Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Maxwell Crozier

Lightning Assign Three Players To AHL

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

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

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

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

at CDT | by 2 Comments

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

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

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

at CDT | by 1 Comment

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.

Lightning Recall Three Players From AHL

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled a trio of players from the AHL. Defenseman Philippe Myers and Maxwell Crozier were both assigned to the Syracuse Crunch just two days ago, making their transactions effectively paper moves. However, forward Waltteri Merelä was the third recall and has been in the AHL since mid-November.

Tampa Bay had a four-day gap between games and opted to return Myers, Crozier, and forward Gage Goncalves to the AHL where they were able to dress for Syracuse in a 5-4 win over the Utica Comets yesterday. With Tampa Bay back in action on Thursday night against the Minnesota Wild, the Lightning have opted to recall the two defensemen and a different forward in Merelä.

Merelä earned his recall after a two-month stretch with the Crunch. He has dressed in 23 games with Syracuse and has six goals and 10 assists during that time. He has been on a heater as of late with four goals and three assists in his last five games. During an NHL stretch earlier in the season, the 25-year-old was held pointless in 14 games but did provide some physicality in Tampa Bay’s bottom six with 18 hits during his recall.

Merelä is in his first season in North America, after playing in his native Finland during the first five years of his professional hockey career. It will be interesting to see what types of adjustments he has made since going to the AHL and if it can translate to the NHL game. Merelä has also had a few more months of living in North America which may also help his comfort level in this NHL recall.

Lightning Reassign Three To AHL

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Lightning have reassigned right defensemen Maxwell Crozier, Philippe Myers and left winger Gage Goncalves to AHL Syracuse, vice president and GM Julien BriseBois said today.

With Tampa Bay now in a four-day break until their next game, they’ve opted to send the three recent call-ups to the minors to make them eligible to play in Syracuse’s game tomorrow against Utica. They’ve combined for only seven NHL games this season.

Crozier, 23, was called up from Syracuse on Friday after top-four blueliner Erik Černák was listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury for the second time this month. He made his NHL debut in yesterday’s 5-1 drubbing of the Ducks, recording one blocked shot in 13 minutes of ice time alongside another recent Syracuse call-up, Emil Martinsen Lilleberg. Crozier, a fourth-round pick of the Lightning in 2019, remains waiver-exempt.

This move ends the third recall for Myers, 26, since he was waived and assigned to Syracuse early in October before the season began. He can be on the Lightning roster for nine more days before he’ll need waivers again to return to the minors. A pending UFA with a $1.4MM cap hit this season, Myers was a healthy scratch in three straight and hadn’t played since January 6 against the Bruins. He has a -2 rating and six shots on goal in four games with the Bolts this year, averaging 13:08 per game.

Goncalves also returns to Syracuse, ending his first in-season recall. The 22-year-old played in his first two NHL games after he was summoned from the minors on Thursday, recording a lone shot attempt and six PIMs while averaging 9:58 per game. His unit with Tyler Motte and Conor Sheary was pristine defensively in an extremely small sample size, failing to allow a single expected goal against in just over 13 minutes together, per MoneyPuck. The team’s 2020 second-round pick now looks to build on his team-leading 23 assists and 30 points in 33 games with Syracuse.

Whether all of these three are recalled back to Tampa later this week depends on the health of Černák and winger Tanner Jeannot, who is listed as week-to-week with a lower-body injury but is eligible to come off injured reserve ahead of their next game, which takes place on January 18 against the Wild. The transactions bring the Lightning’s roster size down to 20, including the injured Černák.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top