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Tampa Bay Lightning Extend Nick Perbix

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The Tampa Bay Lightning continue to turn late-round picks into valuable players, this time getting regular minutes out of sixth-round rookie Nick Perbix. They’ve rewarded the young defenseman with a two-year extension, which will carry an average annual value of $1.125MM.

Perbix, 24, was the 169th pick in 2017, coming out of the high school circuit. There was some early optimism during his year in the USHL but things didn’t really start taking off until he went to St. Cloud State. Over four years, Perbix racked up points while playing in all situations. He performed so well that in 2022, the U.S. Olympic team selected Perbix to join them.

It only took him a handful of AHL games to show that he was ready for a higher level, and in 29 outings for the Lightning this season has eight points. The 6’2″ right-shot defender has skated next to Victor Hedman and is averaging over 15 minutes so far.

For $1.125MM, there’s a lot of upside here for the Lightning with very little risk. If he continues to improve and stays in the team’s top four, he’ll be a huge bargain. If things turn and he struggles, the entire cap hit can be buried in the minor leagues.

Interestingly, because Perbix reached the NHL later than most prospects, he will actually be an unrestricted free agent at the end of this deal. With strong play, he could set himself up for a significant payday when he hits the open market just weeks after his 27th birthday.

Cameron MacDonald Traded In The QMJHL

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  • Lightning prospect Cameron MacDonald is on the move in the QMJHL as Saint John announced that they’ve moved the forward to Gatineau for a pair of draft picks. The 19-year-old was a fifth-round pick by Tampa Bay back in 2021 (160th overall) and is averaging more than a point per game this season with 16 goals and 13 assists in 27 contests.  In order for the Lightning to retain his NHL rights, they’ll have to sign MacDonald by June 1st and how he fares down the stretch with the Olympiques will go a long way toward determining if he’s worthy of an entry-level deal.

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Tampa Bay Lightning

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As we approach the end of the year, PHR continues its look at what teams are thankful for in 2022-23. 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?

Nikita Kucherov.

Yes, he’s healthy, and yes, he’s as good as he’s ever been. Kucherov has shone brightly this season, even among a notoriously strong supporting cast in Tampa Bay. He had played in just over a third of Tampa’s regular season games over the past two seasons, even losing the entire 2020-21 regular season to injury.

But he’s back on his world-beating pace, set to break the 120-point mark once again if he can suit up for a full 82 games. He leads all Lightning with 49 points in 32 games, 11 points ahead of Steven Stamkos. He’s also playing over 21 minutes per game, the highest mark in his NHL career.

The Lightning will have eight players with a cap hit greater than $5MM next season, not including the long-term injured reserve relief of Brent Seabrook. With that kind of top-loaded structure, you need quality depth, and you need your stars to be stars. Kucherov’s performance, especially when healthy, makes his $9.5MM cap hit seem like a bargain, even in this tight salary cap landscape. Continued elite performance from the 29-year-old is crucial in giving the Lightning a chance to remain among the league’s best.

What are the Lightning thankful for?

Financial certainty as the cap rises.

It’s been a delicate dance for the Lightning’s front office over the past few seasons. The team made three consecutive Stanley Cup Final appearances in a time of near-complete financial stagnation for the league, mainly due to their management’s ability to play with fire without getting burned.

In even better news, they’re in a position to get rewarded as the cap rises. They have very few core players to sign to new contracts anytime soon. Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman will need new deals in the next three seasons, but they’ll be 34 and 35 at that time and won’t be able to command much of a raise, if any. Kucherov, Brayden Point, Anthony Cirelli, Mikhail Sergachev, Andrei Vasilevskiy, and even Erik Cernak and Nick Paul are locked in well past their 30th birthdays.

It finally seems like there may be some room to breathe for the Lightning, even if it’s a few seasons away.

What would the Lightning be even more thankful for?

More out of Victor Hedman.

18 points in 30 games aren’t bad by any measure, but Hedman has lost his grip on being the team’s unequivocal number-one defenseman, at least for now.

Mikhail Sergachev has dominated, potting 27 points in 30 games while seeing his usage equal nearly that of Hedman’s across 30 games. But it’s not just points separating the two this season.

Hedman’s main defense partners this year, Erik Cernak and Nicklaus Perbix, each have better defensive metrics paired with different defenders. Neither the Hedman-Cernak pairing nor the Hedman-Perbix pairing has eclipsed a 50% expected goals share this season, according to MoneyPuck’s model. It’s putting more strain on other Lightning defenders to pick up the legwork, and thankfully, they’re delivering.

What should be on the Lightning’s holiday wishlist?

A better backup goalie.

Tampa still has very little maneuverability this season financially, so any trade deadline moves they make will need to be small and effective. Their forward core still makes up the eighth-ranked offense in the league, and their defense is still capable for the most part.

Their most glaring weakness can thankfully be easily addressed. Brian Elliott is 37 years old and, despite a 7-2-0 record this year, has just a .894 save percentage. If any health issue affects Vasilevskiy in the playoffs, it’s likely game over for Tampa in a tight Eastern Conference.

Main photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Mikhail Sergachev Fined $5,000

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  • Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev’s bank account took a little hit today, as he was fined $5,000 for slashing Toronto Maple Leafs forward Michael Bunting last night. That is the maximum allowable fine under the current CBA. While it doesn’t seem like much, the incident will be considered in any future supplementary discipline decisions, and could lead to increased punishment down the line. For Tampa Bay, they at least are escaping Toronto with no suspensions, after being pummeled by the Maple Leafs in a performance head coach Jon Cooper called “a complete bag of you know what.”

Philippe Myers Clears Waivers

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Saturday: Myers has cleared waivers, Friedman reports.  He has been sent to the minors, creating enough cap space for Cirelli to be activated from LTIR.

Friday: The Tampa Bay Lightning have placed defenseman Philippe Myers on waivers, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The team is expected to get Anthony Cirelli back soon, and will need cap space to activate him from long-term injured reserve.

It surprised many when the Lightning decided to keep Myers on the books this summer after acquiring him from the Nashville Predators in the Ryan McDonagh trade. A buyout would have actually given the team a cap credit of more than $616K, for the cost of a $633K penalty in 2023-24. Instead, they decided to not only keep his current deal in place but sign him to a one-year extension. Myers will make $1.4MM next season, after his current $2.55MM cap hit expires.

That kind of money likely means he clears waivers tomorrow, even if he has played okay this year. The Lightning are barely using him, but in his limited minutes, the 6’5″ defenseman does have three points and excellent possession numbers.

It very well may have been the emergence of another right-handed defenseman that could spell the end for Myers in Tampa Bay. Nick Perbix has gone from sixth-round afterthought to full-time NHL option in short order, racking up six points in 17 games so far this season. Those 17 NHL appearances match the total number of professional games he had played before this season, after signing out of St. Cloud State down the stretch. The 24-year-old is waiver-exempt and may still need to be bounced down at some point because of cap concerns, but looks like a piece to keep in Tampa Bay.

Sending Myers to the AHL would not clear his entire contract off the books. Only $1.125MM of the $2.55MM cap hit would be buried. If he is claimed, it would give them enough room to activate Cirelli without making an additional move.

Lightning Activate Anthony Cirelli From LTIR

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As expected, the Lightning will get a big boost to their lineup as head coach Jon Cooper confirmed to reporters including Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link) that they will activate center Anthony Cirelli from LTIR and he will make his season debut tonight when they host Toronto.

The 25-year-old has missed all 23 games of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery back in June following their loss to Colorado in the Stanley Cup Final.  He suffered an AC joint sprain at some point in the postseason.  At the time, it was expected that he’d miss between four and six months; Cirelli will wind up missing a little more than five as a result of the procedure.

Cirelli signed an eight-year, $50MM extension back in July that will run from 2023-24 through 2030-31, meaning he will be a go-to two-way center for Tampa Bay for the long haul.  Last season, he picked up 17 goals and 26 assists in 76 games for the Lightning, the third time in four years that he has picked up between 39 and 44 points.  On top of that, he finished in the top five in Selke Trophy voting for the second time in three seasons; that award is given to the league’s best defensive forward.  Cirelli logged over 18 minutes a game last season but is going to be eased back into the lineup as he’ll play on the third line tonight against the Maple Leafs.

To create the cap room that’s required to activate Cirelli, the team sent winger Cole Koepke to AHL Syracuse earlier today while they waived Philippe Myers on Friday.  If Myers clears, Tampa Bay will be able to clear $1.125MM off their books which will give them just enough room to bring Cirelli onto the active roster.  The Lightning will continue to be in LTIR as Brent Seabrook is on their books through next season with his playing days already having come to an end.

Lightning Assign Cole Koepke To AHL

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With Anthony Cirelli close to returning, the Lightning need to open up both salary cap and roster space to bring him back onto the active roster.  They made one of those moves this morning as they announced that they’ve sent winger Cole Koepke to AHL Syracuse.

The 24-year-old didn’t have any NHL experience heading into this season but made the roster out of training camp and has played close to a full-time role to this point.  Koepke has suited up in 17 games for Tampa Bay this season, logging a little over nine minutes a game on the fourth line while chipping in with a goal and 22 hits.

Last season, Koepke was a productive forward with the Crunch, notching 20 goals and 19 helpers in 69 contests and at this stage of his development, a chance to play a much more prominent role in the minors will likely be beneficial.

Tampa Bay will have to wait to find out the fate of defenseman Philippe Myers for a few more hours.  He was placed on waivers yesterday and his potential demotion coupled with Koepke’s return will give the Lightning just enough cap space to be able to activate Cirelli.

Tampa Bay Lightning Re-Assign Alex Barre-Boulet

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Nov 28: Barre-Boulet has been returned to the AHL after playing in one game with the Lightning.

Nov 25: The Tampa Bay Lightning will bring an extra forward into action tonight against the St. Louis Blues, recalling Alex Barre-Boulet from the minor leagues. Pierre-Edouard Bellemare is away from the team for personal reasons and won’t play.

Barre-Boulet, 25, is once again showing how easily he can dominate the minor leagues, with 24 points in his first 16 AHL games this season. While only four of those are goals, he continues to be one of the top playmakers for the Syracuse Crunch, a role he has held since the moment he stepped foot on a professional hockey rink.

Signed as an undrafted free agent, his scoring touch goes much further back than that even. In his final year with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada of the QMJHL, he racked up 53 goals and 116 points in 65 regular season games. The talented, but undersized, forward is a perfect depth player to have in the system, even if it has only resulted in 31 games of NHL experience to this point.

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare Will Join Team On Upcoming Roadtrip

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As they navigate a cap crunch that has seen key pieces of their core stripped away one by one over time, the Tampa Bay Lightning have had to get more and more creative filling out their lineup. The organization has used a mix of young players in their system developed to their liking and affordable veterans with a winning pedigree to round things out. One of those players is 37-year-old Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, who the team signed to a two-year deal back in 2021.

Recently, Bellemare has been away from the team on a personal leave of absence, the root of which is unknown. Earlier today, Tampa Bay Times reporter Eduardo Encina spoke with Lightning head coach Jon Cooper, who confirmed that Bellemare will join the team on their upcoming road trip, which will travel through Buffalo, Boston, and Philadelphia. It’s unclear if Bellemare, who last played on Monday, is expected to play on this trip. Although the veteran hasn’t been out very long, it’s possible due to the leave that he may not have been able to continue skating regularly and could need an extra couple days to be ready.

Forward Notes: Iafallo, Howden, Balcers

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Some good news is coming in the future for the Los Angeles Kings. LA Kings Insider’s Zach Dooley reports that Alex Iafallo has resumed skating on his own, although head coach Todd McLellan said he “won’t be in the lineup for a little while.”

Iafallo has missed 19 games so far this year with a lower-body injury. He remains week-to-week, and it’s likely another week or two at least before he returns. When he does, though, it’ll be a huge boost for a Kings team still in the playoff mix. The 28-year-old had five points through his first four games and remains a valuable top-nine piece in LA.

  • Vegas Golden Knights forward Brett Howden is out tonight against the Vancouver Canucks after sustaining a lower-body injury in Thursday’s contest against Ottawa. Head coach Bruce Cassidy still isn’t sure about his return, but he said Howden likely won’t travel on the team’s upcoming road trip. That would put him out for at least four games, potentially returning on December 7 against his former team, the New York Rangers.
  • A recent pickup by the Tampa Bay Lightning is set to miss a few games. Forward Rudolfs Balcers, claimed on waivers from Florida earlier in the season, is unlikely to play on the team’s upcoming road trip, according to head coach Jon Cooper. The Bolts’ upcoming three-game swing sees them take on the Sabres, Bruins, and Flyers. Balcers has averaged under seven minutes per game in Tampa and has a goal in his first three Lightning appearances.

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