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Lightning Assign Three Players To AHL

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The Tampa Bay Lightning announced today that they re-assigned defensemen Maxwell Crozier and Emil Lilleberg as well as netminder Matt Tomkins to the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League. The moves come one day after the Lightning were eliminated from the first round of the NHL playoffs by the Florida Panthers.

Crozier dressed in three of the five Lightning playoff games, going scoreless while recording a -1 and averaging 14:15 of ice time per game. The 24-year-old rookie also played in 13 regular season games for Tampa Bay, recording two assists while registering 16 hits and 11 blocked shots. The Calgary, Alberta native was drafted in the fourth round of the 2019 NHL entry draft and spent four seasons in the NCAA with Providence College before an abbreviated run with Syracuse last spring. In his first full professional season, Crozier was impressive enough to get a spot in the lineup for his first taste of NHL playoff hockey.

Lilleberg returns to Syracuse, where he spent the first half of the 2023-24 season dressing in 33 games for the Crunch, tallying two goals and 11 assists. The 23-year-old spent the second half of the season with the Lightning, dressing in 37 NHL games and posting five assists. While he’s unlikely to develop into an offensive defenseman, Lilleberg showed enough in the regular season to earn a spot in the lineup for all five Lightning playoff games. Now he’s in line to play big minutes for the Crunch in the AHL playoffs.

Tomkins took seven years of professional hockey before making it to the NHL this season at 29. The Edmonton, Alberta native was drafted in the seventh round of the 2012 NHL entry draft and bounced around from the AHL to the ECHL, to the SHL before finding his way back to North America and making his NHL debut with Tampa Bay. In his first NHL action, Tomkins dressed in six games going 3-2-1 with a 3.33 goals-against average and a .892 save percentage. He’ll now return to Syracuse where he played 29 games this season and went 15-12-2 with a .904 save percentage.

Syracuse is currently tied at 1 with the Rochester Americans in their best-of-five North Division Semifinals series, game 3 goes Thursday night in Syracuse.

Poll: Should The Lightning Re-Sign Steven Stamkos?

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In case you’ve missed the discourse after the Lightning’s first-round elimination last night (or haven’t read our preview of this summer’s top UFA left wings), Steven Stamkos is on an expiring contract. The future Hall-of-Famer has now wrapped up the eight-year, $68MM extension he signed in 2016 and will go to market on July 1 if not signed to an extension.

Over the course of his extension, the now 34-year-old Stamkos has overseen the greatest sustained period of success in franchise history. The club only missed the postseason once – the first season of his deal, 2016-17, in which a torn lateral meniscus in his right knee ended his campaign in November. Back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021, a third straight Finals appearance in 2022, and an additional Eastern Conference Final showing in 2018 have cemented the Lightning as arguably the most successful squad over the past 10 years, notwithstanding the three other ECF/SCF appearances Stamkos made with the team before his extension (2011, 2015, 2016).

Overall, injuries limited him to 513 of 618 possible regular-season games (83.8%) during his last contract, but he’s remained a capable top-of-the-lineup scorer and is money in the bank for over a point per game. He had 81 in 79 this season, including 40 goals – his seventh time hitting the milestone.

Stamkos has transitioned into a less-taxing role on the wing at even strength in his later years with the emergence of Anthony Cirelli and Brayden Point, as well as the extremely well-advised Nick Paul pickup, making his slightly negative possession impacts over the last two seasons easier to swallow. He was never a beacon of defensive excellence, but he did at least routinely post Corsi shares at even strength above the team’s overall share without him on the ice. That hasn’t been the case since 2021-22.

He’s still an extremely effective player, and given the precedent of other Lightning stars like Point and Nikita Kucherov taking slight discounts on their market value, it likely wouldn’t be prohibitively expensive to re-sign him. But Tampa’s lack of bottom-six scoring and poor defensive depth – especially without a fully healthy Mikhail Sergachev – was exposed in their rather decisive series loss to the Panthers.

The club has $10MM in projected cap space next season, with extensions/replacements also needed for Anthony Duclair, their best secondary scorer since his trade deadline pickup from the Sharks, and blue-liner Mathew Dumba. They’re also losing the $6.875MM of long-term injured reserve flexibility they’ve had from retired defenseman Brent Seabrook’s contract over the past couple of seasons.

Point is still 28. Kucherov is 30. Cirelli is 26. Hedman is 33. Sergachev is 25. Vasilevskiy is 29. Even without Stamkos, it’s a playoff-caliber core for at least two to three more seasons with the right moves. Will that make general manager Julien BriseBois seriously consider prioritizing better depth adds over re-signing the best player in franchise history?

Stamkos said before the 2023-24 season started that he was disappointed in the lack of extension conversations with BriseBois. The six-year GM said in January that he still envisioned Stamkos as part of the roster moving forward but would wait until the offseason to evaluate where the roster stood. The results are as follows: Tampa scored just 36.9% of 5-on-5 goals in the series, a worse share than even the Capitals, who were swept at the hands of the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Rangers. Nine players, including most of their bottom six forwards, failed to score a point. Given they got everything they could ask for from their stars – seven points from Hedman, seven assists from Kucherov and five goals from Stamkos, that may very well swing the balance.

So, PHR readers, we now ask you: Are the Lightning better off keeping Stamkos or using offseason cap space to prioritize rebuilding their depth scoring and defense? Have your say in the poll below:

(poll link for app users)

Cooper: Steven Stamkos "Feels Like A Bolt For Life"

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Couturier, 31, was previously represented by Sports Prospects’ Erik Lupien, whose only active NHL client is now Lightning forward Gabriel Fortier, per PuckPedia. Brisson won’t have any say in Couturier’s compensation anytime soon – he just finished the second season of an eight-year, $62MM extension that carries him through 2030. However, the change did come in short order after a season that ended poorly for the 12-year veteran, who was unexpectedly scratched by head coach John Tortorella for a pair of games in March as the Flyers were beginning to fall out of the playoff race.

  • Until Lightning captain Steven Stamkos puts pen to paper on an extension, the possibility remains that last night’s Game 5 loss to the Panthers was his last in a Tampa uniform. Speaking to reporters after their first-round elimination, head coach Jon Cooper spoke briefly about his future, saying he hopes there won’t be much conversation about it. “He belongs here. We know it, he knows it… I don’t know what’s gonna happen, but he feels like a Bolt for life. Only he and Julien [BriseBois] can answer that one,” he said. Stamkos, one of the top pending UFAs, said last night that the thought of playing in his final game in Tampa “never crossed my mind” as Florida increased their lead late in a 6-1 win. During training camp, Stamkos said he was disappointed in the lack of early extension talks between him and general manager BriseBois, which still haven’t occurred.

Atlantic Notes: Raddysh, Fleury, Matthews

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Tampa Bay Lightning reporter Chris Krenn tweeted that Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said defenseman Darren Raddysh is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. The 28-year-old missed game 4 of Tampa Bay’s first-round series last night after he’d averaged over 17 minutes of ice time in the first three games.

The native of Toronto, Ontario spent nearly five seasons toiling in the AHL before emerging this season as a solid depth option for the Lightning. In 82 games this year, Raddysh posted six goals and 27 assists while playing over 19 minutes a game. A late bloomer, Raddysh set career highs in almost every offensive category this season, while still providing the Lightning with solid work in the defensive zone.

In other Atlantic Division notes:

  • Jon Cooper also told Chris Krenn that defenseman Haydn Fleury is healthy and available to play for the Lightning. The former seventh-overall pick hasn’t played since colliding with an official back on April 6th in a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins and did take warm-ups last night with the team. While he is available for game 5, Fleury may serve as a healthy scratch given the depth Tampa Bay has on their back end. Fleury has never lived up to his top-10 draft status but remains a decent depth option for the Lightning should a defenseman go down to injury.
  • TSN’s Chris Johnston tweeted that Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe spoke about superstar Auston Matthews saying that the illness he’s been suffering from has lingered and worsens when he gets on the ice and begins to push himself. Matthews left last night’s game early as the Maple Leafs fell into a deep hole and now trail the Boston Bruins 3-1 in their first-round matchup. The 26-year-old played just 14:16 yesterday, registering a single shot on goal and has just a goal and two assists in four playoff games thus far. Toronto will face elimination tomorrow night in Boston.

Eamon Powell To Play Fifth And Final College Season

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  • Lightning prospect Eamon Powell announced on his Instagram page that he has elected to return for his fifth and final season at Boston College next season. The 21-year-old was a fourth-round pick by Tampa Bay back in 2020 (116th overall) and after a slow first couple of years, he took a good step forward offensively last season, notching 22 points in 36 games.  This season, Powell took an even bigger leap forward, averaging nearly a point per game with 38 in 40 contests which led some to believe he’d turn pro.  Instead, the defenseman will stick around for another year.  Tampa Bay will now retain Powell’s rights through next year instead of having to sign him by August 15th.

Lightning To Activate Mikhail Sergachev From LTIR, Expected For Game 4

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Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev is taking normal line rushes during warmup ahead of tonight’s must-win Game 4 against the Panthers, indicating he’s been activated off long-term injured reserve, per the team’s Chris Krenn. Sergachev has been out since fracturing his fibula and tibia during a game on Feb. 7, and head coach Jon Cooper said earlier this month that he wasn’t expected back until the second round at the earliest. The team later confirmed he’ll be entering the lineup as they try to stave off early elimination against their cross-state rivals.

Sergachev, 25, hasn’t played a full game in over four months. He sustained a lower-body injury against the Blues on Dec. 19 that kept him out of game action through the All-Star break and sustained the freak double-break in his left leg while attempting to lay a hit on Rangers winger Alexis Lafrenière in his first game back.

Those injuries limited the top-four fixture to 34 appearances in the regular season, his fewest as a Lightning. Before his initial injury, Sergachev was struggling to recapture his 2022-23 form that earned him Norris Trophy consideration for the first time. Offensively, his points per game pace dropped from 0.81 to 0.56, and his possession metrics dipped slightly as well. The latter was to be expected, though, after a salary cap crunch forced the Lightning to part with many key depth players after last season.

He was actually on the ice for fewer expected goals against per game at even strength than he was last season, something you wouldn’t glean from his -16 rating. That was tanked due to the majority of Sergachev’s playing time coming while starting netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy was out recovering from preseason back surgery, forcing inexperienced backup Jonas Johansson into most of the starts to begin the year.

Line rushes indicate he’ll be paired with Erik Černák as the Lightning begin to try and climb out of a 3-0 series deficit. The two were routinely partners when Sergachev was healthy this season, playing 238 minutes together in 31 games. Per MoneyPuck, the pair controlled 48% of expected goals when deployed together.

They’ll operate as Cooper’s second defense pairing behind Victor Hedman and Mathew Dumba in Game 4. Dumba moves up alongside Hedman as Darren Raddysh is a late scratch with an undisclosed injury. Raddysh took just two shifts in the third period of Game 3.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Lightning Recall Max Crozier

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The Lightning recalled defenseman Maxwell Crozier from AHL Syracuse on Monday, per a team release. There are no added injury designations to their blue line after yesterday’s 3-2 loss to the Panthers in Game 1 of their first-round series, so he’s only up to provide additional depth over the next few days.

Crozier, 24, received his first NHL call-up on January 12 and debuted the following night, recording one block in 13 minutes of ice time against the Ducks. He played 12 more games throughout the season as he alternated between the majors and minors, totaling two assists, a -2 rating, 7 PIMs and 13 shots.

The 2019 fourth-round pick hasn’t made an NHL appearance since before the March 8 trade deadline, and it’s doubtful he’ll draw into the playoff lineup unless an avalanche of injuries occurs on defense. Syracuse, which finished third in the North Division, wrapped up their regular season with a 5-2 loss to Utica over the weekend. Crozier could be reassigned to them by Friday when they kick off their best-of-five Division Semifinal series against Rochester.

He isn’t the only defender Tampa is adding into the fold for now. Haydn Fleury, who hasn’t played since a mid-ice collision with referee Steve Kozari on April 6, was a full participant in today’s practice and could be an option ahead of Tuesday’s Game 2 in Sunrise, notes the Tampa Bay Times’ Eduardo A. Encina.

Crozier ended his regular season with Syracuse on a tear offensively with 10 points in 10 games but somehow managed to post a -8 rating in that span. That includes a career-high three points against Toronto on April 13, a game he inexplicably finished with a -4 rating as the Crunch lost to the Marlies 6-5 in a shootout.

He wraps up his first professional season with four goals, 17 assists, 21 points, 43 PIMs and a +1 rating in 49 minor-league appearances. The Calgary native signed his entry-level contract in March 2023 after four seasons with Providence College, where he totaled 71 points and a +35 rating in 119 games while serving as captain in his senior season.

Crozier didn’t look entirely out of place in his limited minutes. He didn’t receive tough matchups by any stretch, deployed primarily on bottom-pairing situations alongside rookie Emil Martinsen Lilleberg and averaging 12:56 per game. But his possession numbers were good across the board at 5-on-5, recording a 53.9 CF% and 59.2 xGF%, per Natural Stat Trick. The Lightning controlled 54.9% of overall scoring chances with Crozier on the ice, but none of that was reflected in his actual -2 rating (6 GF, 8 GA).

Listed at 6’1″ and 197 lbs, Crozier has one season left on his ELC with an $867.5K cap hit. He’ll be an RFA in 2025, and the Lightning will retain team control up to the 2027 offseason.

Mikhail Sergachev To Remain Out Of Round One

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  • Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper has shared that Mikhail Sergachev will miss at least Round One, says Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). Sergachev hasn’t played since breaking his leg on February 7th. It was a freak injury that occurred in Sergachev’s first game back from a separate lower-body injury that held him out for two months. He was limited to just 34 games last season, though he did manage a solid 19 points. Sergachev has remained a top defender for the Lightning, averaging over 22 minutes of ice time this season. The Bolts will hope he can return as soon as possible to patch up what is currently a weaker defense group.

Red Wings Notes: Offseason Plans, Sandin Pellikka, Goaltending

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In his end-of-season availability for the press, the General Manager of the Detroit Red Wings, Steve Yzerman, had plenty to share about his team’s progress this year. After an 11-point bump from last season, the Red Wings tied for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with the Washington Capitals but were on the outside looking in due to the Capitals earning more regulation wins.

Being very non-committal about any dramatic changes coming to the roster, Yzerman did mention that forward Jonatan Berggren and defenseman Albert Johansson are already on the short-list to make the roster out of training camp for the 2024-25 NHL season (Article Link). A rumored trade candidate at this year’s deadline, Yzerman may be vocalizing his belief that Berggren is an NHL-ready talent, to boost his trade value to the 31 other teams.

Of the four forwards on the roster set to hit unrestricted free agency this summer, Yzerman is giving strong consideration to extending veteran David Perron. Not quite the player he used to be throughout his tenure with the St. Louis Blues, Perron is a valuable locker-room presence and scored big goals during pivotal moments for the Red Wings down the stretch.

For the other three including Patrick Kane, Daniel Sprong, and Christian Fischer, there is a decent probability that none of the trio will be back in Detroit next season. Now that Kane has proven himself healthy, and Sprong has become a legitimate top-six caliber forward, they may have already priced themselves off Detroit’s roster for next year.

Other Red Wings notes:

  •  One organizational prospect who will most likely not leap to North America next season is Swedish defenseman Axel Sandin Pellikka according to Max Bultman of The Athletic. Originally the 17th player off the board in the 2023 NHL Draft, Sandin Pellikka’s career projections took a massive jump this season as he scored 10 goals and 18 points through 39 games in the SHL. In international play, Sandin Pellikka famously scored two goals and six points in 10 games for Team Sweden at the most recent IIHF World Junior Championships, becoming one of the more impactful players in the tournament.
  • In an article from Helene St.James of the Detroit Free Press, all signs are pointing to Detroit carrying three goaltenders on the roster once again next season. Given that the team already has Ville Husso and Alex Lyon signed into next season, the Red Wings could look to keep James Reimer around for a second year or look to the free agent market for a different option. The trio worked out mildly well for the organization throughout the regular season, as the Red Wings finished with a team save percentage of .897, good for 19th in the league.

Sergachev, Motte, Glendening, Fleury All Skate In Full-Contact Jerseys

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Several injured Tampa Bay players appear to be nearing a return to the lineup.  Team reporter Chris Krenn notes (Twitter links) that forwards Tyler Motte and Luke Glendening along with defenseman Haydn Fleury all took part in a full practice today in advance on Sunday’s series opener against Florida.  Motte missed the final week of the season with a lower-body injury, Glendening was scratched for their regular season finale with an undisclosed injury, while Fleury has been out the last two weeks with an upper-body issue.  All three players play depth roles for the Lightning, the forwards on their fourth line and Fleury as a seventh defenseman; all should see action in the opening round at some point.

Meanwhile, Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times adds (Twitter link) that blueliner Mikhail Sergachev also skated in a regular (full contact) jersey.  He has already been ruled out for the start of the playoffs since undergoing leg surgery back in February but this is certainly a key step toward potentially returning later in the opening round.  Sergachev logged over 22 minutes a night for the Lightning this season and his potential return down the road would undoubtedly give their back end a significant boost.

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