If the Tampa Bay Lightning have taught fans anything besides what it takes to win the Stanley Cup, they have shown there is no single path to the NHL. Every season, Tampa Bay appears to have a new late bloomer come out of nowhere. Last season was no different when Mitchell Chaffee burst onto the scene just one day before his 26th birthday. The former Iowa Wild forward recorded a goal and assist in a 6-3 win over the Arizona Coyotes.
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This stellar performance earned Chaffee a full-time roster spot for the rest of the season, including the playoff series against the Florida Panthers. Furthermore, he signed a two-year extension with Tampa Bay in May with an average annual value of $800,000. Daily Faceoff has him listed as the fourth-line right wing on their line combination projections, so what can fans expect from Chaffee in his sophomore season?
Chaffee’s Path to the NHL
Before deciding on reasonable expectations for the 26-year-old this season, let’s recap how Chaffee got to where he is today. The Grand Rapids native earned his call-up to the NHL roughly halfway through the season in January. Before his rookie season, Chaffee played just two NHL games with the team that signed him as an undrafted free agent, the Minnesota Wild.
Chaffee earned a two-year entry-level deal with Minnesota following three seasons with the University of Massachusetts at the Collegiate Level. In 109 games with the Minutemen, Chaffee notched 47 goals and 48 assists for 95 points (0.87 points per game). Moreover, he was named captain of his school’s team in his final season in 2019-20. The winger then turned pro the following season, recording two goals and 17 points in 28 games (0.61 points per game) with Iowa in the American Hockey League. Chaffee would spend the next two seasons in the Wild organization before landing a two-way deal with Tampa Bay.
Chaffee’s solid production with the Syracuse Crunch earned him a spot on the Lightning roster. Before his call-up, he had 12 goals and 14 assists for 26 points in 36 games (0.72 points per game). The rest is history for the Michigan-born Chaffee, as all his hard work finally paid off to achieve his goal of cracking an NHL roster. Now, how did he perform during his rookie season?
Analyzing Chaffee’s 2023-24 Campaign
While his time with the Lightning was short, Chaffee showed solid bottom-six upside in his 30 games….
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