The Tampa Bay Lightning have reassigned 11 players to the Syracuse Crunch in preparation for the upcoming 2017-18 season.
Slowly, but surely, the moment Tampa Bay Lightning fans have been waiting for is making its way to reality. In just under two weeks, the Lightning will take the ice at the Amalie Arena to officially kick off the 2017-18 season with a battle against their in-state rivals, the Florida Panthers.
Unfortunately, before the Lightning takes the ice to kick off the upcoming season there is a little bit of team maintenance to do. As much as we would love to see every prospect and main roster player take the ice for the Home Opener, the team can only dress so many players. This means there are cuts to be made.
Tampa Bay Lightning Vice President and General Manager Steve Yzerman announced yesterday the Lightning has reduced the size of their Training Camp Roster by 12 players. 11 of the aforementioned players have been reassigned to the Lightning’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch.
The roster was reduced by eight forwards and four defensemen. There were some notable names in the group and others who were among those expected to be sent down before the start of the season.
Forwards
| Player Name | Hockey Club Assigned To |
| Anthony Cirelli | Syracuse Crunch (AHL) |
| Adam Erne | Syracuse Crunch (AHL) |
| Brett Howden | Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL) |
| Mathieu Joseph | Syracuse Crunch (AHL) |
| Tye McGinn | Syracuse Crunch (AHL) |
| Matthew Peca | Syracuse Crunch (AHL) |
| Mitchell Stephens | Syracuse Crunch (AHL) |
| Dennis Yan | Syracuse Crunch (AHL) |
Defensemen
| Player Name | Hockey Club Assigned To |
| Erik Cernak | Syracuse Crunch (AHL) |
| Jamie McBain | Syracuse Crunch (AHL) |
| Ben Thomas | Syracuse Crunch (AHL) |
| Daniel Walcott | Syracuse Crunch (AHL) |
One of the more notable names reassigned was that of Syracuse Crunch forward Adam Erne. Erne played a total of 26 games with the Lightning in the 2016-17 season. In this amount of time, Erne was able to score three goals. This may not seem like a lot on paper, but when the Lightning was down and out due to injuries, Adam Erne, along with many other young players, answered the call valiantly.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Erne had a fairly decent season with the Syracuse Crunch last season. The 22-year-old forward played in 42 games with the Crunch in the 2017-18 regular season. Erne was able to bring home 14 goals and 15 assists for a total of 29 points in his 42 games.
One of the newest additions to the Lightning organization, defenseman Jamie McBain, was reassigned to the Syracuse Crunch as well. McBain was signed on June 1, 2017, as a Free Agent from the Arizona Coyotes organization.
McBain played a total of three games with the Arizona Coyotes in the 2016-17 season, in which he was unable to make his way to the scoresheet. The 29-year-old defenseman played a majority of his season with the Coyotes’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners.
The start of the 2017-18 season is almost upon us. We’re sure there will be plenty of changes in between now and the first game of the season. At this point, it’s all about the team putting their best skate forward and starting off the season right.
Next: Lightning to retire the #4 of Vincent Lecavalier
In order to accomplish this, a team must put the very best team possible on the ice. Thankfully, Steve Yzerman has done a pretty fantastic job of building the Lightning organization into a competitive team at multiple levels. If there is anything we can say with certainty, we definitely see good things in the future for the Tampa Bay Lightning.