extension worth $1.25 million per season. He has 1 goal and 8 assists in 43 games with the Wild since the Lightning traded him earlier this season.
Flames claim Joel Hanley on waivers [Calgary Herald]
I was wondering if the Lightning would make a claim for the veteran defenseman who was waived by the Dallas Stars on Monday. The 32-year-old would have added some depth to the roster at a relatively insignificant cost ($787,500 cap hit). Not much offensively, but as a third-pairing defenseman he could hold his own.
