Sharks forward, ex-Lightning player worries about Hurricane Milton’s impact in Tampa

SAN JOSE – San Jose Sharks forward Barclay Goodrow became all too familiar with Florida’s wild weather patterns during his time with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

“Throughout COVID at three o’clock every day, I’d just sit on the balcony and watch the thunderstorm last about 15 minutes, then carry on with the day, and it would be sunny again,” Goodrow said.

But Goodrow never experienced a hurricane, much less a massive one like Hurricane Milton, which could bring as much as 15 feet of storm surge to the Tampa-St. Petersburg area as it bears down on the region.

On Tuesday, Hurricane Milton was upgraded to a Category 5 storm as it churned in a northeast direction in the Gulf of Mexico. The potentially catastrophic storm is expected to land on the west coast of Florida late Wednesday as a Category 3 Hurricane, which carries winds between 111-129 mph.

Milton’s arrival in Florida comes less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene slammed parts of the Southeastern U.S., killing at least 230 people. As of Tuesday night, close to 90,000 North Carolina customers and 46,000 in Georgia remained without power.

Officials are worried that the debris left behind by Helene’s destruction could turn into projectiles as Milton wreaks havoc on any doubly affected areas.

“It’s back-to-back, really,” Goodrow said. “I was watching the news last night, and it’s crazy. The debris and everything hasn’t even been cleared from the last one. Now there’s an even bigger one coming, so it’s sad.

“They always hope that it takes a reroute and isn’t as bad as what people are scared of.”

Amid a massive evacuation in the region, both the Lightning and Tampa Bay Buccaneers have already left the area. The Lightning relocated to Raleigh, N.C., on Monday night, and the Buccaneers left for New Orleans on Tuesday. The Lightning open their season on the road Friday against the Carolina Hurricanes, and the Buccaneers play the Saints on Sunday.

As of Tuesday evening, the Lightning’s home opener Saturday against Carolina remained on the schedule.

After it makes landfall, Milton is expected to cross the Florida panhandle, dumping as much as 18 inches or rain, before exiting into the Atlantic Ocean by Thursday afternoon.

The undrafted Goodrow spent the first five-plus years of his professional career with the Sharks organization and played 268 games with the NHL team before he was traded to Tampa Bay in Feb. 2020. He won two Stanley Cups with the Lightning before he was traded in July 2021 to the New York Rangers, who then signed him to a six-year, $21.85 million contract.

However, as part of a late June salary cap move, the Rangers put Goodrow on waivers, something the forward reportedly did not become aware of until shortly before it happened. The following day, the Sharks, one of the 15 teams Goodrow had on his no-trade list, claimed him.

Goodrow said at the start of training camp that he wanted to leave that drama in the rearview mirror and added Tuesday that he was excited to get the season going. It appears he’ll start Thursday’s season-opener against the St. Louis Blues on a line with Alexander Wennberg, his former Rangers teammate, and Luke Kunin.

“It’s been over with for a while now,” Goodrow said. “Happy to be here, and it’s been fun getting to know all the guys here. It’s a really good combination of young guys, some older guys, and I think we’re going to prove a lot of people wrong this year, and it’s going to be fun.”

The Associated Press contributed to this story.