With four days between games, the Tampa Bay Lightning made a couple of roster moves as they assigned forward Scott Sabourin and defenseman Steven Santini to the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL. While the moves don’t have a direct impact on the playing roster as neither suited up for the Lightning during their recent recall, it could be an indication that at least one player is ready to come back.
Nikita Kucherov missed the last two games due to an illness, but with a few days to rest and relax at home, there is a good chance he’ll be ready to go in time for Thursday’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks at Benchmark International Arena. While Sabourin was recalled at the same time Kucherov missed action, it was more of a chance for the Lightning to knock two games off of the veteran’s NHL suspension. He still has two more games to go, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Bolts recall him sometime in the next week so that he can serve the rest of it.
Santini’s loan to Syracuse could be an indication that Max Crozier is on the mend and could be ready to go by Thursday. Or, it’s a chance for the Bolts to save a couple of dollars since he is on a two-way deal. As Tampa Bay is dipping into long-term injury relief, it doesn’t help them bank any cap space at the moment. One thing to note is that the Crunch do have a game on Sunday and one on Wednesday.
One of the new CBA stipulations that went into effect this season was that teams can’t process “paper transactions”. Any player loaned to the AHL has to play in at least one game before they can be recalled. It appears that Sabourin is in the Crunch’s Sunday match-up against Belleville, but Santini is not. He could still play on Wednesday and be eligible to return to Tampa if Crozier is not ready to play.
As for the other two injured players on the roster. Zemgus Girgensons is on injured reserve and is eligible to return to the line-up once he is healthy as it’s been seven days since he was given that distinction. He had just returned to the ice at the end of last week, so it could be a stretch to say he’ll be back in the line-up this week, but it’s not impossibel.
Nick Paul, who is on LTIR, also began skating, albeit on his own. LTIR rules dictate that a player must miss at least 10 games and 24 days before he is eligible to return. His nearest return date would be Sunday November 2nd against Utah. The Lightning’s 10th game is against Nashville on 10/28, but he would not have fulfilled the 24 days portion. That also jives with what the Lightning have said about his return as they’ve pegged it for November.
Roster moves will have to be made at that point, but the Bolts shouldn’t have to make any tough decisions as they have plenty of roster space. At least one player would have to be sent down to Syracuse, and it’s likely to be Jack Finley or Curtis Douglas. The devil in the details is that both would need to clear waivers in order to do so. There is a very good chance that Utah reclaims Douglas if the Lightning try to sneak him through.
Tampa Bay could carry two extra forwards and a seventh defenseman and still be under the cap, so they might try to get Finley through and keep Douglas around if they like what he’s brought them so far this season. Currently, the only forward that is waivers exempt on the roster is Conor Geekie. While he hasn’t lit up the scoreboard, his play isn’t worthy of a loan to the AHL.
Once both Girgensons and Paul are back in the line-up, it could look something like this:
Forwards:
| Brandon Hagel | Brayden Point | Nikita Kucherov |
| Jake Guentzel | Anthony Cirelli | Nick Paul |
| Oliver Bjorkstrand | Yanni Gourde | Pontus Holmberg |
| Zemgus Girgensons | Conor Geekie | Mitchell Chaffee |
Healthy Scratch: Gage Goncalves, Curtis Douglas
Defense:
| Victor Hedman | J.J. Moser |
| Ryan McDonagh | Erik Cernak |
| Emil Lilleberg | Max Crozier |
Healthy Scratch: Darren Raddysh
Goaltenders:
| Andrei Vasilevskiy |
| Jonas Johansson |
Coach Cooper could also elect to put Jake Guentzel back on the Brayden Point line, but the next few games will determine that part of the line-up. Gage Goncalves has had some okay moments early in the season, but he’s also struggled in the defensive aspect at times as well. With Girgensons and Paul back in the line-up, The Portuguese Pistol is the odd-player out.
The Lightning have always preached that it takes more than 23 players to win in the NHL, and they’re proving it so far. Just how many iterations the line-up will go through over the next few months is still to be determined, but the good news is that, for once, they aren’t hamstrung completely by the salary cap.
