Dotchin was WAY out of shape: details on his embarrassing return to camp revealed!

You won't believe this: no wonder his contract was terminated!

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 5 years ago
Dotchin was WAY out of shape: details on his embarrassing return to camp revealed!
Zuma Press

Last week, the Tampa Bay Lightning revealed that defenseman Jake Dotchin was placed on unconditional waivers with the purpose of terminating his contract for a material breach.

The team had no further comment but is believed to be unhappy with Dotchin’s conditioning. Joe Smith of The Athletic reported that  it “sounds like” the Lightning were unhappy about Dotchin’s conditioning upon reporting to training camp.

This is a picture from the Tampa Bay Times as Dotchin worked out on Thursday: 

Now, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet has revealed additional details on the condition of Dotchin, and clearly the guy enjoyed the summer a little too much. He was more than out of shape... 

“From what I heard, it was extreme, he wasn’t just out of shape, he was extremely out of shape, we had heard he showed up with 25% body fat, that’s way too high for an NHLer.”


Dotchin, a former sixth-round draft pick, had a cap hit of $812,500, according to CapFriendly.com. Dotchin had one season left on his two-year deal, but will not get to fulfill it following this news. 

The 24-year-old blue liner was once believed to have a bright future with the Bolts, however, he did not take part in any of Tampa Bay’s postseason contests this past spring. He became a healthy scratch from time to time during the regular season, in which he played in 48 games this past season, scoring three goals, eight assists and finishing with a plus-17.

He did managed to tally some minutes alongside star defenseman Victor Hedman on the ice, however he lost his place as he became a healthy scratch on the roster. 

“Obviously the playing time is down a bit,” Dotchin said to the Tampa Bay Times back in February after he was scratched for the fifth time in six games. “I’ve just got to keep working hard, put my head down and do what I can do, do things in my control to get better and get back in the lineup.”

Dotchin did not score any goals in 2016-17, but he finished with a plus-10 and 11 assists in 35 games. 

Source: Twitter