Tampa Bay Lightning’s Erik Cernak is day to day with a lower-body injury

The Tampa Bay Lightning announced that defenseman Erik Cernak is day to day with a lower-body injury and would not play today against the Buffalo Sabres. 

Cernak left Thursday’s game versus the Pittsburgh Penguins during the second period and ultimately did not return. He took warmups prior to this morning’s game against the Sabres but ultimately was ruled out. 

The 25-year-old has 11 points (one goal, 10 assists) 166 hits and 81 blocked shots in 53 games this season. He has missed time this season due to lower and upper body injuries as well as a two-game suspension for elbowing  Sabres’ Kyle Okposo. 

A defensive defenseman, Cernak has played a pivotal role in helping the Tampa Bay Lightning win back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021. The Kosice, Slovakia product is in the final year of a three-year $8.85 million contract. Starting next season, Cernak will enter his new deal, eight years $41.6 million, the contract has a cap hit of $5.2 million and runs through 2030-31. He has a no-trade clause from 2024-25 until 2026-27 and then a modified no-trade clause for the remainder of the contract. 

The two-time Stanley Cup champ and 2021 Slovakian Player of the Year has appeared in 279 games with the Bolts, registering 17 goals, and 53 assists for 70 points. He has also racked up 799 hits and 376 blocked shots throughout his career so far. 

Defenseman Darren Raddysh filled in for Cernak on the blue line. The 26-year-old has played just five games in the NHL over the last two seasons. This season while playing for the Syracuse Crunch in the American Hockey League he has registered 50 points (13 goals, 37 assists) in 50 games. Raddysh has a cap hit of $762,500.