New Tampa Bay defenseman Mathieu Roy once played for the Syracuse Crunch.

He won't do so again this season, but he's still likely to help the AHL team.

The Lighning has signed Roy to a NHL contract for the remaining games of the 2012-13 season. Lightning assistant general manager Julien BriseBois confirmed Tuesday morning that he is a Tampa Bay-only player.

But BriseBois also said his acquisition clears the way for the move of someone else to Syracuse soon. He did not say who, but the most likely candidate is defenseman Radko Gudas.

Roy played 14 games for the Crunch in 2009-10, the last season of the Columbus era.



Follow Lindsay Kramer on Twitter at @syrhockey



