What does the Mitchell Chaffee recall foretell for the Tampa Bay Lightning?

There was real, live hockey action on the ice in Brandon today. The Tampa Bay Lightning were back at work at their practice complex getting ready to fire up the engines for the restart of their season after their 1-day break. Prior to practice they announced that that Mitchell Chaffee had been recalled from the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL.

https://twitter.com/TBLightning/status/1754524997861748982?s=20

While Tanner Jeannot and Austin Watson were both on the ice at practice on Monday in regular jerseys, Watson was ruled week-to-week prior to the break and probably won\'t play on the upcoming road trip. As for Jeannot, Coach Jon Cooper is hoping to see the big guy back on the ice at some point during the road trip.

https://twitter.com/Chris_Krenn/status/1754552742222164375?s=20

Due to the nature of the injuries to the two forwards tt was expected that the Lightning would recall a forward following their break, but it\'s telling that Chaffee was the only one recalled. Prior to the break, they had sent down defenseman Max Crozier and forward Waltteri Merelä along with Chaffee. Since the Bolts didn\'t recall a defenseman, it\'s a good indication that their injured defenseman, Mikhail Sergachev, Erik Cernak, and Haydn Fleury would be set to return to the line-up.

Cernak and Sergachev (who was also quarterbacking the second power play unit) were paired together at practice and took regular shifts while Fleury skated with Calvin de Haan. Rookie Emil Lilleberg was skating with Nick Perbix, which raises a bit of an eyebrow. Could Lilleberg get the nod over the veteran de Haan when the Lightning return to the ice on Wednesday in New York? If so, how does that trickle down in regards to the line-up?

When Sergachev is activated off of LTIR there will have to be a corresponding roster move in order for the Lightning to be cap compliant. Re-assigning Lilleberg is the easiest solution to the problem. First off, he is exempt from waivers due to his entry-level contract. Second, his cap hit is $869,700 which is almost exactly what the Lightning need to shave off when Sergachev comes back (they will have a $2 cushion).

Move number two would be to kick the decision down the road a couple of days by putting Tanner Jeannot on LTIR. He\'s already exceeded the 24 calendar days a player needs to miss in order to be eligible for placement on LTIR, and if he misses the game against the Rangers, that will be 10 games he\'s missed. They could put him on LTIR for the start of the road trip and keep everyone around for a few more days, then make a move when he\'s ready for game action.

If the Lightning truly think Lilleberg is ready to be a regular on defense then things get a little sticky. The odd players out would be de Haan or Haydn Fleury. There would be some rough waters to navigate if either one of those players are moved. If Julien BriseBois wants to send them to Syracuse, then they would have to clear waivers. With how hungry teams are for defensive help, there is a better than average chance that they would be claimed.

The Bolts could work out a trade for de Haan or Fleury, with a likely return of a late-round draft pick (they have three 7th-round picks this year, why not make it four?) or the ever popular future considerations.

Waiving or trading either player doesn\'t solve the second problem which is that getting rid of one player still leaves the Lightning about a $100,000 over the cap, so a forward would also have to be sent down. That means Chaffee would be on the next flight to Syracuse once Jeannot is ready to play (Jeannot and Watson are currently on Injured Reserve, so their cap hits are still counting).

In this case, the most likely solution is also the likeliest. While Lilleberg has won over a lot of fans with his play during his brief NHL career, the path forward for the 22-year-old probably involves more time in Syracuse where he can play 20 minutes a night. We\'ve seen rookies make a nice splash over the first few games and then kind of sputter out a bit as opponents start to focus on their tendencies.

Lilleberg has shown that he can hold his own at the NHL level and is likely penciled into the 3-LD spot for the 2024-25 season. A reassignment to Syracuse doesn\'t change that future. Unfortunately, the reality of the present might spell the end of his NHL per diem for the short term.

While de Haan has his detractors, he hasn\'t been bad for the role he was brought into play this season. It\'s pretty much been an offensive void for both sides when he\'s on the ice. That\'s pretty much what coaches hope for in their third-pairing defensemen.

He is a veteran that has been through these battles before and based on history, Coach Cooper tends to favor veterans on the blueline when he needs wins. While the Lightning have been able to push themselves back into a fairly comfortable spot in the standings, they still need to keep piling up the points in order to make sure they aren\'t on the outside looking in when the season ends.

The Tampa Bay Lightning made one move on Monday, chances are they will be making more on Tuesday.

Talking Points