On Tuesday, the Lightning sent twenty-two year old defender Slater Koekkoek back to the club’s AHL affiliate in Syracuse. Predictably, the move sent the fanbase into an uproar.
Jason Garrison appears to be following the Matt Carle career arc, and Andrej Sustr seems to have stalled in his progression, so Koekkoek is the best shot the Lightning have to develop a capable second pairing defender behind Victor Hedman and Anton Stralman.
Koekkoek’s season hasn’t gone the way that some, including me, had hoped, but it doesn’t change his status as one of the keys to the Lightning’s ability to compete at the top of the Eastern Conference.