Mitchell Chaffee warming up before the Lightning game. Photo courtesy of Hannah Walls.
Forward Mitchell Chaffee was called up to the Lightning before Thursday’s game between two playoff-hopeful teams as the Bolts battle late-season injuries and playoff-hungry opponents.
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By Terry Hunsicker
TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Lightning recalled forward Mitchell Chaffee before their Thursday night win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, 6-3, on April 2, 2026.
Chaffee, who was called from the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Lightning in Syracuse, played for 9:23 and recorded three hits in the win over Pittsburgh. He played right wing on the fourth line.
“I want to be here, and I want to help this team win,” said Chaffee. “I want to prove that, you know, I deserve to be here.”
He has played in parts of the last three seasons for the Lightning. Chaffee has 25 points over 104 games with the Bolts, having played in 66 games during the 2024-2025 season. Chaffee has appeared in eight games this season, but has yet to record a point.
Following the optional morning skate on Thursday, center Gage Goncalves called Chaffee a strong player who is hard to knock off pucks. Lightning head coach Jon Cooper praised Chaffee’s intensity.
“I think a lot of guys sometimes go down and don’t have a great attitude, it shows in their game, I think it’s the opposite for Chaffee,” said Cooper.
Chaffee said he knew he was being called up when Julien BriseBois, the Lightning’s general manager, called him while he was in Syracuse. He slept in his own home following the news, calling it a great night and a great rest.
Chaffee joins a Lightning team in the midst of a final push for the playoffs. With 100 points in the standings, the Lightning sit on top of the Atlantic Division but have not officially clinched a playoff spot. The Bolts’ opponent for Chaffee’s return was the Pittsburgh Penguins, another team battling for the opportunity to chase the Stanley Cup. The Penguins, with 92 points, are second in the Metropolitan Division.
“You look at where you are in the standings and, you know, every one of these games matters, and you’ve got to treat it like a playoff game,” said Chaffee.
Following goals by Anthony Cirelli, Rickard Rakell, and Egor Chinakhov, the Penguins had a 2-1 lead at the end of the first period. Eleven seconds into the second period, Cirelli scored his second goal of the night to tie the game. The Lightning scored four more unanswered goals, including an empty-net goal by Cirelli. Despite a late Penguins goal, the Lightning won dominantly, 6-3.
The roster space for Chaffee was opened with the transfer of captain and defenseman Victor Hedman to the long-term injured reserve. Hedman, who missed parts of the season due to injury, has been away from the team for undisclosed personal reasons.
Forward Brandon Hagel suffered an undisclosed injury during the Lightning’s game against Montreal on Tuesday, March 31. Hagel completed the game on Tuesday, but was scratched from Thursday’s lineup. This created the necessity for an additional forward to be added to the roster.
Jon Cooper did not provide an update on Hagel’s injury during the morning skate on Thursday; he is listed as day-to-day.
Goncalves said that while the theme this year for Lightning hockey has been the “next man up mentality,” it will only go so far. He said that encouragement from team leadership has helped the team through the season.
“They’re telling you to be confident with the puck, telling you to try and make plays when it’s there,” said Goncalves. “Having a bunch of future Hall of Famers kind of tells you that, I know, helped a lot.”