Tampa Bay Lightning D Luke Witkowski signs with Detroit Red Wings

The Tampa Bay Lightning lose a gritty defenseman today as Bolts d-man Luke Witkowski signs a two-year deal with the Detroit Red Wings.

It’s one thing when one of your favorite players journey down a new path and finds themselves with a new home. It’s a completely different story when said player’s journey leads them straight to one of your Divisional Rivals in which your team has a rather heated history with.

Unfortunately, this is exactly what is going on right here in the Bolts Nation today.

The Detroit Red Wings announced this afternoon they have come to terms with now-former Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Luke Witkowski on a two-year deal. There is both an upside and a downside to this deal. Unfortunately, from a fan perspective, there seems to be much less of an upside.

Tampa Bay Lightning

The downside to this whole scenario is the Tampa Bay Lightning have lost a gritty defenseman who is never one to back down from a challenge. Last season, Witkowski lead the team (along with Jake Dotchin) in Hits per Game with 2.4. In addition to his defensive ability, Witkowski can also play in offensive scenarios as well.

The only real upside for the Tampa Bay Lightning is a little more cap space to re-sign players like Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat (which, where in the world are their contracts, by the way). It may not have been a monumental amount of cap space; however, in the world we live in now, every dollar makes a difference.

Now, there is a serious upside for the 27-year-old defenseman. As some of you may know by now, Luke Witkowski is a native of a little town known as Holland, Michigan. In other words, the next step in Witkowski’s hockey journey is a homecoming for him.

According to Detroit Red Wings Editor Dana Wakiji, Witkowski is rather excited about his next move. “My phone is going absolutely crazy right now. To come home and play for RW is a dream come true.”

In addition to his contributions to the Tampa Bay Lightning last season, Witkowski also served as the captain of the Syracuse Crunch. During his time with the Crunch last season, Witkowski was able to add five assists to his season totals.

Luke Witkowski was originally drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft as the Ninth Pick in the 6^th Round (160^th Overall). It’s been a sheer pleasure to watch him grow and become a veritable force on the ice over the course of the last five seasons.

Next: Tampa Bay Lightning Alumni Brian Boyle headed to the Devils

As with many of the other familiar faces who have found themselves in new homes today, we here at Bolts By The Bay will sincerely miss Luke Witkowski. It’ll be hard to find someone willing to step up and show the kind of grit on the ice he showed night in and night out as a member of the Bolts.