Do the Tampa Bay Lightning provide Tyler Motte with career stability?

Earlier this week, the Tampa Bay Lightning signed forward Tyler Motte to a 1-year, $800K deal.

This comes after a season with both the Ottawa Senators and New York Rangers. He was fresh off of a 1-year deal with the Sens that lasted last season.

Tampa Bay Lightning: Home sweet home

Motte is now a veteran in the NHL with now seven years under his belt. However, during that span, he has been on the move to different places very often. After some time in Vancouver for a little over four years, he was traded to the Rangers during the 2021-22 season. Then, the next season, he signed a deal with the Senators and was traded back to the Rangers that same season.

Being on the move that often in two years is odd for Motte. He is not necessarily the biggest scorer, but he is still an aggressive player at 28. Last season, in stints with Ottawa and New York, he had 118 hits in 780 total minutes all season on the ice.

No returning Tampa Bay Lightning forward had more hits than him last season.

This aggression fits in nicely with head coach Jon Cooper’s still of fast-paced, ultra-aggressive hockey he has in Tampa Bay. The scoring does not jump off of the page, but it can be there, as he had 8 goals in 2022-23. His shooting percentage was 7.3%, below the Lightning’s team shooting percentage of 10.7%.

But do the Lightning need scorers right now at that position? Tampa Bay is deep with scorers like Brayden Point, Nikita Kucherov, Brandon Hagel, etc. With his defense and aggression, Motte offers a whole new look at the forward spot.

This may allow Motte to be a piece that Tampa Bay will hold onto for many years, with plenty of their forwards getting older.