Brett Connolly will remain in the AHL and not head up to join the Lightning at training camp.
"We felt at this time, for our needs in Tampa and the role that he would play here, he's better off playing there," said GM Steve Yzerman. "He's playing a lot of minutes in all situations and he's getting better. So I'm very comfortable with where he is right now. He's going to be a good player for us. I just think he needs to play, and play a lot." Connolly has been great with Syracuse thus year, while scoring 15 goals and 33 points in 36 matches. He said he understands the decision even though he found it disappointing. Connolly skated in 68 games with Tampa last season and he ended up with 15 points.