With Luke Glendening set to miss the rest of the regular season, and Oliver Bjorkstrand ailing, the Tampa Bay Lightning needed to restock the roster. Much to the dismay of Syracuse Crunch fans, their choice for a recall was one of the hottest scorers on the team – Conor Geekie. The Lightning made the recall official prior to their morning skate on Sunday.
Roster move: The #GoBolts have recalled F Conor Geekie from AHL @syracusecrunch.com. The 20-year-old forward scored 6-6—12 in 49 games with the Lightning before heading to Syracuse, where he’s been very good (11-9—20 in 24 GP). Welcome back, Geeks!
— Benjamin Pierce (@boltsben.bsky.social) April 13, 2025 at 9:02 AM
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After surprising many by making the roster out of training camp, Geekie struggled to make an impact around the midpoint of the season in the NHL. The team, ever wary about the development of their prospects assigned the 20-year-old to Syracuse in early February. In the 24 games he played for the Crunch he racked up 20 points (11 goals, 9 assists), helping the team rocket up to third place in the standings. The bulk of his scoring came on a recent seven-game point streak where he had 11 points (8 goals, 3 assists) from March 21 to April 4.
Of late, he’s looked more like the confident, determined scorer that was on display when he rampaged through the Western Hockey League.
Conor Geekie with the smooth finish for his second of the night. @syracusecrunch.com | #SYRvsLV
— American Hockey League (@theahl.com) March 21, 2025 at 9:03 PM
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Since the Lightning aren’t able to place Glendening or Bjorkstrand on LTIR, a corresponding move had to be made in order to fit Geekie under the salary cap. Cameron Atkinson, who hasn’t suited up since March 13, was assigned to Syracuse. Chances are he will be recalled once the regular season is over. It also wouldn’t be a surprise to see Conor Sheary recalled as well once the salary cap loses its financial hold on the roster.
Had the Lightning only lost Glendening for the next few games, chances are Geekie stays in Syracuse, but now he’s going to get another chance to possibly play some big minutes for the Bolts. During the morning skate on Sunday he shared third line duties with Nick Paul and Gage Goncalves, but with the Bolts likely going 11/7 the rest of the way Coach Cooper could move him around on the ice a bit.
Earlier in the season we saw a similar assignment and recall with Gage Goncalves with Goncalves coming back with a much more impactful role with the Lightning. Since his recall in the middle of February he’s put up 11 points (7 goals, 4 assists) in 24 games. While those numbers aren’t mind-blowing, they are significantly better than the 1 goal and 6 assists he had in his previous 23 games.
Geekie had 12 points (6 goals, 6 assists) in 49 games during his first run with the Bolts this season, but was held off of the scoresheet in his last 9 games while also seeing his offensive contribution in terms of individual expected goals and shot contributions drop. In those last 9 games, he was held without an individual scoring chance in 4 of them and no shot attempts in 3 of them.
Hopefully, the short stint in Syracuse got him back on track and he can help the Lightning for however long they need him. With Bjorkstrand’s injury, it looks like it could carry into the playoffs, so Geekie has a chance for making a name for himself when it counts the most.
