- In a recent article summarizing the end of the season for the Tampa Bay Lightning, writer Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times adds an interesting note about the Lightning’s pending unrestricted free agents heading into the offseason. Although already signing trade deadline acquisition Michael Eyssimont to a contract extension yesterday, it appears that General Manager Julien BriseBois has an interest in retaining all of the Lightning’s soon-to-be free agents, as he has reached out to all of their agents already. Players such as Alex Killorn, Corey Perry, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Ian Cole, and Brian Elliott are all slated to hit the open market on July 1st.
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Lightning Rumors
Tampa Bay Lightning Sign Michael Eyssimont To Two-Year Contract Extension
The Tampa Bay Lightning have announced that forward Michael Eyssimont has been re-signed to a two-year, one-way contract extension. Per the team release, the deal carries an $800k AAV.
The Lightning acquired Eyssimont, 26, in a trade with the San Jose Sharks a few months ago. Before that point, Eyssimont had been claimed off of waivers from the Winnipeg Jets by San Jose. He was set to become a Group Six unrestricted free agent, meaning this contract extension keeps Eyssimont from testing the open market.
Eyssimont is a 2016 fourth-round pick who brings considerable energy to any line he plays on. A former top scorer at St. Cloud State in the NCAA, Eyssimont three middling seasons with the Ontario Reign in the AHL, seasons where he failed to establish himself as a true NHL option.
Eyssimont signed with the Jets in the summer of 2021 and took a step forward with their AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose. Eyssimont scored 42 points in 58 games with Manitoba and earned the right to make his NHL debut. This season, Eyssimont only spent nine games in the AHL before being called up to Winnipeg in November. After earning another shot in the NHL, Eyssimont didn’t look back, turning in quality play for the Jets.
Winnipeg attempted to send him back down to the Moose in January but at that point, Eyssimont had shown enough at the NHL level to entice another club to claim him on waivers. The Sharks did exactly that, and Eyssimont turned in a healthy eight points in 20 games in San Jose before being dealt to the Lightning, a team with designs on competing for the Stanley Cup.
While the Lightning fell in the first round to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Eyssimont’s individual season was far from a disappointment.
In just one season Eyssimont went from little-known AHLer to a well-regarded bottom-six energy player for one of the NHL’s most highly-regarded franchises.
His new contract is a one-way deal, helping his odds of remaining in the NHL for next season, although if he continues to play as he has recently finding a spot on coach Jon Cooper’s roster shouldn’t be a major issue.
For Tampa Bay, this contract locks in a bottom-six player at a highly affordable price. Should Eyssimont take another step forward in his game next season, the two-year term of this contract allows the Lightning to retain him on their roster at an $800k price tag.
It’s a solid bet for Tampa Bay’s front office to make, as well as a nice reward for a hard-working player who has only recently established himself as an NHLer.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Jeff Halpern Linked To Washington Capitals Coaching Vacancy
The Washington Capitals will have a new head coach next season after opting not to renew the contract of Peter Laviolette, as announced last month. Today, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports the Capitals plan to interview former player and current Tampa Bay Lightning assistant coach Jeff Halpern as part of their search process for Laviolette’s replacement.
After retiring as a player in 2014, Halpern amassed eight seasons of coaching experience, all with the Lightning organization. He’s been behind the Lightning bench as an assistant since 2018, meaning he was involved in both of Tampa’s back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2020 and 2021. Before that, he spent three seasons with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch, Tampa’s affiliate, as a development and assistant coach.
Washington moved on from Laviolette after missing the playoffs for just the second time since 2008. In his years as an assistant, Halpern has not missed the playoffs. He helped guide a Crunch team to the Calder Cup Finals in 2017, a year after missing the playoffs altogether, a team that featured a breakout playoff performance from then-prospect Yanni Gourde.
As a player, Halpern played nearly 1,000 NHL games across 14 seasons, accruing 373 points. The center served as Washington’s captain in 2005-06, Alex Ovechkin’s rookie season.
Lady Byng Finalists Announced
The National Hockey League is announcing award finalists this week as they begin to set the stage for the annual NHL Awards at the end of the season. Per a league release, we now know the three players that are up for the Lady Byng Award this season. This award is given out annually to the player who exhibited the most sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct while playing at a high level this season.
Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils is one of the finalists. He finished this season with 43 goals and 99 points in 78 games while putting up just six minutes in penalties. He was the team’s leading scorer and a key reason the Devils made it to the postseason for the first time since 2018. The Devils didn’t just sneak into the postseason either as they finished the regular season with a 52-22-8 record which gives them 112 points in the standings.
Anze Kopitar is also up for the Lady Byng this season. The 35-year-old center had another stellar season for the Los Angeles Kings, scoring 28 goals and 74 points in 82 games while playing great defensive hockey as well. He also had just two minor penalties proving his sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct which goes with his strong play on the ice. Kopitar won this award in 2016 and this is the 16th consecutive season he has received votes for the Lady Byng.
Brayden Point is the third finalist for the award after another strong season for the Tampa Bay Lightning. The 27-year-old center scored 51 goals and 95 points in 82 games and had just seven penalty minutes on the season.
Tampa Bay's Injury List Released
As is typical for any team once they are knocked out of the playoffs, Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times reports that laundry list of playoff injuries sustained by the Tampa Bay Lightning in their opening-round matchup. Throughout the playoffs, most teams usually keep their player’s specific injuries very close to their chest.
Victor Hedman, who would only miss Game Two in the series, was apparently dealing with a hip impingement, and Tanner Jeannot, who would only play three games in the playoffs for the Lightning, had a high ankle sprain. Most impressively, Brayden Point, who had a brutal run into the boards aided by Morgan Rielly in Game Three, had a rib cage cartilage fracture resulting from that play and still managed to play in the rest of the series.
Tampa Bay Lightning Sign Maxim Groshev
The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed forward prospect Maxim Groshev to a three-year entry-level contract, his agent Dan Milstein announced on Twitter Monday. Tampa Bay selected Groshev in the third round of the 2020 NHL Draft with the 85th overall pick. Financial details of the contract have not been reported.
Groshev, 21, has bounced different levels of Russian league play since Tampa drafted him, logging time in the pro (KHL), minor pro (VHL), and junior (MHL) ranks since his draft year. Before Russia was barred from international competition, Groshev represented Russia once at the U18 World Juniors at twice at the U20 tournament, collecting two silver medals.
2022-23 saw Groshev gain his most extensive experience yet in Russia’s top league, scoring six points in 34 games with SKA St. Petersburg. He earned a top-six role in the Russian minors, scoring 18 points in 22 games with the VHL’s SKA-Neva St. Petersburg.
Groshev will likely report to the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch next year to take the next steps in his development. While he remains a strong skater with good size and boasts a middle-six ceiling in the NHL, he needs time in the minors to adjust to the Lightning organization and nail down the fundamentals of his game.
Erik Černák Remains Out For Game 6
- As the Tampa Bay Lightning attempt to climb out of a 3-1 hole and force a Game 7, they’ll still be without shutdown defenseman Erik Černák. Černák hasn’t played since leaving Game 1 due to a hit to the head from Toronto Maple Leafs forward Michael Bunting, and head coach Jon Cooper confirmed today he won’t play in tomorrow’s Game 6. Tampa Bay has allowed over four goals a game in Černák’s absence, including blown leads in both Games 3 and 4.
Remi Elie Linked To Swedish Club
Former Dallas Stars forward Remi Elie could extend his tenure overseas this summer. After spending the 2022-23 season with SHL club Färjestad BK, Swedish outlet Expressen reports that Elie is signing a one-year contract to join fellow SHL team Linköping HC in 2023-24.
Elie last played in the NHL in 2021-22, although it was just a one-game stint with the Tampa Bay Lightning. The 28-year-old was a second-round pick of the Stars in 2013 and has played just over 100 NHL games over the course of four seasons.
He did have one full-time season in the Dallas organization, recording 14 points in 72 games in 2017-18. After that, however, he spent the next three seasons with the Buffalo Sabres, only getting NHL games in 2018-19.
It seems now that a return to North American hockey is unlikely for Elie, who may find a home in the Swedish circuit. The journeyman forward finished ninth on Färjestad in scoring last season with 18 points in 32 games, alongside former NHLers and prospects Joakim Nygard, Theodor Lennstrom, and Ville Pokka.
The Ontario product also has 256 AHL games to his name, recording 121 points across stints with the Texas Stars, Rochester Americans, and Syracuse Crunch.
Injury Notes: Jeannot, Eyssimont, Lizotte
The Tampa Bay Lightning will look to avoid elimination in Game 5 against the Toronto Maple Leafs and will have to do so without their big trade deadline pickup. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that Tanner Jeannot was not on the ice when the team stepped out for warmup, and is dealing with an injury. The Lightning surprisingly traded first, second, third, fourth and fifth round draft picks as well as prospect Cal Foote for Jeannot in February.
Jeannot had one goal and four points in 20 regular season games for the Lightning after the trade, and has been held pointless in three postseason games. He was injured late in the regular season in what looked like a serious injury. Scott Mayfield of the New York Islanders fell on him and his right leg bent in such a way that a broken fibula seemed likely. Jeannot was back in the lineup shortly after, but is apparently dealing with something nagging as he will miss a potential elimination contest.
- While Jeannot is out of the lineup, the Lightning did get some good news as Michael Eyssimont will return to the ice according to Mark Masters of TSN. Eyssimont was also acquired at the trade deadline this season and scored one goal and two points in 15 regular season games with the Lightning. He was injured in Game 1 of the postseason when Jake McCabe hit him in open ice but made a little head contact.
- Out west, the Los Angeles Kings may get some reinforcements to their lineup during the three days off between Game 5 and 6 in their series with the Edmonton Oilers. Zach Dooley of LA Kings Insider reports Blake Lizotte has not played since Game 2 due to a lower-body injury. Lizotte practiced Thursday in a regular white jersey, signalling he is healthy and ready to return to the lineup. He is a key penalty killer on the Kings which is much needed against the dangerous power play of the Oilers, though there is no official confirmation that he will play in Game 6 just yet.
Roman Schmidt Assigned To Syracuse Crunch
- The Tampa Bay Lightning have reassigned one of their prospects, per a team release. Roman Schmidt saw his OHL season end when the Kitchener Rangers were eliminated from the postseason by the London Knights, but his season is not over yet as Schmidt will join the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch. The Lightning’s third round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft scored 28 points in 64 games and provided a big, physical, defensive presence for the Rangers using his 6-foot-5 inch and 216 pound body to win battles and protect his crease. The Crunch currently lead their Best-of-5 Division Semifinal series with the Rochester Americans 2-0.