Tampa Bay Lightning Recall Cole Koepke
The Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled forward Cole Koepke from their AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch.
As reported by the Tampa Bay Times’ Eduardo A. Encina, this recall “serves as an indication that Anthony Cirelli may not be available” for the team’s game today against the Edmonton Oilers. Cirelli left the Lightning’s last game after taking a puck to the upper body.
The Lightning recalled Koepke rather than Waltteri Merelä, who they just sent down yesterday. This could be to give Merelä some continuity with one team, as well as to potentially give Koepke the chance to play in his first NHL game this season.
Koepke, 25, is a hard-working 2018 sixth-round pick who rode a breakout 2021-22 campaign to 17 NHL games the following season. He didn’t score much at all last year, though, managing just one point at the NHL level and 19 in the AHL.
So far this season, Koepke has six points in 11 games for the Crunch. At six-foot-one, 200 pounds, Koepke doesn’t offer the imposing size that Merelä brings, though he does play with quite a bit of energy. He averaged just over nine minutes of ice time per game in his NHL run last season.
Tampa Bay Lightning Re-Sign Cole Koepke
The Tampa Bay Lightning re-signed forward Cole Koepke to a one-year, two-way contract today, the team said in a media release.
Koepke, 25, was a surprise name on the Lightning’s opening night roster for the 2022-23 campaign. A sixth-round pick in 2018, Koepke registered just one goal in 17 games, however, and then was sent to the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch for the rest of the season after Anthony Cirelli returned from offseason shoulder surgery. There, he took a significant step back offensively from his 2021-22 minor league totals, registering seven goals and 12 assists for 19 points in 52 games.
The Lightning did not release details of the contract.
Tampa Bay hopes 2022-23 was a temporary dip in Koepke’s production, although he’s likely just a year or two away from reaching the top of his development curve. With more seasoning in Syracuse next year, the Lightning would like to see production closer to his last two seasons at the University of Minnesota Duluth, where he notched 56 points in 62 games across his sophomore and junior seasons before turning pro at the end of 2020-21.
Koepke was a pending restricted free agent and eligible for arbitration. Per CapFriendly, he was due a qualifying offer of $787,500 on a one-year deal if an agreement wasn’t reached before the June 30 deadline.
Lightning Assign Cole Koepke To AHL
With Anthony Cirelli close to returning, the Lightning need to open up both salary cap and roster space to bring him back onto the active roster. They made one of those moves this morning as they announced that they’ve sent winger Cole Koepke to AHL Syracuse.
The 24-year-old didn’t have any NHL experience heading into this season but made the roster out of training camp and has played close to a full-time role to this point. Koepke has suited up in 17 games for Tampa Bay this season, logging a little over nine minutes a game on the fourth line while chipping in with a goal and 22 hits.
Last season, Koepke was a productive forward with the Crunch, notching 20 goals and 19 helpers in 69 contests and at this stage of his development, a chance to play a much more prominent role in the minors will likely be beneficial.
Tampa Bay will have to wait to find out the fate of defenseman Philippe Myers for a few more hours. He was placed on waivers yesterday and his potential demotion coupled with Koepke’s return will give the Lightning just enough cap space to be able to activate Cirelli.