The Lightning announced Friday that they’ve recalled goaltender Matt Tomkins from AHL Syracuse. Presumably, Jonas Johansson or Andrei Vasilevskiy is unavailable or uncertain for this afternoon’s game against the Predators, although the team hasn’t confirmed either’s status yet. The Lightning have an open roster spot and $1.43MM in current cap space, per PuckPedia, so they don’t need to make a corresponding transaction to accommodate Tomkins’ addition.
Tomkins, 30, has a subpar .890 SV% and 3.12 GAA in eight showings for Syracuse this season, although it’s somewhat irrelevant what his numbers are. Tampa Bay has no other option for a recall – they only have three goaltenders under contract. They would likely need to sign 28-year-old Brandon Halverson, who’s outperformed Tomkins by a wide margin in Syracuse this season while on an AHL contract, to an NHL deal if either Johansson or Vasilevskiy is out for any time.
Tomkins, an Edmonton native, is in his second season with the Bolts. The Ohio State grad started last season as Johansson’s backup while Vasilevskiy was on the shelf recovering from back surgery, posting a 3-2-1 record in six starts with a .892 SV% and 3.33 GAA in his first-ever NHL action.
A seventh-round pick of the Blackhawks in 2012, Tomkins spent four seasons playing for their AHL and ECHL affiliates before reaching unrestricted free agency in 2021 and heading overseas, playing two seasons in the Swedish Hockey League with Frölunda HC and Färjestad BK. He also appeared for Canada at the 2022 Winter Olympics and World Championship, winning a silver medal at the latter as the third-stringer behind Chris Driedger and Logan Thompson.
Tomkins passed through waivers unclaimed at the beginning of the season. He can remain on the Bolts’ roster for up to 30 days or appear in 10 games before he requires them again to return to Syracuse.
Not surprised by this at all. I suspect Matt Tomkins will start against the Predators today as it would have been Jonas Johansson usually since Tampa has a back-to-back games (today & tomorrow). Vasy will be saved for the Toronto game at home.
Johansson has been providing dismal results & Tampa needs to see if Tomkins will be an improvement. If Tomkins doesn’t show improvement over Johansson then Tampa should consider signing Brandon Halverson to an NHL deal (why he isn’t signed is a bit baffling especially since his numbers prove worthy) & give him a shot. Either way, Tampa needs to find a reliable backup. If none of those options don’t work, you can suspect Tampa will look for a veteran backup come near the trade deadline as there are several options they can look at.
I can’t see the Lightning starting Tomkins with both goalies healthy. No matter how much Johansson may have struggled.
Vasilevskiy is being saved for tomorrow’s divisional game against Toronto. It wouldn’t surprise me that Vasy didn’t even travel with the team to Nashville as he wasn’t going to play it anyway.
Johansson would be the stater today against Nashville but because Johansson is proving not to be reliable at all. They can’t keep playing Johansson as he’s more of a detriment at this point. So yes, Tomkins could (& should) be getting the shot to start today over Johansson who’s time has run out. They need to see what Tomkins brings to the table.
Johansson will backup Tomkins.