Tampa Bay Lightning again sign another player on a two-year contract

When a team doesn’t succeed in capturing the Stanley Cup, a lot of attention is paid to the negative. Frequently, it gets to the point where certain good things that occurred over an 82-game season are obscured. One of the benefits for the Tampa Bay Lightning was Mitchell Chaffee’s growth. They rewarded that progress on Thursday by giving the 26-year-old a two-year, one-way deal.

In his first continuous NHL season, Chaffee, who was scheduled to be a Group 6 unrestricted free agency this summer, participated in 30 games. Following his call-up, he primarily played on the third and fourth lines, contributing three assists and four goals. It kept him off the scoring in five postseason games.

When Chaffee was still healing from a major knee surgery last July, the Lightning took a gamble on signing him. The former forward for UMass (Amherst) had the credentials to be a successful scorer in the professional ranks, but injuries somewhat hampered his development. Having played briefly in December and January, he began the season in Syracuse, where 26 points in 36 games earned him a permanent call-up in early February. Over the past two seasons, several Crunch forwards haven’t been able to maintain their position in the starting lineup due to their lacklustre play.

He demonstrated this season that, when healthy, he belongs in the NHL, and the Lightning signed him to a one-way contract, seemingly in agreement. Now that he has that contract in his possession, he should be expected to start on the third line in the lineup the next season. A approximate estimate of the lines as they currently stand would look something like this after adding Chaffee to the list of forwards under contract.

Nikita Kucherov – Brayden Point – Brandon Hagel

(Future Perspective)-Conor Sheary – Anthony Cirelli

Mitchell Chaffee, Nick Paul, and Mikey Eyssimont

Tanner Jeannot – Luke Glendening (Future Consideration)

Although Julien BriseBois’ summer to-do list is now complete with the signing, he still has a lot of work ahead of him. With the limit at the anticipated $87,700,00, the Bolts will have roughly $11,785,000 left over to sign five or six more players. Of course, Steven Stamkos is the big name, but there are still some choices to be made.

Along with a space on defence, there are still two openings in the starting lineup that need to be filled (at least the goalies are set to go!). The other pending unrestricted free agents include Haydn Fleury, Austin Watson, Calvin de Haan, Matt Dumba, Anthony Duclair, and Tyler Motte in addition to Stamkos.

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