If there was one box the Lightning left unchecked this offseason, it was adding an enforcer. On Monday, the Lightning claimed 25-year-old forward Curtis Douglas off waivers after he was among the final cuts in Utah.
Listed at 6-foot-9 and weighing 242 pounds, Douglas would add extra size and grit to the Lightning lineup. He dropped the gloves twice during Utah’s preseason this year, taking on a couple of heavyweights in Anaheim’s Noah Warren at 6’4”, 215 lbs and Colorado’s Keaton Middleton, who is listed at 6’6”, 240 lbs.
Last season, Douglas skated in 63 games with the Tucson Roadrunners of the AHL, recording 10 goals and 23 points along with 117 penalty minutes. He’s played in 261 career AHL games with Tucson, the Toronto Marlies, and the Belleville Senators, totaling 37 goals, 97 points, and 508 penalty minutes.
Based on how the final two preseason games played out, a player like Douglas could be a helpful presence for the Bolts.
In last season’s first-round playoff series between the Lightning and Panthers, the games featured several borderline hits, including an exchange that left Brandon Hagel concussed after his hit on Aleksander Barkov. That physical edge carried over into the preseason, when Panthers forward A.J. Greer cross-checked Hagel and appeared to follow up with a high stick and multiple punches to the head.
Before yesterday, Douglas had never appeared in an NHL game, but he was included on the Lightning’s opening roster at 5pm.
Tampa Bay’s home opener is Oct. 9 against the Ottawa Senators.