6:00 PM: PuckPedia reports that Labrie’s AAV will be $770,800 and that the deal contains $500K in games played bonuses. That oddly-specific cap number will be for LTIR optimization purposes while the presence of the performance bonuses will stay in Tampa Bay’s pool when Labrie is inevitably sent to the minors. That will give them some extra flexibility when calling up players on entry-level deals with performance bonuses during the season.
12:50 PM: No, it’s not 2013. The Tampa Bay Lightning are bringing back veteran forward Pierre-Cedric Labrie on a one-year, two-way contract, according to a team release. Financial terms have not been disclosed.
Labrie last played in the NHL in the 2013-14 season, a 13-game stint with the Lightning. Undrafted, the 35-year-old forward has five points in 46 career NHL games, all of which came in a Lightning uniform between 2011 and 2014.
A power forward, Labrie stands at an imposing 6′ 3″ and 227 pounds. He split the 2021-22 season on an AHL contract with the Hartford Wolf Pack and Syracuse Crunch, the latter of which is the AHL compatriot of the Lightning. Labrie tallied six goals, 10 assists, 16 points, and 54 penalty minutes in 56 games after spending the previous two campaigns with Eisbären Berlin in the DEL.
Labrie’s last NHL contract was in 2017-18, signed with the Nashville Predators. He spent the entirety of the season in the AHL and was dealt in a minor-league swap to the Arizona Coyotes in February 2018.
It would be rather shocking to see Labrie get NHL ice this season, but with the organization’s depth continually stripped away as a result of salary cap casualties, it’s not impossible. More than likely, though, he’ll be tasked again with playing a supporting AHL role to the next generation of Lightning players.
Really bizarre, a 35-year old enforcer who hasn’t played an NHL game in 8-years, getting an NHL deal.
Two way deal, he is minor league depth and mentor
My take away was more of the smart move to put performance bonuses in there to create cap space to call up min wage guys and not strap the already thin line between the roster and the cap. If worst comes to worst he sees some ice time in a few NHL games to mitigate some unforeseen injuries.