A strong showing in the minors this season has landed goaltender Ryan Fanti an NHL contract. PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that the Lightning have signed the netminder to a one-year, two-way deal. The pact pays $775K at the NHL level and $80K in the minors.
The 25-year-old was originally an Oilers prospect after signing with them as an undrafted college free agent back in 2022. However, he spent the bulk of his tenure with them at the ECHL level, leading to a non-tender last summer. He eventually caught on with Tampa Bay on a minor-league deal with AHL Syracuse although he spent most of the season in ECHL Orlando, putting up a 2.71 GAA and a .907 SV% in 37 games. Fanti impressed in limited action with the Crunch as well, posting a 1.33 GAA and a .950 SV% in six outings with them.
Fanti is now the fifth goaltender the Lightning have under contract next season. Excluding the NHL tandem, he’ll be battling for playing time with the Crunch with veteran Brandon Halverson along with prospect Harrison Meneghin who just signed his entry-level deal a couple of weeks ago. Matt Tomkins, who was the backup for the Crunch this season, is a pending unrestricted free agent and may not return.