The Tampa Bay Lightning have officially placed defenseman Mattias Ohlund on injured reserve, reports Damian Cristodero of the St. Pete Times. An MRI showed no structural damage to Ohlund’s knee, Cristodero says, but the 13-year veteran will nonetheless not be available when the Lightning open their season this Oct. 7 against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Ohlund spent the first 11 seasons of his career with the Vancouver Canucks before signing with Tampa Bay, for which he’s played the last two seasons. Disconcertingly, this is the second straight season in which Ohlund will be unavailable for the season opener, notes John Fontana of Raw Charge, SB Nation’s Lightning blog. Despite that, Ohlund has shown reasonable durability for a veteran, missing just 15 games in his Lightning career.
Elsewhere, the Lightning will need to make one more roster cut before Wednesday’s deadline. The choices are Brett Connolly, Blair Jones, Tom Pyatt, Mattias Ritola, and Dana Tyrell. Beat writer Eric Erlindsson of the Tampa Tribune believes “all signs point to […] Tyrell being the final cut.”