The Tampa Bay Lightning recently announced the signing of forward Tom Pyatt to a one-year, two-way contract. While this is a minor move — it’s unclear whether he’ll start the season in the AHL or on one of the later lines for the Bolts — it’s important to have organizational depth, and Pyatt has the skills to be a contributor for the Lightning right away.
As John Fontana from Raw Charge noted, Pyatt could potentially serve a replacement for Sean Bergenheim or Nate Thompson:
Former Montreal Canadiens center Tom Pyatt, who has experience playing under Guy Boucher from the 2009-10 season with the Hamilton Bulldogs of the American Hockey League, was inked by the Lightning today to a one-year, two-way contract.
Pyatt’s a defensive forward, though a little undersized (5’11", 180 lbs). He saw consistent time on the Habs penalty kill last season (averaging 2:11 of tice-time on the PK per game). He becomes immediate competition to Blair Jones and Mattias Ritola for the role of 3rd line grinder/agitator, which Bergenheim had performed last season.
Either way, the Bolts now have another player to look at in the preseason when trying to flesh out their team.