Tampa Bay Lightning’s Tyler Motte out indefinitely with upper-body injury

Despite the injury being listed with the blanket term of upper-body, Motte is likely dealing with a hand issue. The right winger was struck in the hand by a puck during Tampa Bay’s season opener against the Nashville Predators this past Tuesday. This prompted Motte to exit the game early and he was unable to return.

Motte did not attend practice on Wednesday and was initially listed under day-to-day status. Though coach Jon Cooper remained hopeful he could return shortly it was later confirmed by Lightning reporter Erik Erlendsson that Motte had been placed on injured reserve. This establishes that Tampa Bay will be without Motte’s services for a minimum of seven days.

It appears Motte’s replacement will be Alex Barre-Boulet. The scoring center was recalled by the organization yesterday from Tampa’s AHL affiliate the Syracuse Crunch. Barre-Boulet is an interesting candidate to fill in for Motte because the forward has more offensive upside than the veteran he is replacing. The 26-year-old registered 84 points in 69 games for the Crunch last season. Such production placed Barre-Boulet at second overall in AHL scoring and the league leader in assists for the 2022-23 season.

Another option to potentially fill in for Motte while he deals with this injury could be forward Austin Watson. The left winger recently signed a one-year deal with an average annual value of $776,665 on October 9. Watson attended Tampa Bay’s training camp on a PTO and was able to earn a one-year deal for the 2023-24 season. Motte, 28, is currently signed to a one-year contract with the Lightning that was agreed upon on September 9. The deal carries an $800,000 cap hit, representing a significant pay cut from the $1.35 million he earned last season. For Motte the injury is unfortunate as he recorded eight goals and a career-best 19 points in 62 games split between the Ottawa Senators and the New York Rangers during the 2022–23 regular season.