- Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov’s meteoric season continued last night, recording three assists against the Wild to reach 500 in his career. He remains third among active Russian players in the stat, trailing future Hall-of-Famers Evgeni Malkin and Alex Ovechkin by a significant margin. While the Lightning’s .567 points percentage would have them out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, Kucherov has been pulling his weight and then some this season. His 28 goals are fourth in the NHL, his 47 assists are second, and his 75 points in 44 games give him a slim lead on Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon for the lead in the Art Ross Trophy race.
Lightning Rumors
Afternoon Notes: Ullmark, Sergachev, Fleury, Kochetkov
NHL.com reports that Boston Bruins netminder Linus Ullmark is set to return in a backup capacity when the Bruins take on the Colorado Avalanche this evening. Ullmark hasn’t played since a 4-3 overtime loss to the Arizona Coyotes on January 9 as he has been dealing with a lower-body injury. Ullmark will backup starter Jeremy Swayman who has been excellent in his absence. Swayman had a 31-save shutout on Monday over the New Jersey Devils and continues to put up terrific numbers. Ullmark on the other hand had cooled off in early December but was able to finish off 2023 strong capping off a historic year for the 30-year-old. No word yet on when Ullmark is expected to start again, but given that he is backing up Swayman this evening one would think it should be soon.
Other notes from around the league:
- Both Haydn Fleury and Mikhail Sergachev are likely to miss a few more weeks, as Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper shares that neither are expected back before the break for February 3rd’s All-Star Weekend. Both players are on long-term injured reserve, as Fleury deals with a hand injury and would be eligible to return as soon as January 25th, though he hasn’t recovered fully just yet, while Sergachev nurses a lower-body injury that’s already held him out of 11 games.
- Carolina Hurricanes fan-favorite Pyotr Kochetkov is getting better from his concussion, returning to team practices for one-on-one work with the team’s goalie coach, shares team reporter Walt Ruff. But despite the return to the ice, Ruff shares that there is still no timetable for Kochetkov’s return to the lineup. Kochetkov last played in January 11th’s matchup against the Anaheim Ducks, saving 10 of 13 shots before leaving the game early. Ducks goaltender John Gibson also left that game early with injury.
Stamkos Will Not Be Traded This Season
Before the start of the 2023-24 regular season, captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Steven Stamkos, rather publicly voiced his frustration with the Lightning organization, primarily over the fact that the team had not yet approached him about a contract extension beyond this season. Although Stamkos had not found his name in any trade speculation up to this point, if Tampa Bay were to fall out of playoff contention by the trade deadline, it would be a reasonable conclusion given the events that took place over training camp.
However, even after succinctly explaining that the Lightning organization would wait until after this season to address the future of Stamkos with the organization, the General Manager of Tampa Bay, Julien BriseBois, states that the team has no interest in moving Stamkos in a trade. This morning, Joe Smith of The Athletic reported that the Lightning would not be moving Stamkos for any reason and that the team envisions Stamkos in Tampa Bay beyond this season.
It shouldn’t be too difficult for the Lightning to retain Stamkos, as it is more than likely he will earn a decrease to his current $8.5MM salary. However, if Tampa Bay believes they are due for a transitionary period as an organization, they may view the available cap space as more prudent than bringing back their long-time captain on another contract.
Lightning Recall Three Players From AHL
The Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled a trio of players from the AHL. Defenseman Philippe Myers and Maxwell Crozier were both assigned to the Syracuse Crunch just two days ago, making their transactions effectively paper moves. However, forward Waltteri Merelä was the third recall and has been in the AHL since mid-November.
Tampa Bay had a four-day gap between games and opted to return Myers, Crozier, and forward Gage Goncalves to the AHL where they were able to dress for Syracuse in a 5-4 win over the Utica Comets yesterday. With Tampa Bay back in action on Thursday night against the Minnesota Wild, the Lightning have opted to recall the two defensemen and a different forward in Merelä.
Merelä earned his recall after a two-month stretch with the Crunch. He has dressed in 23 games with Syracuse and has six goals and 10 assists during that time. He has been on a heater as of late with four goals and three assists in his last five games. During an NHL stretch earlier in the season, the 25-year-old was held pointless in 14 games but did provide some physicality in Tampa Bay’s bottom six with 18 hits during his recall.
Merelä is in his first season in North America, after playing in his native Finland during the first five years of his professional hockey career. It will be interesting to see what types of adjustments he has made since going to the AHL and if it can translate to the NHL game. Merelä has also had a few more months of living in North America which may also help his comfort level in this NHL recall.
Lightning Reassign Three To AHL
The Lightning have reassigned right defensemen Maxwell Crozier, Philippe Myers and left winger Gage Goncalves to AHL Syracuse, vice president and GM Julien BriseBois said today.
With Tampa Bay now in a four-day break until their next game, they’ve opted to send the three recent call-ups to the minors to make them eligible to play in Syracuse’s game tomorrow against Utica. They’ve combined for only seven NHL games this season.
Crozier, 23, was called up from Syracuse on Friday after top-four blueliner Erik Černák was listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury for the second time this month. He made his NHL debut in yesterday’s 5-1 drubbing of the Ducks, recording one blocked shot in 13 minutes of ice time alongside another recent Syracuse call-up, Emil Martinsen Lilleberg. Crozier, a fourth-round pick of the Lightning in 2019, remains waiver-exempt.
This move ends the third recall for Myers, 26, since he was waived and assigned to Syracuse early in October before the season began. He can be on the Lightning roster for nine more days before he’ll need waivers again to return to the minors. A pending UFA with a $1.4MM cap hit this season, Myers was a healthy scratch in three straight and hadn’t played since January 6 against the Bruins. He has a -2 rating and six shots on goal in four games with the Bolts this year, averaging 13:08 per game.
Goncalves also returns to Syracuse, ending his first in-season recall. The 22-year-old played in his first two NHL games after he was summoned from the minors on Thursday, recording a lone shot attempt and six PIMs while averaging 9:58 per game. His unit with Tyler Motte and Conor Sheary was pristine defensively in an extremely small sample size, failing to allow a single expected goal against in just over 13 minutes together, per MoneyPuck. The team’s 2020 second-round pick now looks to build on his team-leading 23 assists and 30 points in 33 games with Syracuse.
Whether all of these three are recalled back to Tampa later this week depends on the health of Černák and winger Tanner Jeannot, who is listed as week-to-week with a lower-body injury but is eligible to come off injured reserve ahead of their next game, which takes place on January 18 against the Wild. The transactions bring the Lightning’s roster size down to 20, including the injured Černák.
Erik Cernak Day-To-Day, Lightning Recall Maxwell Crozier
The Tampa Bay Lightning have announced that they’ve recalled right-shot defenseman Maxwell Crozier from their AHL affiliate the Syracuse Crunch after the team told Lightning reporter Chris Krenn that defenseman Erik Cernak is day-to-day. The 23-year-old Crozier was originally drafted by the Lightning in the fourth round of the 2019 NHL entry draft and is looking to make his NHL debut should he get into the lineup during his recall.
The Calgary, Alberta native played his college hockey at Providence College prior to being drafted and is in his first full season in the AHL. He wrapped up his NCAA career just last season and did sneak in nine games with the Crunch towards the end of the year, notching three assists. In 24 AHL games this year, Crozier has a goal and six assists and is +5.
Crozier’s recall comes one day after Lightning defenseman Cernak was forced to leave a game due to an upper-body injury. Cernak has dealt with injury woes on several occasions over the past year and was only in his second game back from another upper body injury that he suffered on December 31st against the Montreal Canadiens. Cernak missed four games with that injury.
The 26-year-old has five assists in 39 games this season and was a huge part of their back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2020 and 2021.
Tampa Bay Lightning Recall Gage Goncalves
The Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled forward Gage Goncalves from their AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch.
Set to turn 23 in just a few days, this recall puts Goncalves in a position to potentially make his NHL debut in the middle of his third full season in Syracuse. Goncalves has been a true developmental success story for a Lightning organization that has seen its crop of impactful forward prospects thin in recent years.
A late second-round pick at the 2020 draft, Goncalves spent the year after he was drafted playing in the WHL. He moved to pro hockey in 2021-22, scoring 17 goals and 32 points for the Crunch in a top-nine role. He moved into the top-six full-time last season and scored 13 goals and 54 points, as well as five points in five postseason games.
So far this season, Goncalves has become the centerpiece offensive player for the Crunch and the team’s first-line center. He’s already up to seven goals and 30 points in 33 games, and he recently was named to his first AHL All-Star game.
At the moment, it’s not immediately clear where Goncalves would slot into the Lightning lineup. The natural center is going to have a tough time displacing one of the team’s entrenched pivots (Anthony Cirelli, Nick Paul, and Luke Glendening appear to have their roles locked down) but perhaps he can get his start on the wing in place of a less established winger such as former Crunch teammate Alex Barré-Boulet.
But seeing as forward Tanner Jeannot is out indefinitely due to injury, the Lightning before Goncalves’ recall had just 12 healthy forwards on their active roster. If nothing else, Goncalves’ recall gives the club a spare forward in time for tonight’s game against the New Jersey Devils.
Erik Cernak To Return To Lineup Tonight
- In their matchup tonight against the Los Angeles Kings, the Tampa Bay Lightning will be welcoming back defenseman Erik Cernak, according to Eduardo Encina of the Tampa Bay Times. Cernak has missed the last three games for the Lightning, suffering an upper-body injury on the team’s New Year’s Eve game against the Montreal Canadiens. Primarily a shutdown defenseman, Cernak has skated in 37 games for Tampa Bay so far this season, tallying five assists in an approximate average of 19 and a half minutes of ice time per night.
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What Your Team Is Thankful For: Tampa Bay Lightning
As the holiday season approaches, PHR will be taking a look at what teams are thankful for in 2023-24. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Who are the Lightning thankful for?
The Tampa Bay Lightning are having a modest season by their standards but that hasn’t meant anything for their star winger, who currently leads the NHL with a comical 67 points in 40 games. That includes 28 goals, a mark that’s ranked second in the league. The 30-year-old Kucherov is on pace for a staggering 57 goals and 137 points which would both be career-highs. While the Lightning are working on extending their reign over the playoffs, Kucherov is working on solidifying his spot as a franchise legend, now in his sixth consecutive season of either scoring, or being on pace for, 100-or-more points. He confidently ranks fourth in all-time Lightning scoring but has the highest point-per-game pace (1.16) in the club’s history. Kucherov also leads all Russian players in points-per-game and broke into the Top 10 in career scoring among Russian NHLers this season.
Kucherov is chasing yet another Hart Trophy, four seasons after his 2019 win, and will undeniably be one of the biggest pieces of Tampa’s push for the playoffs in the second half of the year.
What are the Lightning thankful for?
Plenty of offense.
Tampa’s .524 winning percentage is the lowest the team has had since the 2012-13 season but their defining trait remains the same – their undeniable star talent. Every Lightning leader is performing as expected, with Kucherov’s league-leading season being matched by Brayden Point’s 42 points in 41 games, Victor Hedman’s 39 points in 39 games, and Steven Stamkos’ 38 points in 38 games. Even Brandon Hagel has joined in on the fun, recording 32 points in 41 games of his own. The team’s top-six is certainly fueling each other, helping boost up some scoring totals, but the reliability offered by such consistent top-end scoring has willed Tampa through a shaky start to the year.
The quartet has helped Tampa score the seventh-most goals in the NHL this season, keeping the league’s most notorious offense alive despite a year of lesser success. They’re also pulling forward what is a top-heavy forward group, with Tampa boasting four forwards with 30-or-more, and four with 10-or-fewer, points on the season. While depth scoring has been a key piece of many recent Stanley Cup wins, the Lightning’s top brass is showing that scoring will never be too much of a concern.
What would the Lightning be even more thankful for?
Prime Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Andrei Vasilevskiy is the only star with question marks surrounding him. The netminder returned from an early-season injury in late-November. He struggled in his first four games, allowing 14 goals on 99 shots, but bounced back to form with a 25-shot shutout in his fifth game back. He finished December and started January strong, recording a .914 save percentage across his next 13 games, but recently allowed the Boston Bruins six goals on 26 shots, bringing his season totals to a meager 9-9-0 record and .895 save percentage. The 29-year-old has only made 18 appearances this season, and found a strong streak through December, hopefully suggesting that his season struggles are more a result of a contested start to the season than anything else.
Tampa has allowed the fourth-most goals this season, and the sixth-most on a per-game basis, despite facing a league-average 30.5 shots-against per-game. While they certainly didn’t start the year with the ideal goaltending situation, they’ll need to see Vasilevskiy truly snap back to form if they want to continue their reign of dominance.
What should be on the Lightning holiday wish list?
Good health.
In a year where plenty of teams are hoping for a new top-six forward, star defenseman, or starting goalie in their giftbox, Tampa can calmly hope for good health above all else. Injuries have not been the team’s friend this season, with Vasilevskiy, Stamkos, Hedman, and Kucherov missing at least one game earlier in the year and Mikhail Sergachev, Erik Cernak, and Tanner Jeannot all currently out of the lineup. The team is even without one of their few NHL signings this summer, as Logan Brown has been out the whole season with an undisclosed injury. Vasilevskiy’s up-and-down season has underlined just how important being consistently in the lineup is for Tampa’s chemistry.
Tampa is currently well outside of a playoff spot, ranked behind four teams for the Eastern Conference’s second Wild Card. What’s worse – the Bolts have played in the most games of any NHL team. Time is not on their side but Tampa has shown their stars can do enough to will the team forward… when they’re all healthy. They will need to maintain that health for the rest of the season if they want to pull themselves up the standings in the second half of the year.
Tampa Bay Lightning Make Several Roster Moves
01/08/24: The Lightning have now reassigned Thompson back to the Crunch. The 21-year-old made his NHL debut in Tampa’s 7-3 loss against the Boston Bruins on Saturday.
Skating as the Lightning’s seventh defenseman, Thompson received 11:39 time-on-ice in which he managed one shot on goal, two hits, and had a 32.59% expected goals share when on the ice according to Natural Stat Trick.
01/05/24: The Tampa Bay Lightning have announced that defensemen Emil Martinsen Lilleberg and Jack Thompson have been recalled from their AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, while Sean Day and Declan Carlile have been sent down.
Day and Carlile were recalled yesterday, in the aftermath of Mikhail Sergachev’s placement on long-term injured reserve. As has been a trend for Day, his recall allowed him to serve as a healthy-scratched spare blueliner, but he did not dress for the Lightning’s game. Day has been up and down from the Lightning roster frequently over the last few weeks, and the last game he’s actually played in was on December 20th.
Carlile, 23, actually did get to play and made his NHL debut last night. He skated in almost 11-and-a-half minutes of ice time in yesterday’s game, and while he didn’t end up scoring his first NHL point he did manage two blocked shots, a hit, and a plus-one rating.
Replacing Carlile on the roster (and potentially on Tampa Bay’s third pairing) is 21-year-old Thompson, a right-shot 2020 third-round pick. Thompson is in the midst of his sophomore pro campaign and has had a strong start to the year in Syracuse, scoring 20 points in 31 games. He could make his NHL debut for Tampa tomorrow in Boston.
Although he’s a left-shot blueliner and Carlile’s spot in the lineup was on the right side, there’s a chance that Martinsen Lilleberg makes his NHL debut tomorrow instead of Thompson. The 22-year-old Norwegian defenseman was a 2021 fourth-round pick of the Arizona Coyotes who spent the last two years of his career with IK Oskarshamn in the SHL.
The Lightning signed him this offseason and he’s now playing his first career season in North America. He has 12 points in 31 games alongside 45 penalty minutes for the Crunch.