Lightning to try out defensive-minded forward

The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed forward Austin Watson to a professional tryout contract. Watson has been a member of the Ottawa Senators organization for the past three seasons. He became a free agent after his three-year, $4.5 million contract expired July 1st. During the 2022-23 season, Watson was a mainstay on the Senators bottom-six. He scored nine goals and 11 points in 75 games, which was the most games he had played in a single season since 2017-18.

With Watson, the Lightning know what they’re getting. He’s a ferocious competitor, throws his body around, plays solid defense and kills the penalty. He has a decent shot but can’t do much else in the offensive zone. And his skating would place him near the bottom of the league in that category. He’s perfect for a sheltered bottom-six role as a guy who can stir the pot every now and then.

At 31 years old, Watson figures to still have a fair amount left in the tank and could help the Lightning become a tougher team. He’s also a great guy in the locker room and an inspiration wherever he goes due to his public battle with alcoholism.

Watson was originally an 18th overall pick of the Nashville Predators in the 2010 NHL Draft. In hindsight it seems odd that the Predators used a high pick on a career bottom-six player over the likes of Evgeny Kuznetsov, Kevin Hayes, and Justin Faulk, who were all drafted lower than him. Nashville thought he had potential to be a solid power forward in the NHL. That never happened but he did carve out a nice career for himself nonetheless.

Over his nine-year NHL career, Watson has played 482 games between the Predators and Senators and scored 58 goals and 114 points over that span. He has also notched 612 penalty minutes and a combined -5 rating in his career.