Tampa Bay Lightning Sign Matt Tomkins
The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed netminder Matt Tomkins to a two-year, two-way contract for next season, according to a team announcement.
For Tomkins, 28, this signing serves as his return ticket to North American professional hockey after two seasons spent abroad in Sweden’s SHL. Tomkins was a 2012 seventh-round pick who spent four seasons with Ohio State in the NCAA. After his collegiate career concluded, he spent two seasons with the Indy Fuel of the ECHL, turning in some decent performances that won him ECHL Goaltender of the Week honors four times as well the right to play eight AHL games with the Rockford IceHogs.
That run as a starter in the ECHL earned Tomkins the chance to be the IceHogs’ third goalie in 2019-20, and he ended up playing in 13 games and posting an .896 save percentage. The following year, the COVID-19 pandemic shortened the AHL’s season and Tomkins ended up the only IceHogs goalie to play in double-digit games, producing a .907 save percentage in 15 games. It was after that season that Tomkins chose to sign overseas, and he earned a role as the starting goalie for Froluda HC in the SHL.
His success with Frolunda (.908 save percentage in 33 games) established him in the SHL and got him a contract with Farjestad BK, the defending champions. It also earned him the chance to start for Team Canada at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. This past season, Tomkins was Farjestad’s starter and went 20-12 with a .911 save percentage.
The Lightning only have two goalies under contract for next season, Andrei Vasilevskiy and Hugo Alnefelt. Since Alnefelt, 21, may still need some more time to develop with the team’s AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, the Lightning may have a need for a backup netminder, as current backup Brian Elliott, 38, could retire. It’s unlikely the Lightning have signed Tomkins with the intention of him ending up Vasilevskiy’s backup, though.
Instead, Tomkins could be the replacement for pending unrestricted free agent Maxime Legace as the veteran partner for Alnefelt in Syracuse. Legace endured a difficult season with the Crunch, producing a dismal .888 save percentage in 41 games played.
This signing of Tomkins could very well be the team acting quickly to replace Legace in Syracuse, though it is also possible, if unlikely, that Legace is re-signed and one member of the trio sees time in the ECHL.
Chicago Blackhawks Sign Arvid Soderblom To Two-Year Contract Extension
The Chicago Blackhawks have signed netminder Arvid Soderblom to a two-year contract extension, per a team announcement. The deal carries a $962.5k cap hit.
Soderblom, who turns 24 in August, was the Blackhawks’ number-three netminder this past season. As Chicago number-one goalie Petr Mrazek struggled with injuries, Soderblom ended up playing in 15 NHL games. His numbers were not strong (2-10-2 record, .894 save percentage) but it must be noted that the Blackhawks team Soderblom was playing behind gave up 299 goals in 2022-23, the fifth-most in the NHL.
In the AHL, Soderblom’s form was a bit better. In 33 games he went 15-12-5 with a .905 save percentage, helping the Rockford IceHogs reach the Calder Cup playoffs. Last season, Soderblom was an impressive AHL force, posting a .919 save percentage in 38 games played. Before signing in Chicago, he had excelled as a tandem netminder for Skelleftea AIK in his native Sweden, posting a .921 save percentage in 22 starts.
With this contract extension in hand, Soderblom has the inside track to either maintaining his status as the number-three netminder in Chicago or even winning a job as a backup goalie.
With phenom Connor Bedard widely expected to be a part of the Blackhawks’ team in the fall, their timeline to contention could be shifted forward in time a bit, meaning at 23 years old Soderblom may not have as long of a developmental runway to establish himself as an NHLer as he may have had in a more extended Blackhawks rebuild.
In any case, this contract extension gives Soderblom a two-year platform to continue his development and hopefully become an NHL option in the crease for Chicago.
Minor Transactions: 05/07/23
It’s a busy day in the NHL, with three second-round playoff games on schedule. Both the New Jersey Devils and Toronto Maple Leafs are looking to avoid falling in potentially insurmountable 3-0 series deficits, while the Dallas Stars and Seattle Kraken are each looking to take the lead in their series.
In major junior hockey, Kraken prospect Ty Nelson and the North Bay Battalion have the chance to eliminate the Peterborough Petes aFnd reach the OHL finals tonight, possibly ending the seasons of top prospects Brennan Othmann and Owen Beck. Also in the OHL, Logan Mailloux and potential 2023 draft prospect Oliver Bonk reached the OHL finals, with a 5-1 victory over Sarnia sSting team stocked with notable prospects such as Ethan Del Mastro, Christian Kyrou, Luca Del Bel Belluz, Sasha Pastujov, and Ty Voit.
As fans enjoy the hockey on offer today, teams across the hockey world are getting to work on offseason moves. We’ll keep track of those transactions here.
- Former Detroit Red Wing and 221-game NHL veteran Tomas Jurco will not return to the KHL’s Kunlun Red Star for next season. Jurco scored a solid 25 points in 32 games for the KHL’s Chinese club, he was ultimately unable to help them avoid finishing as the second-worst team in the entire KHL, just ahead of HK Sochi. 2022-23 was Jurco’s second consecutive campaign in the KHL, as he spent last season in Kazakhstan with Barys Astana. Before that point, Jurco had settled in as more of an AHLer and even won his second Calder Cup in 2019 with the Charlotte Checkers, notching 18 points in 18 playoff contests.
- Max Gerlach, a 25-year-old former WHL star, is on the move after leading the Slovakian Extraliga in both goals and points this past season. The Flower Mound, Texas native signed with HK Poprad, landing him with a mid-table side after spending last season with last-place finisher HC Presov, who were relegated from the Slovakian top division. It’s been quite the journey for Gerlach to reach the point of stardom in Slovakia, as he had stops in Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, and Italy before signing with Presov last year. He’s scored well at nearly every place he’s played, meaning it’s possible that Poprad have signed next season’s leading scorer in Gerlach.
- Petr Jelinek, a longtime veteran of the Czech Extraliga, signed a two-year contract with HC Plzen, ending a nine-season run with Bili Tygri Liberec that included four seasons as the team’s captain. Jelinek helped the club with the 2015-16 Extraliga title and has in the past been one of the league’s top face-off takers. Jelinek, 38, has seen his offensive production decline in recent years (he scored four goals and 13 points in 49 games in 2022-23) and will now look to help Plzen reach the playoffs after a difficult season.
This page will be updated throughout the day
Czechia Releases 2023 IIHF World Championship Roster
Following Finland who released their group earlier today, Czechia has announced the roster that will represent them at the IIHF World Championships that begin next week. Unlike Finland, Czechia will compete in Group B, meaning their games will take place at Arena Riga, in Riga, Latvia. Their group includes Canada, Switzerland, and regional rival Slovakia, among others.
This Czech roster is a bit lighter on NHL talent compared to Finland, the United States, and Canada, as one might expect. They do have a few names NHL fans would recognize, though, such as New York Rangers rising star Filip Chytil, Arizona Coyotes netminder Karel Vejmelka, Detroit Red Wings scorer Dominik Kubalik, 548-game NHL veteran Vladimir Sobotka.
The section of the Czech roster that has the fewest recognizable names from an NHL perspective is their defense, which is headlined by 2018 Stanley Cup champion Michal Kempny and Boston Bruins 2015 first-round pick Jakub Zboril. Beyond that, they’re relying on Arizona Coyotes farmhand Ronald Knot and a few talented players from European leagues, such as former Carolina Hurricane Michal Jordan.
F Ondrej Beranek
F Jiri Cernoch
F Roman Cervenka
F Jakub Flek
F Filip Chlapik
F Filip Chytil
F Martin Kaut
F Dominik Kubalik
F Lukas Sedlak
F Jiri Smejkal
F Vladimir Sobotka
F Michael Spacek
F David Tomasek
F Daniel Vozenilek
D Tomas Dvorak
D Michal Jordan
D Michal Kempny
D Ronald Knot
D Jan Kostalek
D Tomas Kundratek
D David Nemecek
D Jakub Zboril
Finland Releases 2023 IIHF World Championship Roster
Finland has released the roster of players that will represent them at the 2023 IIHF World Championships next week. Finland will compete in Group A of the tournament, a group containing fellow hockey heavyweights such as Sweden, the United States, and Germany. They are hosts for half of the tournament and the medal games, with Group A contests, the semifinals, and finals set to be played at Nokia Arena in Tampere, Finland.
This Finnish roster boasts some impressive talent, notably headlined by Colorado Avalanche superstar Mikko Rantanen. Other current NHLers on the roster include Kaapo Kakko, Olli Maatta, Kasperi Kapanen, and Joel Armia. Columbus Blue Jackets sniper Patrik Laine, one of the most naturally talented Finnish players in the world, won’t be playing in the tournament due to injury. Per a team announcement, Laine isn’t yet back to 100% after missing the final 12 games of the NHL season with an injury and prioritizing his recovery the choice was made to not represent Finland.
Perhaps the most interesting group of players to look at outside just the NHLers is in the crease. The Finns have 26-year-old Christian Heljanko as an option, fresh off of a season where he shined in the highest-pressure moments for his club Tappara Tampere. He backstopped Tappara to a Champions Hockey League title and Liiga title, but one wonders if that’ll be enough to unseat last year’s starter Jussi Olkinoura.
Olkinoura began the year with the Grand Rapids Griffins, but struggled through 15 games and eventually left to help save Brynas IF from relegation from the SHL, an attempt that ultimately failed. He shined in international play last year, though, earning Goalie of the Tournament honors at last year’s edition as well as the gold medal at both the IIHF Worlds and 2022 Winter Olympics. Also in the mix to start for Finland is Emil Larmi, who was among the best goalies in the SHL this season and recently led Vaxjo Lakers to a championship, winning playoff MVP honors along the way.
Will Finland trust their tournament in the hands of one of two players coming off of an excellent club season? Or will they keep faith in Olkinoura, who struggled in club play this season but led the country to Olympic and World Championship glory last year, and has a 14-1-1 record, 1.17 goals-against-average, and .947 save percentage in IIHF World Championship play?
Here’s the team as a whole:
F Marko Anttila
F Joel Armia
F Hannes Bjorninen
F Teemu Hartikainen
F Kaapo Kakko
F Kasperi Kapanen
F Juho Lammikko
F Sakari Manninen
F Waltteri Merela
F Ahti Oksanen
F Harri Pesonen
F Mikko Rantanen
F Jere Sallinen
F Antti Suomela
D Niklas Friman
D Miika Koivisto
D Mikko Lehtonen
D Olli Maatta
D Atte Ohtamaa
D Ville Pokka
D Mikael Seppala
Latest On Matt Dumba
The Minnesota Wild’s 2022-23 season ended with yet another first-round playoff loss last week, beginning the offseason work of general manager Bill Guerin. Guerin has a tall task ahead of him, as his mandate is to build a Stanley Cup contender around superstar Kirill Kaprizov but he must do so with the cap penalties charged for the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts set to rise to nearly $15MM combined.
One of the first cap casualties the Wild are anticipated to face due to the cost of those buyouts regards longtime Wild blueline staple Matt Dumba. The five-year, $6MM AAV contract Dumba signed in 2018 is set to expire, leaving his future in Minnesota in uncertain territory. Yesterday, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on the 32 Thoughts podcast that it is “much more likely than not [Dumba] tests the market” when the new league year begins in the summer.
While Dumba may not reach the $6MM on his next contract that he earned on his last, it seems as though the Wild simply will not have the financial bandwidth to offer Dumba a market-rate contract. Friedman did add that the Wild are not yet closing the door on finding a way to retain Dumba, due to how much they respect and appreciate the player, but that his return has to be considered highly unlikely.
The upcoming class of free agent right-shot defensemen isn’t exactly overflowing with talent, and Dumba fits in as one of the top names set to be available, next to teammate John Klingberg and New Jersey Devils rearguard Damon Severson. While Dumba’s play has definitely declined since his 50-point peak in 2017-18, and his offensive production hit career-lows this past season, the 28-year-old still gave head coach Dean Evason over 21 minutes a night, including nearly two minutes short-handed.
21 minutes a night is, to be fair, a noticeable decline from the past few years as Dumba hadn’t averaged below 22 nightly minutes since he was in his first few seasons as an NHL regular. As a result, this decline in tangible returns for Dumba’s play (the decrease in ice time, points production) has left the 28-year-old’s ultimate value in a relatively nebulous place.
Is he still the dynamic, at times game-changing blueliner he was in the past? Can he still reach that point on his next contract?
Or is he a defense-only blueliner at this point in his career, and if that’s the case how much value in his own end will he bring?
Those are the questions teams will have to answer for themselves when they ponder extending Dumba a contract offer in the offseason.
It’s unclear at the current moment the level of wider leaguewide interest there is in Dumba, though it’s worth noting that all it really takes is one “believer” for Dumba to get a nice payday on his next deal.
Based on the fact that the Wild remain passionate supporters of Dumba’s overall value, and the fact that the team is still reportedly holding out hope they can find a way to retain him despite their dire cap situation, it’s entirely possible that another front office holds Dumba in a similarly high regard. If that’s the case, though, then his time in Minnesota (which has thus far lasted nearly 600 games played) is likely over.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
2023 Jack Adams Award Finalists Announced
The 2023 finalists for the Jack Adams Award, presented to the coach who has “contributed the most to his team’s success” and voted on by the NHL Broadcasters Association, were announced tonight.
The finalists are Dave Hakstol of the Seattle Kraken, Lindy Ruff of the New Jersey Devils, and Jim Montgomery of the Boston Bruins.
Of the three finalists, only Ruff has already won the award earlier in his career. Ruff won it in 2006 on the back of an impressive 52-win campaign. In his third season as the Devils’ bench boss, Ruff has guided a young team out of their rebuilding phase and into Stanley Cup contention. Under his guidance, Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier have emerged as superstar talents and the Devils won their first playoff series since their 2011-12 run to the Stanley Cup Final.
Hakstol, a longtime college hockey coach at the University of North Dakota, is a finalist thanks to a stellar second season behind the bench of the expansion Seattle Kraken.
While Seattle did not enjoy the type of instant success the Vegas Golden Knights had in their first season, 2022-23 has been more kind to Hakstol’s squad.
The former Philadelphia Flyers coach has overseen the rise of one of the NHL’s deepest teams and led them to an upset victory over the defending Stanley Cup champions in their first-ever playoff series.
New York Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant won the Jack Adams for his work managing the expansion Vegas Golden Knights, and one of the most important factors leading to his win was to just how many players reached new heights in their careers with Gallant as head coach.
Hakstol has overseen similar career elevations in Seattle, with players such as Jared McCann, Vince Dunn, Daniel Sprong, and Eeli Tolvanen authoring career-best years in 2022-23. Now, with a chance to win a Stanley Cup for Seattle, Hakstol has a chance to take home some individual hardware as well.
Although Ruff and Hakstol are both exceptionally qualified candidates for the award, the favorite has to be Montgomery, the Bruins’ head coach. Despite the disappointment of the Bruins’ first-round playoff exit, Montgomery’s work with the Bruins is undeniably worthy of recognition. He managed the veteran team to the winningest regular season in NHL history, breaking numerous records en route to the Presidents’ Trophy.
Making that success even more impressive is the fact that this year was Montgomery’s first behind the bench in Boston. He took on the challenge of filling 2020 Jack Adams Award winner Bruce Cassidy’s shoes and delivered an all-time great regular season.
Although a Stanley Cup would undoubtedly have been the more desirable reward for his efforts this season, Montgomery nonetheless is in a prime position to take home one of the highest individual honors an NHL coach can receive.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Minor Transactions: 05/05/23
The NHL second round continues today with Game Two between the New Jersey Devils and Carolina Hurricanes. After a disheartening 5-1 loss in Game One, tonight is an important opportunity for the Devils to tie the series and head back to New Jersey on stable ground, while the Hurricanes will look to take a convincing 2-0 series lead into their set of away games in Newark.
The AHL playoffs are also underway, and their slate of games is highlighted by an all-important fifth game between Seattle Kraken affiliate Coachella Valley Firebirds and the Colorado Eagles, the Colorado Avalanche’s affiliate. Elsewhere in the hockey world, Great Britain earned promotion to the 2024 IIHF World Championships via a gold medal-winning victory over Italy in the IIHF Division 1A World Championships.
As these North American playoffs continue, many teams across the hockey world have begun their offseason work. We’ll keep track of those moves here.
- Former Vancouver Canuck Linden Vey, a two-time KHL All-Star and champion in both Russia and Switzerland, is moving on to Germany to continue his professional career. Adler Mannheim have signed the 31-year-old forward to a one-year contract. Vey hasn’t played in North America since 2016-17 but has firmly established himself as a star in the Euro hockey circuit. He led the KHL’s Kazakh club Barys Astana in scoring with 41 points in 57 games this season and will now join other former NHLers in Jyrki Jokipakka, John Gilmour, and Tom Kuhnhackl as a new Mannheim signing.
- Ottawa Senators prospect Viktor Lodin is reportedly headed back to Sweden, according to SportExpressen’s Johan Svensson. Svensson reports that the SHL’s IK Oskarshamn will sign Lodin to a two-year contract, completing his return to Sweden after a little over one season in North America. Lodin, a 2019 fourth-round pick, signed an entry-level deal with the Senators in 2021. Lodin was a key piece helping Timra IK earn promotion to the SHL that year, so following his entry-level contract signing the Senators loaned Lodin back to Timra, where he would help them avoid relegation back to HockeyAllsvenskan. He then crossed the Atlantic and had a blistering hot start to his North American career, potting eight points in 10 AHL games and earning his first NHL game. But now he’s headed back to his home country after enduring a difficult campaign this year, a season that ended in February and included enduring a hard hit from Arber Xhekaj in a rookie tournament preseason game.
- IK Oskarshamn also officially signed a player today, acquiring former Vancouver Canucks prospect Lukas Jasek. The 25-year-old Czech winger is fresh off of a strong two-year run with Liiga’s Lahti Pelicans, including these past Liiga playoffs where his 13 points in 17 games helped the Pelicans reach the Liiga finals. Jasek spent parts of four seasons playing in the AHL with the Utica Comets but ultimately made the choice to return to Europe after failing to gain traction in the American league. Now, he’s headed to the SHL where he could be counted on as one of his team’s top scorers.
- Recently-promoted SHL side MoDo Hockey Ornskoldsvik have made a significant signing to support their efforts next season to avoid relegation back down to HockeyAllsvenskan. They have added former NHL top prospect David Rundblad on a two-year contract. The 32-year-old blueliner spent this past season playing for Karpat in the Finnish Liiga, where he scored 26 points in 60 games. Rundblad is a former Salming Trophy winner, which is the award given to the SHL’s defenseman of the year, and will be one of the top defensemen in MoDo’s lineup next season. The 2014-15 Stanley Cup Champion has scored 73 points in 153 career games at Sweden’s top level and before 2022-23 had spent six consecutive seasons in the KHL.
- After failing to carve out a consistent role in a crowded crease with the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins, Pittsburgh Penguins goalie prospect Filip Lindberg has made the choice to head overseas. The 24-year-old starred in the UMass Minutemen’s NCAA championship season in 2020-21 but struggled this season after a strong start to his AHL career last year. He posted a .896 save percentage in 20 games this season, the worst of the Penguins’ three main AHL goalies. He’s now made the choice to sign in a top European league, inking a two-year deal with TPS Turku in Finland’s Liiga. A strong performance in Turku could help him return to North America on stronger footing, should he still want to chase down eventually becoming an NHL goaltender.
- Former QMJHL star netminder Samuel Harvey has signed with Lukko of the Finnish Liiga, finalizing a significant step up for his career after he led HC Bolzano on a run to the ICEHL finals this past season. It’s a significant opportunity for Harvey, as the competition level in Liiga is higher than what he faced in Italy. Harvey’s campaign in Bolzano was his first as a European pro, having split 2021-22 between the ECHL’s Fort Wayne Komets and AHL’s San Jose Barracuda.
- Lukko has made another signing, inking twin brothers Pathrik Westerholm and Ponthus Westerholm to contracts for next season. The pair have a sort of Sedin-like chemistry that has established them as quality contributors in the SHL, where they have spent the last three seasons playing for the Malmo Redhawks. The pair has played for Lukko before, a strong 2019-20 campaign that saw them rank second and third in team scoring behind current Columbus Blue Jacket Justin Danforth. Now, they’ll head back to Liiga hoping to help Lukko win a league title.
- Grizzlys Wolfsburg have made an aggressive push to improve their team after losing in Game Seven of the DEL Semifinals to the league’s eventual champions. The team has announced that they have signed two-time DEL champion and Eisbaren Berlin star Matt White to a one-year contract. White, 33, has scored at a point-per-game rate in Berlin for the last three seasons and has extensive professional experience. He’s a former Nashville Predators farmhand who was a solid scorer in the AHL and has brought offensive production nearly everywhere he’s played. While a return to North America for the former USA Hockey Junior Player of the Year is likely off the table at this stage of his career, this signing gives White the chance to add some more hardware to his trophy cabinet in Germany’s top pro league.
- Liiga’s Assat Pori have signed former Quebec Rampart Martin Lefebvre to a one-year contract. Lefebvre is coming off of an extremely successful season, a year where he won a Norwegian Championship with the Stavanger Oilers and also was named the league’s Player of the Year. The 30-year-old blueliner’s highest-level professional experience came in 2018-19 when he played for Krefeld Pinguine in the DEL, and now his run of success in one of Europe’s lower-level pro leagues has earned him a chance in one of the continent’s top competitions.
Washington Capitals Sign Michael Sgarbossa To Two-Year Contract Extension
The Washington Capitals have signed forward Michael Sgarbossa to a two-year, two-way contract extension, according to CapFriendly. The deal reportedly has a league-minimum $775k AAV and a hefty $525k min0r-league salary. It represents a small raise for Sgarbossa, who took home a $500k AHL salary this past season.
This contract is a significant guarantee to a player who has been the best player on the Capitals’ AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears, for several years. The 30-year-old is a two-time AHL All-Star who has 393 points in 530 career games in the American league. The former Sudbury Wolves star has filled in as NHL depth on 65 occasions across his 11-year professional career, and scored 16 career NHL points.
This season, Sgarbossa has been the Bears’ top scorer with 58 points in 60 games. He’s led Hershey to the AHL’s Atlantic Division Finals, with his three points helping push Hershey past the Charlotte Checkers. Sgarbossa has played for the Bears since 2018-19, and seems to have found his long-term role as a top-of-the-lineup Hershey Bear and priority call-up for the Capitals.
In a league where stability can be hard to find, this two-year contract extension serves as a nice reward for Sgarbossa’s strong play, as well as an important investment by the Capitals and their AHL affiliate in the success of Washington’s player development pipeline.
Tampa Bay Lightning Sign Michael Eyssimont To Two-Year Contract Extension
The Tampa Bay Lightning have announced that forward Michael Eyssimont has been re-signed to a two-year, one-way contract extension. Per the team release, the deal carries an $800k AAV.
The Lightning acquired Eyssimont, 26, in a trade with the San Jose Sharks a few months ago. Before that point, Eyssimont had been claimed off of waivers from the Winnipeg Jets by San Jose. He was set to become a Group Six unrestricted free agent, meaning this contract extension keeps Eyssimont from testing the open market.
Eyssimont is a 2016 fourth-round pick who brings considerable energy to any line he plays on. A former top scorer at St. Cloud State in the NCAA, Eyssimont three middling seasons with the Ontario Reign in the AHL, seasons where he failed to establish himself as a true NHL option.
Eyssimont signed with the Jets in the summer of 2021 and took a step forward with their AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose. Eyssimont scored 42 points in 58 games with Manitoba and earned the right to make his NHL debut. This season, Eyssimont only spent nine games in the AHL before being called up to Winnipeg in November. After earning another shot in the NHL, Eyssimont didn’t look back, turning in quality play for the Jets.
Winnipeg attempted to send him back down to the Moose in January but at that point, Eyssimont had shown enough at the NHL level to entice another club to claim him on waivers. The Sharks did exactly that, and Eyssimont turned in a healthy eight points in 20 games in San Jose before being dealt to the Lightning, a team with designs on competing for the Stanley Cup.
While the Lightning fell in the first round to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Eyssimont’s individual season was far from a disappointment.
In just one season Eyssimont went from little-known AHLer to a well-regarded bottom-six energy player for one of the NHL’s most highly-regarded franchises.
His new contract is a one-way deal, helping his odds of remaining in the NHL for next season, although if he continues to play as he has recently finding a spot on coach Jon Cooper’s roster shouldn’t be a major issue.
For Tampa Bay, this contract locks in a bottom-six player at a highly affordable price. Should Eyssimont take another step forward in his game next season, the two-year term of this contract allows the Lightning to retain him on their roster at an $800k price tag.
It’s a solid bet for Tampa Bay’s front office to make, as well as a nice reward for a hard-working player who has only recently established himself as an NHLer.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images