Tampa Bay Lightning prospect F Byron Froese signs 2-year deal with Canadiens
Tampa Bay Lightning prospect forward Byron Froese, who was originally acquired in a trade for Lightning forward Brian Boyle has signed a two-year deal with the Montreal Canadiens.
The NHL’s Free Agency Period is a busy time for each and every one of the now-31 clubs in the league. Much to the dismay of hockey fans around the world, this is the time of year when players come and go, and a new landscape is formed prior to the start of the upcoming season.
When things start to get interesting is when a particular storyline seems to come full circle. This happened right around this time last season when the Tampa Bay Lightning signed forward Cory Conacher to a one-year deal. As most of you will remember, Cory Conacher was traded to the Ottawa Senators in 2013 in exchange for a largely untested (at the time) goaltender named Ben Bishop.
Ironically enough, these two would only cross paths for a short period of time as Ben Bishop would be traded to the Los Angeles Kings on February 26. In this case, the circle of life had finally come full circle.
Tampa Bay Lightning
It seems the Tampa Bay Lightning has another such storyline going on here in the Bolts Nation right now. Yesterday afternoon, Montreal Canadiens General Manager Marc Bergevin announced via the Canadiens’ official site the organization had come to terms with prospect forward Byron Froese on a two-year contract.
The timing is very coincidental here. As most Lightning fans will recall, the Bolts received Froese (whose name is pronounced FRAYZ) in a trade that saw much-loved Lightning forward Brian Boyle make his way to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Just as Tampa Bay Lightning fans are making a social media push to get Lightning Vice President and General Manager Steve Yzerman to bring Boyle back to the Bolts Nation (which sadly did not come to pass,) the piece of the puzzle we received in exchange for Boyle is headed to a new home.
Froese was definitely a busy man last season. The 26-year-old center spent a majority of his time with the Toronto Marlies, the AHL affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs. In the 48 games Froese suited up for with the Marlies, he was able to notch 24 goals and 15 assists for a total of 39 points.
After making the jump to the Lightning organization, Froese would play six games with the Syracuse Crunch. In this amount of time, Froese was able to add another three goals and four assists to his season totals.
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Froese did have any opportunity to hit the ice in the NHL last season, both with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Tampa Bay Lightning. Froese suited up for two games with Toronto and four games with the Lightning. Unfortunately, he was not able to make his way to the scoreboard for either team.
As we mentioned before, another compelling storyline has come to a close here in the Bolts Nation. This is not the first move the Lightning have made since the doors opened on the NHL Free Agency Period, and you can bet your bottom dollar, it won’t be the last.
Next: Lightning Sign Chris Kunitz to 1-Year Deal
There are plenty of contracts still in need of signing, so hold on tight as the adventure continues. It’s clear Yzerman has a plan in play. It may not make sense to us all yet, but as the dust begins to settle, we’re sure the bigger picture will come into view.