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Lightning Reportedly Place Mikhail Sergachev On Injured Reserve

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The Lightning moved defenseman Mikhail Sergachev to injured reserve on Saturday, veteran Lightning writer Erik Erlendsson reports.

The move is purely for roster management purposes and does not impact Sergachev’s projected return timeline. As head coach Jon Cooper noted today, the team did not plan on Sergachev being available to return from his lower-body injury until December 27 against the Panthers (via Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times). That is the first game the 25-year-old will be eligible to play after missing the seven days required for IR designation. Sergachev last played on December 19 against the Blues.

Sergachev remains listed as day-to-day, and it was noted earlier Saturday that he would not suit up in tonight’s contest against the Capitals. Given the timing of his injury and the league’s holiday break, he will only miss two games after sitting out Thursday’s 5-4 win over the Golden Knights.

With Sergachev sidelined, depth defenseman Haydn Fleury will play just his ninth game of the season tonight in Washington. The 2014 seventh-overall pick made the team out of camp but was sent to the AHL on a conditioning loan last month, his first minor-league action since 2018-19 with the Hurricanes organization. After a brutal campaign last year, Fleury has played well in minimal action, recording four points and a +5 rating while averaging 14:34 per game. However, the 27-year-old’s possession numbers have been worse than average compared to his teammates for the third straight season.

Sergachev hasn’t played quite at last season’s level. In 2022-23, his positive possession impacts and career-high 0.81 points per game earned him a couple of Norris Trophy votes for the first time. Still, with two goals and 19 points in 33 games this year, his 0.58 point-per-game pace is the second-best of his career. While his -15 rating may sound some alarm bells, his possession numbers have remained above water. Considering Lightning netminders have a .874 SV% with Sergachev on the ice at even strength, play in the crease is likely artificially deflating his rating.

Mikhail Sergachev (Lower Body) Won't Play Against Washington

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  • Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev will miss tonight’s game against Washington, notes NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti (Twitter link). The 25-year-old missed Thursday’s victory over Vegas due to a lower-body injury and did not accompany the team on this trip.  Head coach Jon Cooper noted that the hope is that Sergachev will be ready to return after the holiday break.  His production is down a bit this season compared to his 64-point outing last season but Sergachev still has 19 points in 33 games so far.

Sean Day Recalled

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  • The Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled defenseman Sean Day from their AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. Day has been recalled to serve as the team’s seventh defenseman, which is a role he’s played relatively frequently over the last week or so. Day did play in the Crunch’s contest last night against the Laval Rocket, but otherwise, he has been on the NHL roster for a decent stretch this season. What he hasn’t done so far this year is dress for an NHL game, and he last played in the NHL in 2021-22.

Atlantic Notes: Sergachev, Girgensons, Skinner, Greenway

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Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury and will miss the next “one, maybe two games,” head coach Jon Cooper said Thursday morning (via NHL.com Lightning beat writer Chris Krenn). Sergachev blocked a shot with his left foot early in Tuesday’s win over the Blues and was seen in a boot and scooter yesterday at team facilities, per Diandra Loux of The Hockey News.

With Sergachev confirmed out for tonight’s clash against the Golden Knights and questionable for Saturday against the Capitals, veteran Calvin de Haan is projected to slide into a second-pairing role alongside Darren Raddysh. While they’ll be tasked with more arduous minutes over the next two outings, they’ve been the Lightning’s best defensive pairing by a wide margin this season. Playing over 200 minutes together, de Haan and Raddysh have allowed 1.74 expected goals against per 60 minutes, the best among any pairing in the league with over 100 minutes together, per MoneyPuck.

Through 33 games, Sergachev is off to a rocky start. His two goals and 19 points are second among Lightning defenders behind Victor Hedman, but he’s pacing far below the ten goals and 64 points he scored in 79 games last season. His -15 rating is also the worst of his career.

Other notes out of the Atlantic Division today:

  • Sabres head coach Don Granato issued multiple injury updates today ahead of their clash against the Maple Leafs, saying that veteran forward Zemgus Girgensons practiced for the first time today since sustaining a lower-body injury nearly a month ago but that he won’t return to the lineup until after Christmas (via Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio 550). Girgensons, 29, has missed the team’s last 13 games. The team has gone 4-8-1 in that span. Before the injury, Girgensons was off to a tough start, scoring two goals in 20 games after notching double-digit totals the last three seasons. The longest-tenured Sabres forward signed a one-year, $2.5MM extension to remain in Buffalo last June.
  • Granato also said wingers Jeff Skinner and Jordan Greenway are a “possibility” to return to the lineup tonight, meaning they’ll likely be game-time decisions. Both are currently on injured reserve, but since the Sabres have the cap space to activate them, no corresponding transaction will be needed until after the holiday roster freeze lifts on December 28 to get back under the 23-player limit. Both players returning would give the Sabres a fully healthy top-nine forward group for the first time all season, allowing players like Casey Mittelstadt and Zach Benson to see easier matchups in a third-line role.

Tampa Bay Lightning Reassign Sean Day

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The Tampa Bay Lightning announced today that defenseman Sean Day has been reassigned to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. In a corresponding move, the Crunch reassigned defenseman Zachary Massicotte to their ECHL affiliate, the Orlando Solar Bears.

Day was originally recalled on December 14th, as additional cover for the team as Victor Hedman dealt with an injury. But with Hedman now back, Day’s services on the Lightning’s NHL roster are no longer needed. Day did not dress for the Lightning’s one game that Hedman missed. Instead, Haydn Fleury slotted into the lineup and Day took Fleury’s spot in the press box as the team’s spare defenseman.

Hedman’s return to health and today’s subsequent reassignment to the AHL means Day’s most recent call-up will end without the opportunity to play in another NHL game. The 25-year-old defenseman has two games already on his resume and is undoubtedly hoping to receive more. It’s been a long journey towards the top of an NHL team’s minor-league defensive depth chart for Day, who was a rare “exceptional status” player in his junior hockey days.

Although Day was allowed to join the OHL in advance of his peers, his development stagnated somewhat with the Mississauga Steelheads, Kingston Frontenacs, and Windsor Spitfires. He earned a pro contract with the New York Rangers, the club that drafted him, but spent half of his rookie pro year in the ECHL. After spending the bulk of 2019-20 in the ECHL, Day joined the Syracuse Crunch and immediately made significant progress toward his NHL dream. He scored 40 points in 69 games for the Crunch in 2021-22, earning himself two NHL games.

Last season Day’s production fell all the way down to just 14 points in 63 games, though it has recovered somewhat this year. With this reassignment, Day will return from Tampa to resume his top-four role with the Crunch hoping to receive another call-up chance down the line.

As for Massicotte, Day’s call-up opportunity gave him the chance to play in the first AHL games of his season. The six-foot-four 22-year-old defenseman spent almost all of his rookie professional campaign in the ECHL with the Allen Americans, save for four games played with the Belleville Senators.

Massicotte played on the Crunch’s top pairing next to Philippe Myers for the team’s shutout victory over the Utica Comets two days ago, giving him some valuable exposure in the AHL. Just as Day returns to Syracuse with the hope of earning another call-up to Tampa, Massicotte will return to Orlando looking to earn another call-up to Syracuse.

Victor Hedman Out Against Oilers

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  • Bally Sports Florida’s Gabby Shirley reports that 2018 Norris Trophy winner Victor Hedman will not play in tonight’s game against the Edmonton Oilers due to an upper-body injury. It’s unclear if Hedman will miss more time beyond tonight’s game. The legendary 32-year-old defenseman has been one of the league’s best defensemen this season, scoring 27 points in 29 games. Without Hedman in their lineup, the struggling Lightning will face a tall task attempting to beat the Oilers, as Edmonton is riding an eight-game winning streak.

Tampa Bay Lightning Recall Sean Day

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12/14/23: The Lightning today returned Myers and Chaffee back to Syracuse. Chaffee dressed for and played in the team’s 4-1 loss to the Vancouver Canucks two days ago, but Myers did not. Replacing Myers as Tampa’s spare defenseman is Sean Day, who has been recalled from the Crunch.

Day is a 25-year-old left-shot defenseman who worked his way up from the ECHL to become one of Syracuse’s more reliable blueliners. He was most recently listed as a second-pairing defenseman in Syracuse, and has two games of NHL experience. Both of those games came from Day’s best season, 2021-22, when he scored 40 points in 69 games for the Crunch.

12/12/23: The Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled defenseman Philippe Myers and forward Mitchell Chaffee from their AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch.

These are not recalls the Lightning have enough cap space to make without any corresponding moves, according to CapFriendly. So CapFriendly notes that the team has likely shifted injured forward Conor Sheary from regular injured reserve to the long-term injured list, a move that would effectively clear as much as $2MM in cap space for the team to work with.

Myers, 26, is a smooth-skating six-foot-six right-shot defenseman who has played most of this season in the AHL for the Crunch. He’s played in one NHL contest this season, a November 14th shutout loss to the St. Louis Blues, and has otherwise played in a minutes-eating role for the Crunch.

A veteran of over 150 NHL games, Myers will provide some cover on defense for the Lightning in case any of its blueliners are unavailable tonight for the team’s game against the Vancouver Canucks.

As for Chaffee, the 25-year-0ld has, unlike Myers, not yet made his Lightning debut. Signed out of the Minnesota Wild organization over the summer, Chaffee is currently tied with Gage Goncalves for the Crunch scoring lead with 19 points in 21 games.

Chaffee missed most of last season with a knee injury, an ailment that limited him to just 10 games played. It’s possible that injury is what caused the Wild to opt not to tender Chaffee a contract in the offseason, but so far that decision has been to the Lightning’s benefit.

Chaffee has been one of the Crunch’s most important players and could end up providing some scoring ability in a depth role should he be called upon to play NHL games for the Lightning.

Tampa Bay Signs Ethan Gauthier To ELC

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The Tampa Bay Lightning have announced that they’ve signed forward Ethan Gauthier to a three-year, entry-level contract. The 18-year-old was selected 37th overall by Tampa Bay in the 2023 NHL entry draft and is currently playing in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League where he is an alternate captain of the Drummondville Voltigeurs.

Gauthier is in his third season in the QMJHL, and currently has 13 goals and 17 assists in 28 games and will continue to play in Drummondville for the rest of this season. Over the course of his major junior career, Gauthier has amassed 61 goals and 77 assists in 159 career games split between the Voltigeurs and the Sherbrooke Phoenix.

Born in Phoenix, Arizona, Gauthier is a Canadian national as his father was long-time NHL defenseman Denis Gauthier who is mostly known for his time with the Calgary Flames and Philadelphia Flyers. Denis also played for Drummondville during his time in the QMJHL and was in Phoenix during the NHL lockout back in 2005 when Ethan was born.

Ethan played for Canada’s U18 team during the Hlinka Gretzky Cup last year and had a very strong showing as he registered six goals and an assist in five games.

At this point Gauther has shown the Lightning enough to warrant an ELC, and if his development continues on a similar trajectory he could be an important piece for Tampa Bay moving forward. His new deal will begin in the 2024-25 season.

Victor Hedman Out Day-To-Day

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The Tampa Bay Lightning have announced that star defenseman Victor Hedman will be out of the lineup day-to-day. The news came just minutes before the team is set to hit the ice to take on the Vancouver Canucks. Hedman was considered a game-time decision earlier in the day and will not dress this evening. Tampa Bay did not provide specifics on the ailment, simply calling it an upper-body injury at this time.

The Lightning have dealt with several injuries to key contributors this season and will now have to deal with one to their top defenseman. Hedman has been on a tear offensively in the first third of the season, registering five goals and 22 assists in 29 games. While those numbers are certainly impressive, context is important. 16 of Hedman’s 27 points have come on the power play as Hedman’s even-strength numbers have not been as strong this season when compared to previous years. Part of that could be that the Lightning aren’t icing as competitive of a team, but Hedman’s play does raise the question as to whether he has been dealing with an underlying issue.

With Hedman out of the lineup, Mikhail Sergachev will likely slide into his spot of the top defensive pairing as well as on the power play. His minutes will likely increase as could Carp, Ontario’s Calvin de Haan who will likely see a bump into the Lightning’s top 4.

If Hedman is out long-term, the Lightning may have a tough time replacing his minutes, which would not be good news for a team that is sitting outside of the playoff picture at the moment.

Lightning Assign Cole Koepke To Minors

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The Lightning reassigned forward Cole Koepke to the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch on Monday, per a team release. Koepke, who has been on the Lightning’s roster for nearly a month, had been a healthy scratch in four of the last five games.

Head coach Jon Cooper utilized Koepke extremely sparingly since his November recall, never icing him for more than ten minutes in any of his eight appearances this season. The 25-year-old winger managed to record two assists and seven shots on goal nonetheless after recording six points in 11 games with Syracuse to begin the season.

A 2018 sixth-round pick, Koepke was a surprise inclusion on the Lightning’s opening-night roster last season after spending all of 2021-22 in the minors. After scoring just once in 17 contests, however, the Lightning returned Koepke to Syracuse in December, where he remained for the balance of the season.

His offensive production in Syracuse disappointed the rest of the day, recording seven goals and 19 points in 52 games despite scoring 20 goals the season before. Despite that, the Lightning decided to extend Koepke before his contract expired last summer, signing him to a one-year, two-way deal with a guaranteed salary of $150K in June.

Koepke’s return to the minors suggests captain Steven Stamkos could be able to return from an illness tomorrow against the Canucks. The Lightning dressed 11 forwards (including Koepke) and seven defensemen in their last game, holding Stamkos out of the lineup and making enforcer Austin Watson a healthy scratch.

The Minnesota-born winger will be eligible for salary arbitration if he reaches restricted free agency next summer.

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