Now Former Lightning Forward Heads Out West

J.T. Brown was claimed off waivers by the Anaheim Ducks. The Tampa Bay Lightning placed Brown on waivers on Saturday afternoon. According to Lightning General Manager Steve Yzerman the move was necessary in order to create roster flexibility.

“I wanted the flexibility within our roster, when the time comes, to recall players currently excelling in Syracuse and give them an opportunity to play,” Yzerman told the Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times.

The Times article mentions several candidates to take Brown’s place on the roster. Of note is forward Adam Erne, who Yzerman told Smith is “playing his way out of the AHL”. Additional players mentioned include Carter Verhaeghe and Alex Volkov.

In addition to roster flexibility, the Bolts will gain an additional sum of betwen $500K – $1MM in cap space this season.

Brown, 27, went undrafted after finishing a solid career at the University of Minnesota, Duluth. Yzerman signed him to a 2-way contract on March 28, 2012. His debut with the Lightning came just days later on March 31st against the Winnipeg Jets.

This season he has played in just 24 games, often being a healthy scratch. He has four points (1-3–4) while registering a plus/minus rating of -1. He averaged less than 10:00 minutes of ice time per game (9:22).

In parts of six seasons with the Lightning, Brown appeared in 286 games tallying 61-points (19-42–61), a +/- rating of -1, and averaged 11:48 minutes of ice time per game. Although only 5-feet, 10-inches, Brown was never one to back down and first to protect a player.

Ducks Chasing Wild Card:

Brown will join the Ducks who are 20-15-9 and are currently two games out of a wild card spot and trail the Vegas Golden Knights by 12-points in the Pacific Division. In a corresponding move, the Ducks have placed right winger Logan Shaw on waivers.

The Ducks acquired Shaw from the Florida Panthers in a trade for center Michael Sgarbossa in November 2016. In 42 games this season he has 8-points (2-6–8). He was originally drafted by the Florida Panthers in the third round of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.