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Maxwell Crozier

Lightning Sign Maxwell Crozier To Three-Year Contract

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The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed defenseman Maxwell Crozier to a three-year, $2.325MM contract. The deal carries a league-minimum, $775K cap hit. It will be a two-way contract in the first year, then convert to a one-way deal for the final two years. Crozier was set to become a restricted-free agent this summer. With a new deal in place, Tampa Bay now has four remaining players headed for free agency.

Crozier spent the majority of his season with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch. His reputation for always being involved grew louder over the course of the year as he earned career-highs across the board. He recorded nine goals, 25 assists, and 34 points in 52 games. He also added 75 penalty minutes and a plus-16. All five marks beat out his rookie totals from last year, when he managed 21 points, 43 penalty minutes, and a plus-one in 49 games.

Tampa Bay recalled Crozier for the first 13 games of his NHL career throughout the 2023-24 regular season. His performances were modest – headlined by two assists, seven penalty minutes, and a minus-two. The Lightning must have seen a pro-ready through that stat line, and turned to Crozier for three games of a fill-in role during the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. He earned an additional five NHL appearances this year, but managed no changes to his stat line.

Crozier was originally drafted 120th overall in the 2019 NHL Draft. He spent four seasons at Providence College after his draft selection, and totaled 71 points in 119 collegiate games. He’s also managed 58 points, 124 penalty minutes, and a plus-18 through 110 games in the AHL. Crozier is a tall, rangy defender who engages opponents with his stick or body checks; and makes smart passes once he pokes the puck loose. The Lightning will give him a chance to earn a full-time NHL-role over the next three seasons, on a deal that comes at little-to-no risk.

Lightning Assign Two To AHL

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Following their elimination at the hands of the Panthers on Wednesday, the Lightning have extended the seasons for two of their younger players for at least one more day.  The team announced that defenseman Maxwell Crozier and center Conor Geekie have been assigned to AHL Syracuse.

Crozier’s stint with the big club was short-lived as he was only recalled yesterday to serve as extra depth for the final game of the series.  He only played in five regular season games with Tampa Bay this year after suiting up 13 times (plus three playoff contests) last season for them.  The 25-year-old had 34 points in 52 games with the Crunch this season and will be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights this summer.

As for Geekie, the 20-year-old was a key part of the return for Mikhail Sergachev in the trade with Utah back at the draft.  The 11th overall pick in 2022, Geekie spent most of the year with Tampa Bay but in a fairly limited role as he logged just over 12 minutes a night of ice time while chipping in with eight goals and six assists.  That earned him a midseason assignment to the Crunch where he was much more impactful offensively, tallying 11 goals and nine helpers in 24 games.  Geekie was brought back up late in the year and got into four postseason contests where he had one assist in nearly identical ice time compared to the regular season.

Both players are in uniform tonight for the Crunch against Rochester.  It’s a must-win game for Syracuse as they’re down two games to none in their best-of-five second-round series.

Lightning Recall Maxwell Crozier

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The Lightning announced they’ve recalled defenseman Maxwell Crozier from AHL Syracuse ahead of tonight’s must-win Game 5 against the Panthers.

While a single-player recall is eye-popping this time of year, especially after captain Victor Hedman briefly left Monday’s Game 4 loss for repairs, Tampa doesn’t anticipate having any injuries that require inserting Crozier into the lineup. Head coach Jon Cooper said Hedman’s (and banged-up center Anthony Cirelli’s) health “is status quo,” and they’re both in tonight as they try to avoid losing to Florida in five games in the first round in back-to-back years (via the team’s Benjamin Pierce).

Instead, Crozier’s inclusion on the roster comes as simple insurance with Syracuse on the brink of elimination in the Calder Cup Playoffs. Tampa has dressed seven defensemen for the majority of the series, leaving them without any press box options.

The 25-year-old got just five games of NHL action this season, averaging 16:41 per game with six blocks and 11 hits across a January call-up. In the slim chance he’s needed, it wouldn’t be his first Stanley Cup rodeo. The Calgary native drew into three of the Lightning’s five contests against the Panthers last year, posting a minus-one rating in bottom-pairing minutes.

A pending restricted free agent with arbitration rights, Crozier finished second among Syracuse defensemen in scoring and fourth overall on the team this season with a 9-25–34 line in 52 games. His +16 rating led the team. A 2019 fourth-round pick, he’s posted good numbers from the get-go in Syracuse after turning pro out of Providence College in 2023 and has likely worked his way into consideration for an opening night roster spot in Tampa next fall if he re-signs.

Paper Transactions: 1/22/25

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According to a team announcement, the Colorado Avalanche have recalled forwards Ivan Ivan and Jere Innala to the NHL roster. The transaction marks the 10th time this year Ivan has been promoted to the Avalanche and the fifth time for Innala.

Even though he’s been formally reassigned to their AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles, nine times, Ivan has only suited up in two AHL contests this season. Most of his playing time has come with the Avalanche, where he’s scored five goals and eight points in 39 games, averaging 10:09 of ice time per game. Ivan hasn’t been without value for the Avalanche this season, sitting 13th out of all 25 forwards used by Colorado this season in CorsiFor% (51.6%) while starting 67.3% of his shifts in the defensive zone.

The same can’t be said for Innala. He’s been a physical presence in Colorado’s bottom six this season over 14 games but has yet to tally his first NHL point. He ranks 23rd of all forwards used in CorsiFor% with a 45.1% mark. Innala will likely have a full-time role in the AHL carved out by the end of the season should the Avalanche add to their forward depth at the trade deadline.

Additional paper transactions:

  • The Tampa Bay Lightning have again reassigned defenseman Maxwell Crozier to their AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. Crozier has been filling in for the injured Erik Černák, managing a +1 rating in the last three games while averaging 17:06 of ice time per game. Remarkably, thanks to a consistently healthy roster, Crozier is only the eighth defenseman to play more than two games for the Lightning this season.
  • Finishing off the list of paper transactions are the Dallas Stars, who have reassigned forward Matěj Blümel to their AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars. It is the fifth time Blümel has been reassigned to AHL Texas in a season where he’s scored one goal in seven NHL contests. Since he’ll be 25 and won’t hit 80 career games by the end of the season, Blümel will become a ’Group 6’ unrestricted free agent at the end of the year.

Paper Transactions: 1/20/25

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Instead of recalling the recently reassigned Guillaume Brisebois, the Vancouver Canucks have gone in another direction. The Canucks announced they’ve recalled Mark Friedman from their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks.

Vancouver is no longer dealing with any injuries to their defensive core indicating there were ulterior motives for Friedman’s call-up. It may be that the Canucks preferred a right-handed shot defenseman or one with more NHL experience to serve as their eighth defenseman.

The likely reason is that Brisebois would require waivers for another reassignment should he have spent eight more days on Vancouver’s roster whereas Friedman is still 13 days away. Friedman has been better in the AHL this year compared to Brisebois scoring six points in 20 games compared to the latter’s one point in 21 games.

Other paper transactions from around the league:

  • On just about every off day for the Dallas Stars this year, the organization has made a roster move and today was no different. Dallas announced they’ve reassigned forwards Matěj Blümel and Justin Hryckowian to their AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars. Both forwards have frequently been taxi players for the Stars this season with the former scoring one goal and six games and the latter scoring one goal in five games. One or both of them are expected back on the roster tomorrow when Dallas squares off against the Carolina Hurricanes.
  • As it turns out, defenseman Erik Černák isn’t expected back in the lineup tonight for the Tampa Bay Lightning. In his absence, the team has opted to recall defenseman Maxwell Crozier who recently filled in for Černák in Tampa Bay’s last game. Crozier skated in 14:25 of the Lightning’s recent win against the Detroit Red Wings but was reassigned yesterday for cap-related motivations.
  • Since forward Valeri Nichushkin has yet to return to the Colorado Avalanche lineup, the team had to recall another forward before today’s game against the Minnesota Wild. The team announced they had recalled forward Jere Innala, who had recently been reassigned on Saturday. He hardly played in today’s contest, going scoreless over 4:12 albeit landing one hit.

Lightning Assign Three Players To AHL

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The Tampa Bay Lightning announced today that they re-assigned defensemen Maxwell Crozier and Emil Lilleberg as well as netminder Matt Tomkins to the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League. The moves come one day after the Lightning were eliminated from the first round of the NHL playoffs by the Florida Panthers.

Crozier dressed in three of the five Lightning playoff games, going scoreless while recording a -1 and averaging 14:15 of ice time per game. The 24-year-old rookie also played in 13 regular season games for Tampa Bay, recording two assists while registering 16 hits and 11 blocked shots. The Calgary, Alberta native was drafted in the fourth round of the 2019 NHL entry draft and spent four seasons in the NCAA with Providence College before an abbreviated run with Syracuse last spring. In his first full professional season, Crozier was impressive enough to get a spot in the lineup for his first taste of NHL playoff hockey.

Lilleberg returns to Syracuse, where he spent the first half of the 2023-24 season dressing in 33 games for the Crunch, tallying two goals and 11 assists. The 23-year-old spent the second half of the season with the Lightning, dressing in 37 NHL games and posting five assists. While he’s unlikely to develop into an offensive defenseman, Lilleberg showed enough in the regular season to earn a spot in the lineup for all five Lightning playoff games. Now he’s in line to play big minutes for the Crunch in the AHL playoffs.

Tomkins took seven years of professional hockey before making it to the NHL this season at 29. The Edmonton, Alberta native was drafted in the seventh round of the 2012 NHL entry draft and bounced around from the AHL to the ECHL, to the SHL before finding his way back to North America and making his NHL debut with Tampa Bay. In his first NHL action, Tomkins dressed in six games going 3-2-1 with a 3.33 goals-against average and a .892 save percentage. He’ll now return to Syracuse where he played 29 games this season and went 15-12-2 with a .904 save percentage.

Syracuse is currently tied at 1 with the Rochester Americans in their best-of-five North Division Semifinals series, game 3 goes Thursday night in Syracuse.

Lightning Recall Max Crozier

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The Lightning recalled defenseman Maxwell Crozier from AHL Syracuse on Monday, per a team release. There are no added injury designations to their blue line after yesterday’s 3-2 loss to the Panthers in Game 1 of their first-round series, so he’s only up to provide additional depth over the next few days.

Crozier, 24, received his first NHL call-up on January 12 and debuted the following night, recording one block in 13 minutes of ice time against the Ducks. He played 12 more games throughout the season as he alternated between the majors and minors, totaling two assists, a -2 rating, 7 PIMs and 13 shots.

The 2019 fourth-round pick hasn’t made an NHL appearance since before the March 8 trade deadline, and it’s doubtful he’ll draw into the playoff lineup unless an avalanche of injuries occurs on defense. Syracuse, which finished third in the North Division, wrapped up their regular season with a 5-2 loss to Utica over the weekend. Crozier could be reassigned to them by Friday when they kick off their best-of-five Division Semifinal series against Rochester.

He isn’t the only defender Tampa is adding into the fold for now. Haydn Fleury, who hasn’t played since a mid-ice collision with referee Steve Kozari on April 6, was a full participant in today’s practice and could be an option ahead of Tuesday’s Game 2 in Sunrise, notes the Tampa Bay Times’ Eduardo A. Encina.

Crozier ended his regular season with Syracuse on a tear offensively with 10 points in 10 games but somehow managed to post a -8 rating in that span. That includes a career-high three points against Toronto on April 13, a game he inexplicably finished with a -4 rating as the Crunch lost to the Marlies 6-5 in a shootout.

He wraps up his first professional season with four goals, 17 assists, 21 points, 43 PIMs and a +1 rating in 49 minor-league appearances. The Calgary native signed his entry-level contract in March 2023 after four seasons with Providence College, where he totaled 71 points and a +35 rating in 119 games while serving as captain in his senior season.

Crozier didn’t look entirely out of place in his limited minutes. He didn’t receive tough matchups by any stretch, deployed primarily on bottom-pairing situations alongside rookie Emil Martinsen Lilleberg and averaging 12:56 per game. But his possession numbers were good across the board at 5-on-5, recording a 53.9 CF% and 59.2 xGF%, per Natural Stat Trick. The Lightning controlled 54.9% of overall scoring chances with Crozier on the ice, but none of that was reflected in his actual -2 rating (6 GF, 8 GA).

Listed at 6’1″ and 197 lbs, Crozier has one season left on his ELC with an $867.5K cap hit. He’ll be an RFA in 2025, and the Lightning will retain team control up to the 2027 offseason.

Atlantic Notes: Bernard-Docker, Marner, Lindholm, Lightning

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The Senators received some trade interest in defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch.  However, it appears that Ottawa placed a fairly high price tag on the 23-year-old, one that other teams weren’t willing to pay.  Bernard-Docker actually cleared waivers back in training camp but has spent most of the year up with Ottawa, picking up 12 points and 108 blocked shots in 52 games while logging just under 16 minutes a night.  Signed for one more year after this one at an affordable $805K price tag, it’s understandable that the Sens would have had some interest in Bernard-Docker, perhaps not just from buyers either.  Instead, he’ll remain with Ottawa through the rest of the season at least.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic:

  • Maple Leafs winger Mitch Marner is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury and won’t play tonight versus Montreal, relays David Alter of The Hockey News (Twitter link). He will be re-evaluated in Toronto to assess the extent of the injury.  Marner is once again one of Toronto’s top scorers this season, leading the team in assists with 51 and sitting third in points with 56.  He had been on pace to reach 100 points for the first time but if he misses more than just a few games with this injury, that milestone could ultimately be out of reach.
  • Before their game this afternoon against Pittsburgh, the Bruins announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Hampus Lindholm was cleared to return to the lineup. The 30-year-old had missed the last nine games due to a knee injury.  Lindholm’s second full season in Boston hasn’t been anywhere near as productive as his first when he had 53 points but he still has a goal and 18 assists through 56 games while logging nearly 24 minutes a night.
  • While the Lightning returned defensemen Emil Martinsen Lilleberg and Maxwell Crozier to the minors yesterday, Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times mentions (Twitter link) that one of the two could be recalled as extra depth for their upcoming four-game road trip. Martinsen Lilleberg has played in 23 games with Tampa Bay so far, logging nearly 16 minutes a night while Crozier has made 13 appearances, averaging just shy of 13 minutes per contest.

Lightning Recall Max Crozier, Assign Alex Barre-Boulet To AHL

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The Lightning made a pair of roster moves in advance of their game this afternoon against the Islanders, announcing they’ve recalled defenseman Max Crozier from AHL Syracuse.  To make room on the roster, winger Alex Barre-Boulet was sent to the Crunch.

Crozier has played in seven games for Tampa Bay this season, all coming last month.  The 23-year-old has a pair of assists in those outings along with ten hits and ten blocks while averaging 14:30 per night in his first taste of NHL action.  Crozier also has played in 32 games with Syracuse, collecting a goal and seven assists.  His recall is likely a precautionary one with Erik Cernak’s status being uncertain for this game having missed Thursday’s contest.

As for Barre-Boulet, his demotion shouldn’t come as much of a surprise after he cleared waivers on Friday.  The 26-year-old has six goals and three assists in 36 games with the Lightning so far and has yet to see any action in the minors despite also clearing waivers at the beginning of the season.  Barre-Boulet finished second in AHL scoring last season with 84 points in 69 games and will be a big boost to a Syracuse team that enters play today four points out of first in the North Division.

Transaction Notes: Flames, Golden Knights, Wild, Blackhawks, Lightning

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While most teams prepare for an informal roster freeze over the upcoming NHL All-Star break, many are also stripping their roster down to the bare minimum to save as much cap space for the encroaching trade deadline in early March. Today, the Calgary Flames activated forward Martin Pospisil from the injured reserve, while optioning Matthew Coronato, Adam Klapka, and Cole Schwindt to their AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers.

According to Ryan Pike of Flames Nation, this set of transactions by the Flames will save the organization approximately $497K in cap space, just by sending them down over the All-Star break. As one of the expected sellers leading into this year’s trade deadline, the nearly half a million in cap space could allow Calgary to weaponize their cap space, as many deadline sellers have done.

For development’s sake, with the NHL returning to regular season action on February 5th, the trio of players sent down by the Flames today will have the opportunity to play in three games for the Wranglers. Coronato projects to factor in the most, still leading Calgary’s AHL team in points, having already scored 12 goals and 29 points in 27 games for the Wranglers this season.

Other transaction notes:

  • Similarly to the Flames, the Vegas Golden Knights have optioned Brendan Brisson, Sheldon Rempal, and Jonas Rondbjerg to their AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights, per a team announcement. Having been recalled on January 18th via an emergency loan, Rempal has largely been the most successful of the bunch over the last several games for the Golden Knights, scoring a goal against both the New York Islanders and New York Rangers over the last four contests.
  • In an announcement earlier this afternoon, the Minnesota Wild sent down forward Jake Lucchini and goaltender Jesper Wallstedt to their AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild. Not only one of the best prospects in the Wild organization but one of the best prospects across the league, Wallstedt was able to make his NHL debut in his previous call-up coming in early January, stopping 27 of 34 shots in the team’s loss against the Dallas Stars on January 10th.
  • The Chicago Blackhawks have sent down forward Cole Guttman and defenseman Louis Crevier to their AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs, per a media release this afternoon. Guttman has been the much better player in Rockford this season, playing with the team through much of October and November. Over that stretch, Guttman scored three goals and nine points in 12 games for the IceHogs, tying him for 12th on the team in scoring for the season.
  • The Tampa Bay Lightning made similar roster moves today, sending down Maxwell Crozier, Mitchell Chaffee, and Waltteri Merela to their longtime AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. Although neither of the three have made a large impact in their limited NHL experience, Chaffee has been the most successful over the last stretch, earning a goal and an assist in the team’s recent victory against the Arizona Coyotes on January 25th.

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