Lightning make flurry of roster moves amid injury pileup
The Tampa Bay Lightning are bringing in a few defensemen in the hopes of strengthening their injury-depleted roster.
The Tampa Bay Lightning are looking for wins this season. Tampa Bay is banged up, and also looking for some healthy bodies. The Lightning are recalling defensemen Declan Carlile and Steven Santini from AHL's Syracuse Crunch, per Pro Hockey Rumors.
The club is also making some other moves to reshuffle the roster.
“Additionally, Tampa Bay has swapped two players around its injured reserve, albeit an expected one. Erik Erlendsson of Lightning Insider reports that Tampa Bay has activated forward Dominic James from the injured reserve and placed defenseman Maxwell Crozier on it,” Brennan McClain wrote.
Crozier had appeared in eight games this season for Tampa Bay, with three assists.
While Tampa Bay has one of the best scoring defenses in the Eastern Conference, the team's offense has been lackluster. The Lightning have scored just 54 goals this season.
The club hopes that some of these new players can help out. Santini has yet to appear in an NHL game this season. During the 2024-25 campaign, he appeared in just one game for the Lightning. He hasn't posted a point since the 2022-23 season, when he was playing for the St. Louis Blues.
Carlile meanwhile is a relatively inexperienced player. The defenseman has appeared in just four career NHL games. All of them have been with Tampa Bay, and he has one career goal. In the AHL this year, Carlile has scored two goals in 15 contests.
The Lightning have nine victories on the season. Tampa Bay is in action Tuesday night against the New Jersey Devils. The Lightning have seven victories in their last 10 games.
Cirelli, James expected to return against Devils; Crozier placed on IR
Tampa Bay Lightning forwards Anthony Cirelli and Dominic Jamed are expected to return for Tuesday’s game against the New Jersey Devils, according to the team’s assistant coach Rob Zettler.
Cirelli has missed the Lightning’s last four games while dealing with an upper-body injury, while James had been on injured reserve with a face injury prior to being activated on Tuesday. Tampa Bay has also placed defenseman Max Crozier on injured reserve with an undisclosed injury to make room for James.
Cirelli’s return will be most welcome, as he should slot right in as the Lightning’s second-line center behind Brayden Point. The 2015 third-round pick has seven goals and four assists for 11 points in 14 games this season, while still playing his defensive-minded, shutdown style. He’s coming off his career-best campaign, as he put up 27 goals and 32 assists for 59 points in 80 games last season.
Cirelli, 28, will hope to hit the ground running upon his return to make his case to be selected to Canada’s 2026 Olympic team. Cirelli went pointless as a member of Canada’s championship team at February’s 4 Nations Face-Off.
James, 23, is in his rookie NHL season after signing a two-year, entry-level contact with Tampa Bay in September. The Plymouth, Michigan native, who had a four-year career at the University of Minnesota Duluth, has a goal and three assists for four points in nine games this season.
Crozier, 25, has been dealing with an undisclosed injury for much of the season, causing him to have only played eight of the Lightning’s 18 games so far. In those eight games, Crozier has totalled three assists in just under 14 and a half minutes of ice time per game.
Tampa Bay will play the second game of their three-game homestand against the Devils on Tuesday, before hosting the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday.
NFL Star Criticizes Seahawks’ QB Sam Darnold with Brutal Insult
Six years ago, in October of 2019, the New England Patriots beat the New York Jets 33-0 on Monday Night Football. The regular-season matchup was insignificant in the grand scheme of that season, and yet it became one of the most memorable and frequently referenced games in recent years.
Sam Darnold, in his second season as the Jets quarterback, went 11-32 for 86 passing yards that night. He threw four interceptions and no touchdowns and lost a fumble. It was the lowest point of his NFL career, and not just because of his poor performance.
During the broadcast, ESPN aired a mic’d-up clip in which Darnold, down 24-0, muttered, “I’m seeing ghosts.” The phrase has haunted him ever since.
Division Rival Takes Shot at Darnold
Yesterday, Puka Nacua unearthed the “seeing ghosts” insult during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show. The superstar receiver was discussing the Los Angeles Rams’ 21-19 victory in Week 11 over the Seattle Seahawks, now helmed by Darnold.
“[Davante] was asking me, knowing we had a big divisional game coming up this week, he was just like, ‘Man, it just feels like this is an emotional game for everybody,'” Nacua said. Laughing, he added, “And I’m like, ‘Hey, Tae, as long as we do our stuff on our side of the ball, they may be seeing ghosts out there on Sunday.'”
McAfee, recognizing the low blow, exclaimed, “Jeeze!” The conversation quickly moved away from Darnold, as Nacua began complimenting various members of the Rams’ defense.
Darnold’s History of “Seeing Ghosts”
Any time Darnold plays poorly, you’re bound to come across “seeing ghosts” comments online. The phrase flooded Twitter during last year’s playoffs when Darnold melted down in a Wild Card matchup as a member of the Minnesota Vikings. It’s perhaps no coincidence that the team he played that day was also the Los Angeles Rams.
The Rams drummed the Vikings 27-9. Darnold’s stat line wasn’t as awful as the seeing-ghosts game in 2019. He threw for 245 yards with one touchdown and one interception, but his biggest issue was handling pressure from the Rams’ defensive line. Darnold took nine sacks in the game, tying an NFL postseason record.
Despite Darnold’s outstanding 2024 season, that playoff loss signalled to fans, and apparently the Vikings’ front office, that he would perpetually “see ghosts” in big moments. The Vikings declined to re-sign Darnold, which led the Seahawks to take a chance on the former No. 3 overall pick.
Seattle’s Week 11 Loss to the Rams
Darnold had a chance to exorcise some ghosts on Sunday when the Seattle Seahawks traveled to Los Angeles for a much-anticipated divisional matchup, with first place in the NFC West on the line. Part of the reason Nacua’s jab feels so pointed is that Darnold, like in 2019 against the Patriots, threw four interceptions in an abysmal performance.
Seahawks’ players and coaches were quick to defend Darnold after the game. Linebacker Ernest Jones IV was Darnold’s most fervent spokesman.
“Sam’s been balling,” Jones told reporters after the game. “If we want to try to define Sam by this game… Sam’s had us in every f—ing game. So for him to sit there and say, ‘Oh, that’s my fault, my fault,’ no it’s not. There’s plays we could have made, opportunities where we could have got better stops. It’s football, man. He’s our quarterback. We got his back. If you have anything to say, quite frankly, f— you.”
No Seahawk has commented on Nacua’s appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, but it surely adds fuel to the divisional fire. Luckily for fans, the two teams play at least once more this season. The Rams (8-2) head to Seattle (7-3) in Week 16. In a game that will likely decide the NFC West, Darnold will have another opportunity to put that 2019 quote in the grave.
