It’s beginning to be a familiar pattern. While the Tampa Bay Lightning have played well at times in the early part of the season, there have also been times when lackluster play during stretches in games has led to losses that leave people scratching their heads. The latest one came when the Lightning fell to the Chicago Blackhawks at home on Thursday (Nov. 9). Preceding their victory in Montreal on Nov. 7, the Lightning failed to hold on to another lead against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Nov. 6 and fell in overtime.
This once again led to familiar post-game comments from head coach Jon Cooper. “Just egregious turnovers, lack of execution. In the end, we just gave them freebies. This is a tough league to win in if you’re just going to continue to do that. If there was one disappointing part to the game, it was our lack of pushback in the last two periods. That was tough.”
This follows Cooper’s blunt one-liner after the Toronto loss. “The Leafs turned it up a notch, and we sat back and watched them. That was pretty much it.” These losses, combined with Saturday night’s (Nov. 11) shutout at the hands of the Carolina Panthers, it may be time for a roster shakeup.
Time to Give Younger Players a Look
Given these issues, one of the possible solutions is to move on from some of the inexpensive veteran pieces that were signed in the offseason. But let’s be clear: the issue does not solely rest at the feet of these players. This is a team-wide issue that could be helped by the infusion of younger and possibly more energetic talent. This may already be happening to some extent, as the team recently recalled defenseman Phillippe Myers from Syracuse after trading Zach Bogosian to the Minnesota Wild for a seventh-round pick.
The Lightning did the right thing for Bogosian, as the 33-year-old has played limited minutes recently for the Lightning but will have a chance to play regular minutes for the Wild. This will give Myers one more opportunity, and maybe his last, to prove that he belongs in the Lightning lineup. This move may be the first transaction that could signal that the team may be ready to part with some veterans.
Syracuse Has Plenty of Options at Forward
The Lightning’s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate has a handful of players ready to have a shot in the NHL. One of the more interesting names is a newcomer to the Lightning organization, Mitchell Chaffee. In July, the Lightning signed the 25-year-old to a one-year, two-way contract. He was an undrafted free agent signed by the Wild in March 2020. Last season, he played in 10 games for the Iowa Wild of the AHL before a serious knee injury cut his season short. This season in Syracuse, the UMass-Amherst standout has three goals and seven assists and posted his first multi-point game with the Crunch in Saturday night’s (Nov. 11) 6-3 victory over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Felix Robert currently leads the Crunch with a plus-7 and also in points scored. The 24-year-old seems to have an endless motor and is a tireless worker at both ends of the ice, and it is this kind of energy that the Lightning could make use of. Gage Goncalves continues to improve every year and is second on the Crunch in points, building off a solid 2022-23 season in Syracuse that saw him get 40 assists. The 22-year-old is tough on the forecheck and is not afraid of working for a position in front of the opponent’s net.
Daniel Walcott is another player who has made an impression in the early stages of the Crunch’s 2023-24 campaign. The former New York Rangers draft pick has continued his gritty play in Syracuse and has contributed to the scoresheet by scoring five goals with two assists through his first 11 games. It looks like a good time to give the 29-year-old a chance to make an impact for the Lightning. Another name to remember is Maxim Groshev, a third-round pick by the Lightning in 2020. The 21-year-old is starting to adjust to the North American style of hockey after playing three seasons in Russia and has recently demonstrated his speed and tenacity with a two-goal performance in the Nov. 11 win over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Syracuse Provides Options on the Blue Line
In addition to Myers being recalled, the Lightning have Haydn Fleury in Syracuse on a conditioning stint. While not a prospect, the 27-year-old may also get a longer look on the Lightning blue line, especially if the injury to Erik Cernak keeps him out of the lineup for any length of time. The former first-round draft pick of the Carolina Hurricanes does have 246 games of NHL experience over seven seasons between the Lightning, Hurricanes, Anaheim Ducks, and Seattle Kraken. His time in Syracuse has allowed him to shake off the rust of only appearing in two games this season and could provide the jump start needed to allow him to make a significant contribution.
Some prospects who could be considered for opportunities on the Lightning roster include Jack Thompson and Emil Lilleberg. Thompson is regarded as the top blue line prospect in the organization and has followed up a good 2022-23 season with a solid start to this season. The 21-year-old has scored one goal with six assists, but even more importantly, he is a plus-6 in his first 11 games. Like Groshev, Lilleberg is starting to get used to playing in North America and has taken positive strides with each game played in Syracuse. The Lightning signed the Norwegian defenseman to a two-year, two-way contract last June after two successful seasons in the Swedish Hockey League.
Related: Lightning Continue to Struggle Against Maple Leafs
While not quite in the desperation mode that faces teams such as the struggling Edmonton Oilers, the Lightning are in a little bit of a funk now and will need to shake themselves out of it before digging a hole they cannot come back from. One of the ways to do this would be to look at some of their prospects in Syracuse to see if they can help the core group of players get back on track and allow the Lightning to play the kind of hockey we all know they can play.