Lightning Lose Two

Is it time for the Lightning to really start considering selling off some assets in order to rebuild? News came down on Thursday that both Paul Ranger and Andrej Meszaros will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery in a couple weeks time.

The Lightning currently sit in 13th position in the Eastern Conference, now 16 points behind 8th place (Buffalo) for a playoff spot, which could now be considered out of their reach. With all the trade rumours in Tampa and now these injuries, the season does seem rather lost.

Ranger, a Draft pick of Chris', was not having the offensive season that was thought of him at the beginning of the year, but as discussed yesterday, no one on the Lightning has been really impressive offensively. This season, Ranger has only 2 goals and 11 assists in 44 games for the Lightning and was a possible drop for Chris the second Waiver Draft. Unfortunately for Chris, he chose against dropping him and will now be without his services for the rest of the year.

Meszaros, acquired from Ottawa in the off-season, a Box 26 defenseman (not taken in the Draft), wasn't having a good season either. He had only accumulated 2 goals and 14 assists in 54 games this season for the Lightning and wasn't a popular pick on the Sheet. His loss is less detrimental to the pools, but he was taking up a lot of blueline minutes in Tampa, which will now give a player like Ty Wishart a reason to stay up with the big club.

Look for Tampa to make some moves to clear up some space in the next couple weeks, as their season is done.

Click here to see an updated injury page.