Much like his Tampa Bay Lightning Opening Night teammates, Mitchell Chaffee’s season ended in disappointment. Unlike most of them, Chaffee’s year ended in Syracuse instead of Tampa. A season that started with the chance of a bigger role in the NHL ended 1,200 miles away when the Crunch fell to the Cleveland Monsters in their first-round match-up. As an unrestricted free agent, the 28-year-old will have to decide if his future remains in Tampa, or if there is another franchise that will give him a chance to stick in the NHL.
It was a tale of two seasons for Chaffee. The NHL portion wasn’t that great. While he was on the opening night roster, he was sent to Syracuse at the end of October after failing to record a point in seven games. A late season recall would give him another four games with the Lightning, and he did manage to pick up an assist in the season finale against the New York Rangers.
As bad as things went in Tampa, it was the complete opposite in Syracuse. Chaffee posted a career-season as he put up 57 points (24 goals, 33 assists) in 54 games. He also recorded his first career AHL post-season point as he scored in the Crunch’s Game One loss. Unfortunately, he would only appear in two games against the Monsters before being replaced in the line-up by Noah Steen.
Chaffee has never had an issue scoring at the AHL level as he has 66 goals and 80 assists in 177 games with the Crunch and Iowa Wild. That level of production has yet to translate to the NHL level where he has 16 goals and 10 assists in 109 games.
Part of that is the role he’s been asked to play at both levels. In the AHL he’s played top-six minutes while with the Lightning he’s had more of a defensive role. Despite his limited time with the Bolts this season, he led the team with 18.34 hits/60. During the 2024-25 season he averaged 10.99 hits/60 with Zemgus Girgensons as the only full-time player to make contact with more frequency.
If Julien BriseBois is to be taken at his word, there isn’t going to be much change in the Lightning’s roster next season. Even with that being said, there is likely to be a spot open in the bottom-six. Would Chaffee be a fit? Possibly. He has one thing going for him that some other forwards don’t – he’s a right-hand shot.
Not only that, but when he uses it, the shot is really good. In his three seasons with the Lightning, his shooting percentage is 15.4%, which is right in line with Brandon Hagel (15.5%), Nikita Kucherov (15.6%), and Steven Stamkos (15.3%) over that same time period. The main problem…he just doesn’t shoot enough. His 5.04 shots/60 is lower than noted shooters like Curtis Douglas (5.89) and Tyler Motte (5.8).
The Lightning took a chance on him when they signed him to a one-year contract in the summer of 2023 as the former UMass star was coming off of a big knee injury. He played well in Syracuse and was impressive enough in a 30-game stint with the Bolts to earn a two-year extension. He put up 12 goals in 66 games during the 2024-25 season and seemed locked into a third-line role with the Bolts for the 2025-26 season. His early season struggles and the emergence of Dominic James as an option landed him in Syracuse for the majority of the season.
Now he’s at a bit of a career crossroads. With a roster that has only a few spots open, and a host of prospects knocking at the door to fill those holes, the Lightning probably can’t guarantee him a spot in the NHL next season. Has he shown enough that another franchise might be willing to do so?
He might have to settle for a one-year deal or even a PTO deal with another franchise. There is a chance that his career could have a similar arc as Cole Koepke. After not seeing a lot of ice time with the Lightning, Koepke signed a one-year deal with Boston which earned him a bigger one-year contract with Winnipeg last season.
Chances are that is the route he takes this summer. There are just too many other players already under contract with the Lightning that can fill the needs Tampa Bay has for next season.
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