The AHL’s Charlotte Checkers announced that they’ve signed goaltender Louis Domingue for the remainder of the 2025-26 season. He signed in Russia with Sibir Novosibirsk over the offseason but was released from that deal at the beginning of the month.
Domingue, 33, didn’t fare well in his first tenure overseas. He made 11 appearances but only mustered a 3.83 GAA and .892 SV%, going 0-9-2 with one shutout behind one of the Kontinental Hockey League’s worst teams. He was released at his request for “family reasons,” but considering Novosibirsk’s new starter, Anton Krasotkin, has put up a .910 SV% in 21 outings, they were likely happy to let him walk.
The former Coyotes and Lightning backup has 144 games behind him at the top level, but hasn’t been an NHL regular for several years now. His last time making double-digit appearances in a single season was 2019-20 and he hasn’t been a full-time No. 2 option since the year prior with the Lightning. He’s bounced around multiple organizations in the last several years as a third or fourth-string option. He’d spent the last three years in the Rangers’ system, making a single spot start for them at the NHL level in 2023-24 and 2024-25.
While Domingue’s recent NHL track record in limited showings is strong – a .949 SV% in his last four starts dating back to 2021-22 – he took a tumble in the minors last season. In 28 showings for the Rangers’ AHL affiliate in Hartford, Domingue was limited to a .896 SV%, 3.32 GAA, and a 7-20-1 record. The Rangers understandably weren’t interested in bringing him back as a depth option after that performance, and he evidently didn’t net any two-way offers to stay in the NHL.
He’ll now catch on with the Panthers’ affiliate to extend a professional career that began with the ECHL’s Gwinnett Gladiators back in 2012 while in the Coyotes’ system. Charlotte hasn’t gotten great play out of their starter, Florida third-stringer Cooper Black, who’s only managed a .899 SV% and 2.77 GAA in 11 appearances. Domingue’s recent track record doesn’t suggest he’ll be much of an upgrade, but he’s a solid depth option to aid a rather inexperienced minor-league crease.
Spicy pork!