The Lightning have signed free agent defenseman Charle-Edouard D’Astous to a one-year, two-way contract for the 2025-26 season, the team announced today. Financial terms were not disclosed.
It’s the first NHL contract for the 27-year-old Canadian. D’Astous has spent the last three seasons overseas in the Finnish Liiga and the Swedish Hockey League, establishing himself as a top two-way threat in the upper echelon of European hockey. The 6’2″, 187-lb lefty spent last season with Brynäs IF, who finished first in the SHL immediately after being promoted from the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan but recently fell to Luleå HF in six games in the playoff final. He led their blue line and finished second on the team in scoring with 39 points (12 G, 27 A) in 49 games and ranked second on the team behind SHL Defenseman of the Year Victor Söderström with a +26 rating.
While D’Astous didn’t get the year-end hardware Söderström did, he achieved some hefty accomplishments during his two-year stint in Finland. The Rimouski, Quebec, native scored 17 goals and 29 assists for 46 points in 54 games with KooKoo in 2023-24, leading the league in goals by defensemen and taking home Finland’s Defenseman of the Year award in the process. He also averaged more minutes per game than any other Liiga skater.
The move to KooKoo in 2022 came after D’Astous failed to make meaningful progress up the North American professional ladder. That’s despite some standout ECHL play, including his 2021-22 campaign with the Utah Grizzlies when he led the league in goals by defensemen (26) and was named the league’s Defenseman of the Year. He also won DOY honors back in juniors with the Rimouski Océanic back in 2018-29, so D’Astous arrives in Tampa with three DOY awards in three different leagues under his belt.
After a long road to get here, D’Astous will now try to crack the Lightning’s opening night roster in the fall as a depth puck-moving option. He’ll compete with names like Maxwell Crozier for depth spots and recall hierarchy. Since this is D’Astous’ first NHL contract, he’ll be waiver exempt throughout the 2025-26 campaign, so he can be assigned to AHL Syracuse without risk of losing him to another NHL club.
The Bolts now have 32 of the maximum 50 standard contracts signed for 2025-26.
Interesting signing, Tampa has a track record of finding under the radar talents that in many occasions turn out to be admirable players or just hidden gems. I guess we’ll see how D’Astous turns out over the course.
How ironic that JBB would sign a guy with this name because this team from here on out has THE potential to be…..D’sastrous!
Your post is “D’sastrous” in which is the true irony here but not surprised from a hater.