The first waiver claim of 2018-19 has been made as the Lightning have claimed forward Danick Martel off waivers from Philadelphia, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link).
Martel was a prolific scorer at the junior level, recording 102 points in 64 games in his final QMJHL campaign in 2014-15 which helped land him an entry-level contract with the Flyers in March of 2015. Through the first three years of his career, he has spent the majority of his time with their AHL affiliate in Lehigh Valley and is coming off a strong season that saw him post 25 goals and 15 assists in 59 games with the Phantoms. He also got into four games with Philadelphia and was held off the scoresheet while averaging 10:13 per game. That was enough to land him a one-year, $715K deal this summer, one that carries a $65K salary at the minor league level.
It will be interesting to see where Martel fits in with Tampa Bay. The team hasn’t hesitated to use smaller skilled players in the past and at five-foot-eight, the 23-year-old certainly falls into that category. He will likely push for a spot at the end of their roster but if they want to send him to their AHL affiliate, he will have to go back on the wire.