Lightning Activate Declan Carlile

The Tampa Bay Lightning have activated defenseman Declan Carlile off of long-term injured reserve in advance of tonight’s game against the Montreal Canadiens, according to Erik Erlendsson of Lightning Insider.

Carlile, 25, has been sidelined since March 12 with a lower-body injury. Before his injury, Carlile was in the midst of the strongest season of his career at the professional level. The former Merrimack College rearguard has flown past his prior career highs in terms of NHL games played, skating in 38 games for the Lightning this season.

Tampa Bay has developed Carlile into a valuable AHL player, and their work in growing his game has begun to bear fruit for their NHL squad. While he’s still a depth contributor for the Lightning, averaging under 15 minutes of ice time per game, he has shown some promise as a shutdown blueliner. Head coach Jon Cooper has even begun to give him some time on the penalty kill.

Set to hit restricted free agency this summer, Carlile has a big opportunity ahead of him in what remains of the season. If he can find a way to get into Cooper’s lineup in the games left in the regular season, or perhaps even crack the team’s playoff lineup, he could further increase his odds of landing a solid contract extension this summer.

This season, Carlile has played on a two-way contract with a $250K AHL salary and $350K guarantee. Given the steps forward Carlile has taken this year, it seems entirely possible, if not likely, that he’ll earn the first one-way NHL contract of his career this summer. Before he gets to that point, though, he’ll need to finish this season with the Lightning in a strong fashion.