The Tampa Bay Lightning find themselves now with not one, but two big holes to fill as the offseason gets underway. Just days after former Assistant General Manager/ Director of Hockey Operations of six years, Mathieu Darche was hired as the general manager for the New York Islanders, another key member of the organization, Stacy Roest is out as well.
Roest has been a crucial part of the Lightning’s recent successes since 2013. Over the span of the 12-years Roest was with the organization, he served as head of the player development department; and was the assistant general manager and general manager of Tampa’s AHL affiliate Syracuse Crunch as well, preparing players to make It up to the next level.
Along with the Lightning winning the Stanley Cup in 2020 and 2021 and making it to the Stanley Cup Final in 2022, the Syracuse Crunch had been to the playoffs seven straight seasons. Lightning General Manager, Julien BriseBois credited the success of the organization to the development from the bottom up, including the importance of Syracuse’s role in the growth of players like Gage Gonclaves and Conor Geekie to be specific.
The offseason is beginning as a season of rebuilding for Tampa Bay as they now have to massive gaps in their front office along with their need to find a assistant head coach to join Jon Cooper after former assistant Jeff Blashill accepted a head coaching position with the Chicago Blackhawks.
And while it’s a season of rebuilding, some say that this could also be a good thing in the end for the Lightning. They have not made it out of the first round of playoffs since making it to the final in 2022, so some say the rebuild could be a positive note for the Lightning and a time to allow some fresh faces to assist the front office staff.
With the NHL beginning on June 27, the Lightning will likely be looking to fill their AGM, Assistant Coach and Syracuse positions prior to the start of the draft. Otherwise, it will be up to the current coaching and front office staff to field the next Lightning prospect class.
