Tampa Bay Lightning Sign Jeff Tambellini To A One Year Deal

The Tampa Bay Lightning has signed left wing Jeff Tambellini to a one-year two-way contract.

The Tampa Bay Lightning has not made a lot of moves during the Free Agency period, which began on July 1^st, but the moves that the Lightning has elected to make have been interesting to say the least.

After signing former Ottawa Senators right wing Erik Condra to a three-year deal, the Tampa Bay Lightning seems to be adding yet another player to the offense.

Tampa Bay Lightning Vice President and General Manager Steve Yzerman announced via the Tampa Bay Lightning’s official website that the organization has signed left wing Jeff Tambellini to a one-year two-way contract.

This is a rather interesting move for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Steve Yzerman has always contended that he didn’t see a lot of moves being made in the off-season. This probably has a lot to do with the fact that he will need to money in order to work out a deal that will keep Lightning captain Steven Stamkos with the team long term, but we digress.

While Tambellini has spent time in the National Hockey League before, it has been a while since he has taken the ice on an NHL level. The 31 year old Calgary native was originally drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.

After playing just four games with the Kings in the 2005-06 season, Tambellini would find himself as a member of the New York Islanders. He would spend his next five seasons with the Islanders organization.

In the beginning he would split his time between the New York Islanders and their American Hockey League affiliate the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. After his third season with the organization he would find himself spending much more time on the Islanders roster.

In the 2008-09 season Tambellini would suit up for 65 games with the Islanders registering 7 goals and 8 assists for a total of 15 points. In the 2009-10 season, Tambellini would see his games cut in half, suiting up for just 36 games. Surprisingly enough, despite having his games cut in half, he was able to maintain production, bringing home 7 goals and 7 assists for a total of 14 points.

At the conclusion of the 2009-10 season, Tambellini would find himself an unrestricted free agent. This would lead him to a new home in the Vancouver Canucks organization. Tambellini’s time with the Canucks would give him his first taste of the NHL post season.

While he was unable to make his way onto the scoreboard in the post season, he did gain valuable experience by playing in 6 post season games. This would be the last time that Tambellini would play in the National Hockey League before signing with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

For the next two seasons, Jeff Tambellini would find himself playing for the ZSC Lions in the National League A in Switzerland. In his time in the Swiss League, Tambellini would see his play improve greatly.

In the 2011-12 season, he would play in 50 games for the ZSC Lions. In that amount of time, Tambellini was able to record 23 goals and 22 assists for a total of 45 points. Unfortunately, his second season would not be as great. Plagued with injuries throughout the season, Tambellini would only suit up for 27 games with the ZSC Lions.

At the conclusion of the 2012-13 season, Tambellini would once again find himself a Free Agent. This would bring him to Sweden as a member of Modo Hockey.

Last season, Jeff Tambellini would split his time between two teams; Fribourg-Gotteron of the Swiss National League A and Vaxjo Lakers of the Swedish Hockey League.

There are plenty of young players already within the Tampa Bay Lightning organization that are looking for their moment to shine on the main roster. After their play last season one would have to speculate that players like Vladislav Namestnikov and Nikita Nesterov would be battling for a permanent spot on the main roster, which would obviously leave some holes in the Syracuse Crunch.

Given the fact that Tambellini was signed to a two-way contract, it is not out of the realm of possibility that he could find himself filling the gap with the Crunch next season; however, if he really shows what he can do when training camp comes around, there is a possibility that he will have another opportunity to shine on NHL ice.

It will certainly be interesting to see how everything plays out. While we have had our uncertainties in the past, Steve Yzerman has proven time and time again that he knows what he is doing. Therefore, at least for now, we believe in the Yzer-Plan.

What kind of impact, if any, do you think a player like Jeff Tambellini could fit in with the current Tampa Bay Lightning lineup? Do you think he would be better suited as a member of the Syracuse Crunch? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

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