In a season of ups and downs for the Tampa Bay Lightning roster, another member of their blueline was zapped from the roster with an injury. The Lightning announced on Saturday that they have sent defneseman Declan Carlile the injury reverse with what the team described as a “lower-body” injury that will cause him to miss four-to-five weeks, meaning if it’s the latter, the Lightning will be without their defenseman the remainder of the season and would hope he can return in time for the Stanley Cup Playoffs should the Lightning make it in.
Carlile, the left-handed shooter for Tampa Bay has skated in 38 games this season. He has scored one goal, accumulated two assists for three points on the year, with a +5 rating. He averaged 14:37 on ice this season as well in what has been a breakout season for the 25-year old from Michigan.
Signed by the Lightning in 2022, this season was the first that Carlile has been a regular on the ice. He skated in just one game in 2023-24 for the Lightning and three last season. Over the course of three NHL seasons with Tampa Bay he has skated in 42 games, accumulating four points on two goals and two assists, has a career +8 rating and has averaged 14:26 on ice.
Carlile has been known as a player who makes an impact on the ice. The next few games will tell how much his absence affects Tampa Bay.
With Carlile heading to the long-term injured reserved, the Lightning recalled defenseman Steven Santini from the Syracuse Crunch. They also got Nick Paul back from the injured list Saturday as well and he was also activated prior to the Lightning’s Saturday night matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes. Paul missed the last 11 games with a lower body injury. With that, the Lightning return one from a lower-body injury and lose another to a lower-body injury as the roster keeps bouncing around for Tampa Bay.