The Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled defenseman Matt Taormina and have reassigned defenseman Slater Koekkoek to Syracuse Crunch.
The move comes as a bit of a surprise as many in the hockey world considered Koekkoek to be a lock on Tampa Bay's third defensive pairing out of training camp. The Lightning started their new campaign with a perfect 3-0 record and it seems as if John Cooper is going with the "if it isn't broken, don't fix it" mantra. That strategy will keep Nikita Nesterov, who has played in every game so far, in the lineup instead of the 22-year-old prospect.