On Sunday evening, the Tampa Bay Lightning announced that they had recalled defenseman Max Groshev from the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League.
The Lightning's third round pick in 2020, 85th overall, Groshev is currently in his third season in North America. The first two were spent entirely at the AHL level and now he's starting to get some exposure in the NHL.
This season with the Crunch, he's scored one goal and added 12 assists in 35 games. Importantly, during his time in the AHL, he's transitioned from a forward to a defenseman and has quickly shown his value in his new role.
Groshev, 24, has played one career game in the NHL, which came earlier this season. He made his debut on December 28, when the Lightning hosted the Montreal Canadiens. He recorded an assist and was +1 in 13:03 of ice time.
Groshev's recall comes at a time of crisis for the Lightning's blue line. Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh, and Emil Lilleberg have been out of the line up for quite a while, but now Charle-Edouard D'Astous has also been added to the injured reserve and Erik Cernak is listed as day-to-day, but could play against the Utah Mammoth on Monday.