Lightning Recall Steven Santini
Saturday: Santini’s stint in the minors was short-lived as the team announced that he has been brought back up from the Crunch. He suited up in their loss to Lehigh Valley yesterday, paving the way for him to be brought back up so quickly.
Friday: The Lightning announced today that defender Steven Santini has been reassigned to AHL Syracuse. He is right at the 10-game cutoff for losing his temporary waiver exemption, but has spent less than 30 days on the active roster since last clearing them during preseason, so he doesn’t need them to head back to the minors today. Any subsequent recall and game played will require him to go on waivers at the end of it, though.
Santini, 31, was recalled Tuesday in the wake of Erik Černák sustaining an apparent leg injury. He was scratched for last night’s win over the Red Wings as Darren Raddysh returned to the team from his bereavement leave, but did log 9:21 of ice time against the Blue Jackets earlier this week. The 6’3″ righty managed two shot attempts and one hit but was otherwise held off the scoresheet. His demotion today indicates Černák should be ready to go tomorrow against the Hurricanes after a two-game absence.
He’s now eight years removed from his days as a legitimate depth/bottom-pairing option with the Devils. More of an AHL journeyman now, his 134 games of NHL experience are still attractive to teams like the Lightning if they need him as an injury stopgap, as they’ve done several times this season. This was Santini’s fifth recall of the campaign, resulting in his most NHL appearances in a season since 2018-19.
Once named the Hockey East conference’s best defensive defenseman during his NCAA days with Boston College, he’s still an important stay-at-home conscience for Syracuse, where he has a +10 rating and six assists and 32 games this year while serving as the club’s captain. Signed through next season on a two-way deal, he’ll remain a recall option through then unless he’s claimed off waivers.
Lightning Recall Steven Santini
The Lightning announced today that they’ve recalled right-shot defender Steven Santini from AHL Syracuse. He will step into the lineup tonight against the Blue Jackets after Erik Černák left Sunday’s wild 8-7 loss to the Sabres, falling awkwardly on his leg in a fight at the beginning of the second period, per Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times. Head coach Jon Cooper called Černák day-to-day, per Erik Erlendsson of Lightning Insider, so he isn’t in for an extended absence.
Santini, 31, has been a frequent flyer between Tampa and Syracuse this season. Today marks his fifth recall of the year, but his first since December. A veteran of nine NHL seasons, he joined the Bolts on a two-way deal in free agency in 2024 and signed a two-year extension last June, so he’s still signed through next season. A veteran all-around defender at the AHL level, his nine NHL games this season are already the most he’s played since suiting up a career-high 39 times for the Devils in 2018-19.
The 6’3″ rearguard has been adequate in a short-term support role. He’s only averaging 11:34 of ice time per game, posting an assist and a +1 rating. A physical shutdown defender during his time as a semi-frequent NHL option in New Jersey, he’s not displaying that same penchant for hitting later in his career. His possession numbers at 5-on-5 are also underwater with a 48.1% Corsi share, but he’s riding a 103.6 PDO and has gotten favorable offensive zone usage en route.
Down in Syracuse, he’s the club’s captain and has six assists and a +10 rating in 32 games. Still a high-end defensive threat in the minors, his offense is definitely trailing off. He’s had double-digit points in four straight minor-league seasons, but that streak could come to a close this year.
He was deployed in the lineup earlier this season because there were multiple occassions were the Bolts were missing three or more defenders at a time. They find themselves in a similar pinch now with Černák exiting, Emil Martinsen Lilleberg dealing with a facial fracture, and Darren Raddysh unavailable on bereavement leave following his father’s passing.
Lightning Activate Erik Cernak From LTIR
The Lightning have activated defenseman Erik Černák from long-term injured reserve, Erik Erlendsson of Lightning Insider reports.
Černák will dress on Wednesday against the Ducks for the first time since sustaining a hand injury against the Capitals on Nov. 22. Tampa Bay has ample space in its LTIR pool and opened a roster spot yesterday by placing Scott Sabourin on IR, so no corresponding transaction is necessary.
The importance of the shutdown righty’s return can’t be overstated for a decimated Bolts defense that’s still missing three other regulars in Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh, and Emil Martinsen Lilleberg. Hedman will be out for another month with his elbow injury, while McDonagh’s timeline remains fuzzy after re-aggravating the undisclosed injury that already knocked him out of an 18-game stretch earlier in the year.
Before exiting the lineup, Černák had recorded four assists in an even rating in 19 games. His 19:19 average time on ice is tracking for the second-highest of his career, and he leads Bolts defensemen in both blocks (2.26) and hits (2.11) per game.
Černák’s possession impacts this season have been something of a mixed bag. He’s posted the worst shot attempt share (44.2%) of any Bolts skater at even strength, but he’s also received the most difficult deployment, starting 59.8% of his shifts in the defensive zone.
The 28-year-old’s return to action is also crucial ahead of February’s Winter Olympics, where he and the Devils’ Simon Nemec will anchor Slovakia’s defense on the right side. Now in his eighth season, he’s entered the top five in franchise history among defensemen in games played (460) and rating (+93).
Atlantic Notes: Lightning, Carlo, Montembeault, Beckman
A pair of core players for the Lightning appear to be close to making their returns from injury. Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times notes (Twitter links) that winger Brandon Hagel and defenseman Erik Cernak took part in today’s morning skate. Hagel has missed nearly two weeks due to an upper-body injury sustained against Florida, taking one of Tampa Bay’s top scorers out of the lineup as he has 18 goals and 13 assists in 32 games. Head coach Jon Cooper relayed (via Encina) that Hagel is now in the day-to-day range. Cernak, meanwhile, has missed a little more than a month due to an undisclosed injury that wasn’t the same as the lower-body issue that briefly kept him out in November. He has four assists, 43 blocks, and 40 hits in 19 games so far this season. Both players are on IR (Cernak is on LTIR, more specifically) so roster spots will need to be freed up before they can be put back onto the active roster.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic:
- Maple Leafs defenseman Brandon Carlo took part in Toronto’s morning skate today as he works his way back from foot surgery, relays David Alter of The Hockey News. The 29-year-old has missed the last six weeks with what was originally termed as a maintenance thing but he wound up having a procedure done earlier this month. Carlo is in his first full season with Toronto and has two assists and 34 blocked shots in 18 games while averaging just over 20 minutes per game of playing time. While he’s back skating, there remains no firm timetable for a return to the lineup.
- As expected, the Canadiens announced (Twitter link) have recalled goaltender Sam Montembeault from his conditioning stint. The 29-year-old has struggled this season, posting a 3.65 GAA with a .857 SV% in 15 appearances, resulting in a demotion to third-string status after Jacob Fowler was recalled. Montembeault played in two games while on assignment, turning aside 47 of 52 shots in a pair of losses to Cleveland.
- Senators prospect Lucas Beckman has been traded in the QMJHL as Chicoutimi announced that they’ve acquired him from Baie-Comeau for a pair of players and two draft picks. The goaltender was a fourth-round pick back in June, going 97th overall. In 23 games with the Drakkar this season, he has a 3.29 GAA along with a .905 SV%, numbers that are a considerable step back from 2024-25 when he was on more of a contending team. Ottawa holds Beckman’s signing rights until June 1, 2027.
Lightning’s Erik Cernak Out Week-To-Week
Lightning head coach Jon Cooper announced to reporters, including the team’s Benjamin Pierce, that defenseman Erik Černák has sustained an undisclosed injury and is out week-to-week. It’s not related to the lower-body issue that kept Černák out of a pair of games last week. Cooper also said that center Brayden Point won’t play tonight against the Flyers after leaving Saturday’s game against the Capitals with an undisclosed injury, but he’s day-to-day and shouldn’t miss more than a couple of games.
With Černák’s injury, the Bolts recalled defender Maxim Groshev from AHL Syracuse. They’ve had an open roster spot for the last few games, so no corresponding move is necessary.
Černák’s landing back on the injured list leaves Tampa without three of its top four defenders once again. Victor Hedman has already missed six games with an undisclosed issue and won’t be back in the lineup until Dec. 2 at the earliest. Ryan McDonagh has missed the same amount of time but could be back sooner since, unlike Hedman, he hasn’t been transferred to long-term injured reserve.
Despite the pileup, the Lightning have managed to win four times in that six-game stretch. They sit second in the Atlantic Division with a 12-7-2 record, one point back of the Red Wings with one game in hand. There are plenty of reasons for optimism, considering they managed to rebound from the 1-4-2 hole they put themselves in to start the year and have largely carried that momentum through a stretch of brutal luck. Unfortunately, their top right-shot option on the blue line in Černák won’t be a part of that run for the foreseeable future.
Černák continues to be arguably Tampa’s best pure shutdown option. After recording a career-high 21 points and a +29 rating in 76 appearances last season, he’d rattled off four assists and an even rating through 19 appearances in 2025-26. While the Bolts have been outscored 16-12 with Černák on the ice at 5-on-5 this year, on pace for the worst goal share of his career, he’s been the victim of some poor goaltending. His pairing with McDonagh has controlled 57.6% of expected goals together, per MoneyPuck. With McDonagh sidelined, Černák also elevated rookie Charle-Edouard D’Astous to a 53.8 xGF%.
Groshev, who was drafted as a winger but has since converted to defense, won’t be making his NHL debut in Černák’s absence, it appears. They were already rostering six healthy defenders, so Groshev will serve as injury insurance on the blue line, who can also step in at forward if needed. A third-round pick in 2020 out of Russia, the 6’2″ rearguard is in his third season with Syracuse but has yet to make his NHL debut. He’s managed six assists through 17 games this season and has a team-high +8 rating, leaving the Bolts intrigued by the 23-year-old’s defensive upside.
As for the weekend’s news that both Point and superstar Nikita Kucherov departed the Washington game with injuries, they’ve clearly avoided a worst-case scenario. Kucherov wasn’t carrying any injury designation at today’s practice, while Point, who’s struggled this year with just three goals and 11 points in 21 games and could’ve used a reset anyway, won’t have an extended absence.
Injury Updates: Stolarz, Durzi, Cernak
Toronto Maple Leafs starting netminder Anthony Stolarz has been out with an upper-body injury for a little over a week, and at the moment it’s unclear at what point he’ll be fit to return to the ice. Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube told the media today, including the Toronto Sun’s Terry Koshan, that Stolarz’s injury was “worse than we thought” and that at this point he does not have a timeline for Stolarz’s return to the ice.
While Berube did go on to add that “maybe tomorrow” Stolarz will be back on the ice, it doesn’t sound as though anything related to his recovery is set in stone. The Maple Leafs could certainly use a healthy Stolarz back on the ice and playing at his best. The team currently sits 27th in the NHL with a 9-9-2 record and averages the second-highest goals-against per game. Stolarz has an .884 save percentage in 13 games this season, but performed much better last year with a .926 save percentage in 34 games.
More injury updates from around the league:
- The Utah Mammoth are set to get one of their better defensemen back from injury. Cole Bagley of KSL Sports relayed word from head coach Andre Tourigny that injured blueliner Sean Durzi is now considered out on a day-to-day timeline and is nearing a return to the ice. Durzi returned to practice in a regular jersey today, having missed all of the Mammoth’s games since their Oct. 11 contest against the Nashville Predators. Injuries also limited Durzi significantly in 2024-25, as he got into just 30 games. The year before that, he was highly effective, scoring a career-high 41 points in 76 games.
- When Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak stepped onto the ice for practice this morning, most observers assumed he’d be fit to play in the team’s game tonight against the Edmonton Oilers. That didn’t come to fruition though, as his injury kept him from taking on the Oilers tonight, meaning he’ll miss a second game with an undisclosed ailment. Cernak has been Tampa Bay’s No. 4 defenseman in terms of ice time this season, averaging 19:05 time-on-ice per game including 2:48 on average on the penalty kill, second-highest on the team.
Lightning’s Erik Cernak Out On Tuesday
The Tampa Bay Lightning will be without defenseman Erik Cernak in Tuesday’s game against the New Jersey Devils, per Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times. Cernak joins Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh, and Maxwell Crozier on the list of injured Lightning defenseman.
With Cernak’s absence, Tampa Bay will now be without two of their top four defenders as they go up against a Devils squad that ranks 14th in the NHL in goals. As is usual, Cernak has been the lowest-scoring of Tampa Bay’s top-four, with only three assists in 18 games this season. He does, however, lead the Lightning in both blocked shots (40) and hits (39). No other Bolt has blocked more than 13 shots.
Cernak’s impact may come away from the scoresheet, but his absence will nonetheless leave a major hole for Tampa Bay to fill. Declan Carlile will step back into the lineup for the first time this season in place of Cernak. He will operate behind rookie Charle-Édouard D’Astous, who himself will grow into a top-four role.
Carlile leads the Syracuse Crunch’s blue-line in scoring with 10 points in 15 games this season. He scored one goal in four NHL games over the last two seasons. D’Astous has posted five points in his first 11 NHL games, making him Tampa’s highest-scoring, healthy defender. The Lightning will need to lean on both rookies, with major holes at even-strength and on special teams.
Atlantic Notes: Cernak, Stolarz, Brown, DiPietro
The Tampa Bay Lightning will once again be without defenseman Erik Cernak, who was announced as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury short before puck-drop, per Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times. He has missed Tampa Bay’s last three games since suffering an undisclosed injury on January 16th. Cernak left that game after just one shift but didn’t seem to suffer a clear injury.
Cernak has returned to the Lightning’s top four this season. The 27-year-old has scored 10 assists and averaged 18:15 in ice time through 41 games, putting him on pace to narrowly pass his career-high of 18 points set during the shortened 2020-21 campaign. He has been replaced in the lineup by rookie Maxwell Crozier, who’s still searching for his first point of the season after three NHL games. Crozier has also scored nine points in 22 AHL games this year. Cernak’s absence will likely return Crozier to the team’s second pair next to Ryan McDonagh, while Darren Raddysh‘s role on the top pair will go unchallenged for at least one more game.
Tampa Bay visits Chicago on Friday, and Detroit on Saturday. Cernak will be at risk of missing both outings.
More from the Atlantic:
- Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz is ahead of schedule in his recovery from his knee injury, relays David Alter of The Hockey News. He has missed nearly six weeks due to the injury but head coach Craig Berube believes the goalie won’t be out for much longer. Before getting hurt, Stolarz was off to a very strong start to his season, putting up a 2.15 GAA with a .927 SV% in his first 17 starts; that save percentage still leads the league among qualifying netminders.
- The Bruins announced that forward Patrick Brown and goaltender Michael DiPietro were assigned to AHL Providence. Both players were brought up earlier this week to cover injuries. Brown has done well in the minors with 25 points in 37 games but has made just two appearances with Boston so far. As for DiPietro, he has a stellar 1.95 GAA and a .930 SV% in 22 AHL outings but with Jeremy Swayman expected to return Saturday, his stint with the big club was short-lived.
Tampa Bay Lightning Reassign Maxwell Crozier, Erik Černák Questionable
Jan. 18th: According to a team announcement, Tampa Bay has reassigned Crozier to AHL Syracuse. The transaction indicates Černák will be available for tomorrow night’s contest against the Toronto Maple Leafs. In his only game with the Lightning this season, Crozier went scoreless in 14:25 of yesterday’s win against the Detroit Red Wings adding three blocked shots and four hits.
Jan. 17th: The Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled defenseman Maxwell Crozier from the AHL Syracuse Crunch. The move could be an indication that Erik Cernak could be forced to sit out. Cernak left Tampa Bay’s Thursday win over Anahaim after just one shift. His injury has been left undisclosed, though he was designated as out day-to-day per Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times.
Tampa Bay drafted Crozier in the fourth round of the 2019 NHL Draft. He followed his draft selection with four years at Providence College, before turning pro with the Crunch at the end of the 2022-23 season. He’s primarily been a top-four defender in the AHL ever since, though Crozier did accumulate the first 13 games of his NHL career through various recalls last season. He managed two assists in those appearances. Crozier has served as one of Syracuse’s alternate captains this season and has nine points in 22 games. He’s scored eight of those points in his last eight games, putting him on a well-timed hot streak as he now heads to the NHL.
Cernak’s injury will open up upwards of 20 minutes on Tampa Bay’s defense. Darren Raddysh should be the primary beneficiary of those minutes, propping up his top-pair role next to Victor Hedman even more, while Nicklaus Perbix will return to his role in Tampa Bay’s top-four. Both Raddysh and Perbix have outscored Cernak this season, respectively netting 16 and 11 points to Cernak’s 10.
Atlantic Notes: Lyon, Motte, Cernak, Ekblad
The Detroit Red Wings should get one player back this weekend while losing another for the foreseeable future. Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press reported earlier that goaltender Alex Lyon will likely start tomorrow’s contest against the Dallas Stars. She later reported that forward Tyler Motte has been ruled out until next Thursday due to an upper-body injury.
Lyon, who’s had multiple injuries this season, hasn’t played since Detroit’s overtime win against the Ottawa Senators on January 7th due to an upper-body injury. He’s still managed a similarly solid season as last year with the Red Wings when healthy managing an 8-5-0 record in 14 starts with a .902 save percentage and 2.71 goals-against average.
Similarly sidelined with an upper-body injury, Motte is now guaranteed to fall short of tying his 69 games played from a season ago. He’s been much of what Detroit should have expected of him this year, scoring two goals and two assists in 28 games, managing a -10 rating, and being a core part of one of the worst penalty kills in NHL history.
Other notes from the Atlantic Division:
- The Tampa Bay Lightning will be without one of their best defensive defensemen tonight. Gabby Shirley of FanDuel Sports Network Florida reports that Erik Černák was made unavailable for tonight’s contest against the Red Wings but added the prognosis is better than expected so he shouldn’t be on the shelf for too long. Maxwell Crozier will replace Cernak tonight, joining Ryan McDonagh on the second defensive pairing. Crozier will play in his first game with Tampa Bay this season after tallying two assists in 13 contests last year.
- A few hours southeast in Sunrise, FL, the Florida Panthers announced Aaron Ekblad would miss his fifth straight game this evening. However, it appears his return is on the horizon with head coach Paul Maurice saying, “I think we’re pretty confident he’ll be able to play on the road trip.“