The Tampa Bay Lightning have again recalled another depth defenseman as they deal with multiple injuries. Tampa Bay announced that they’ve recalled defenseman Maxim Groshev from the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch.
It’s the second time Groshev has been recalled over the last little while. Unfortunately, he didn’t make his NHL debut over that call-up, and that’s not expected to change this time around.
Groshev, 23, was drafted as a winger when he was selected with the 85th overall pick of the 2020 NHL Draft. Having converted to the blue line, he has spent the last three years playing for the Crunch, scoring 17 goals and 51 points in 142 games with a +10 rating.
In between call-ups for Groshev, the Lightning had recalled Simon Lundmark to serve as the team’s seventh defenseman. It doesn’t appear to be internal management to prolong waiver placement for Groshev, that is, who remains exempt from waivers on his current contract. Lundmark, on the other hand, is eligible for waivers but has some time before he’ll require it again.
Meanwhile, Groshev’s recall confirms that defenseman Erik Černák will not return to the Lightning lineup on their current road trip, which concludes tonight against the New York Islanders. Černák landed on Tampa Bay’s injured reserve shortly before American Thanksgiving, and there was some hope he would’ve returned by now. Still, the Lightning will return home for a two-game stretch on Thursday, so the team may wait until then to give official updates on their injured players.