Well, the hits just keep coming for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Just as their game with the Carolina Hurricanes, the team announced that rookie defenseman Declan Carlile would be out of the line-up for four to five weeks with a lower-body injury.
The 25-year-old rookie took his 17th and final shift of the game against the Detroit Red Wings at the 6:40 mark of the third period. He had a couple of shot attempts and didn’t appear any worse for the wear (at least on camera) at the end of the shift, which stopped with John Gibson stopping Jake Guentzel on a breakaway. Carlile would not return to the game.
There was no update after the game and he missed practice on Friday. Now it appears his season is all but over. It’s another blow to the Lightning’s defensive depth that is currently without Emil Lilleberg (facial fracture) and Max Crozier, who is out for the rest of the regular season.
Carlile has appeared in 38 games for the Lightning this season, and has recorded one goal and two assists while averaging 14:37 of ice time. The undrafted free agent out of Merrimack had impressed the Lightning enough that they kept him in the line-up and playing on his off-side as they waited for the rest of the defense to get healthy.
There isn’t much offense from the Lightning when he’s on the ice, but at the same token, their opponents aren’t throwing too many pucks into the net when he’s out there as well. That’s the steady type of play most teams want out of their bottom pairing.
If there is any “good” time for a defenseman to get hurt for the Lightning it’s right now. Erik Cernak returned to the line-up so it was possible that Carlile’s playing time was going to decrease naturally. There would have been a roster conversation about who would play the role of seventh defenseman to be heard once Lilleberg returned, but it appears that can be kicked down the road for another month.
For now, Steven Santini will play that role until Lilleberg is cleared to return to the line-up.
The injury comes at a bad time for Carlile who is set to become a Group VI unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. While it’s likely the Lightning would want to keep him in the system, he’s played well enough to generate a little interest on the free agent market.
