The Lightning reassigned top prospect Conor Geekie to AHL Syracuse on Tuesday, per a team announcement. The team now has two open spots on the active roster.
While the move indicates Geekie won’t miss any time after leaving Saturday’s overtime loss to the Islanders with an apparent arm injury, he won’t be in the lineup tonight against the Senators. He heads to the minors for the first time this season after posting no points and a minus-five rating in his last nine games, posting a 43.4 CF% in that span. He hasn’t been on the ice for an even-strength goal since his most recent point, a tally against the Bruins on Jan. 14.
The Bolts’ front office has determined that Geekie needs more development time due to his lack of individual offensive output and recent drag on the team’s possession play. Acquired from Utah in last summer’s Mikhail Sergachev trade, the 2022 11th overall pick was the only Lightning prospect listed in Scott Wheeler of The Athletic’s offseason league-wide top 100 ranking, which ranked him No. 74.
Entering the season, the 6’4″, 207-lb 20-year-old had just two games of professional experience, both coming with the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners in last year’s Calder Cup Playoffs. He’s yet to see regular-season action in the minors, making the Lightning roster out of camp following a 43-goal, 99-point showing in the Western Hockey League in 2023-24 with the Wenatchee Wild and Swift Current Broncos.
Projecting as a top-six, two-way center with strong physical tools, Geekie has understandably spent most of his rookie season on the wing since Brayden Point, Anthony Cirelli, Nick Paul, and Luke Glendening were already locked in down the middle. He’s gotten plenty of looks in second-line minutes alongside Cirelli and Brandon Hagel, but it hasn’t led to much individual production. He has 12 points (6 G, 6 A) through 49 games and a minus-three rating while averaging 12:09 per game, none of which has come on the penalty kill and less than a minute of which has come on the power play. His even-strength production pales to that of his most common linemates, the latter of which ranks second on the team behind Nikita Kucherov with 20 EVG and 21 EVA.
The Lightning haven’t gotten much secondary scoring outside of their top five forwards and Paul, but an electric 26.4% power play and point-per-game seasons from Kucherov, Point, Hagel, and Jake Guentzel still means they have the league’s fourth-best offense. They’re still likely looking for another piece to complement Hagel and Cirelli on the second line, though, and since Geekie’s failed to lock down that spot, they’ll see what he can do in heavy usage in the minors.
Geekie still has two seasons remaining on his entry-level contract, which carries a cap hit of $867K.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.