Lightning Round: Hockey is just around the corner

To all our people in Florida, we hope you made it through Hurricane Milton as safely as possible. The aftermath won't be fun for the foreseeable future, but time will bring back a sense of normalcy. Speaking of normalcy, it's time we get back to being a hockey site that brings you some news from the league and sports.

This year, the Lightning Round posts likely won't appear every day during the season. The plan is to have them on non-game days. Believe it or not, collecting a bunch of hockey-related messages is a bit time-consuming, and as a stripped-down operation, that time would be better spent working on more Lightning-specific messages and glitches. We still think it's important to know what's going on in the league (and among the youth), and to highlight other hockey writers out there. Hopefully we find the right balance.

While the NHL is officially back in action, we still have a day left before the Bolts kick off the 2024-2025 season, so expect a few season preview posts in the coming days.

There will be some questions about the Lightning's schedule in the coming week, but we won't have any concrete answers until officials can assess any damage to Amalie Arena or the surrounding area. Even if the building is safe for fans to enter, repairs and repairs to the surrounding area may make it unwise to bring thousands of fans to a game.

The Bolts play Carolina at home on Saturday evening, but that may be postponed to a later date. The next home game wouldn't be until Tuesday when Vegas comes to town. Rescheduling that match could be a bit more difficult for the competition. We will keep you informed of any developments as soon as we become aware of them.

Lightning in Tampa Bay

Top prospect appears to fit well in the Lightning selection [Tampa Bay Times]

He made it. Yes, we were wary that the Bolts would actually keep Conor Geekie on the roster, but here it is season opening night and he's earning that NHL salary. Why? Well, as Coop says in the article, “He hasn't given anyone in our organization a reason to send him down.” That could change once Mikey Eyssimont and Luke Glendening are ready tomorrow, but for now we look forward to him playing some meaningful NHL minutes.

The League

Carter Verhaeghe can foot the dinner bill next time he's in town [Florida Hockey Now]

Old friend Carter Verhaeghe isn't going anywhere. The Florida Panther forward signed an eight-year extension with a $7 million AAV to remain with the team. While he will continue to score for our cross-state rivals, it is nice to see the hard work he has put in over the years being financially rewarded.

Los Angeles to host the NHL Draft (report) [The Fourth Period]

The first decentralized draft in league history will take place in the City of Angels according to The Fourth Period. Despite the amazing spectacle Vegas put on this summer, it appears the league is moving forward with teams fielding from their home cities while the potential draftees gather in one place, kind of like the NFL.

New rule changes for the 2024-2025 NHL season [Lightning Insider – free article]

Over at Lightning Insider, Jodi explains some of the rule changes coming into effect this season. The biggest is probably the over-the-glass challenge.

The Youth

Isaac Howard earns B1G honors [Michigan State]

The Lightning's runner-up (at least in our opinion) started off his junior year in style by earning Big Ten First Star of the Week honors. The forward had five points (3 goals, 2 assists) in two games as Michigan State defeated Lake Superior State to start their season.

Jayson Shaugabay named NCHC Rookie of the Week [University of Minnesota-Duluth]

Another Lightning prospect (ranked 16th by our count) also had a pretty good opening week. Jayson Shaugabay started his UMD career with two goals and an assist against Bemidji State University, a performance good enough to earn Rookie of the Week honors.

Crunch adds a household name to the PTO [Syracuse Crunch]

The Syracuse Crunch continue to round out their roster before the season starts as they signed Gemel Smith to a PTO. The 30-year-old played in the KHL last season, but returns to the team he spent parts of four seasons with from 2019-2023.