It’s safe to say training camp has not gone exactly as the Tampa Bay Lightning hoped it would.
Right off the hop, captain Steven Stamkos was expressing dismay over his lack of contract-extension talks with the organization. Then it was announced by the team that star goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy would miss about two months of the regular season after having surgery to repair a lumbar disc herniation in his back.
Tampa has absorbed its fair share of critical injuries over the years — including a few to Stamkos — and kept on chugging. But if there’s one position where the Bolts seem ill-prepared to next-man-up it, it’s in the blue paint.
Unless something changes, Jonas Johansson — he of 35 career NHL games — will be the go-to guy in Tampa for the next little while. Behind him is Matt Tomkins, a 29-year-old 2012 seventh-round selection who has yet to make his NHL debut.
Finding someone who can capably spell Vasilevskiy has, for the most part, been a problem for Tampa the past handful of years. Since the start of the 2017-18 season, Vasilevskiy — with 335 games played — has seen the most action in the league aside from only Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets.
Behind him, eight other goalies have suited up for Tampa in that span and collectively posted an .898 save percentage.
October is never a month to panic in in the NHL, especially for a team as savvy and accomplished as Tampa. Still, this team has got a Grade A problem here in that its in-house options are — at best — untested, it’s beyond tight against the cap, and it plays in an Atlantic Division, where eight bad weeks could really put you behind the 8-ball.
Tampa just might be forced to take action of some kind. Here’s a quick peak at what is, admittedly, not a very appetizing list of options.
Call an old friend
The two best backups Tampa has had in the past half-decade are Brian Elliott and Louis Domingue. Elliott, who served as the No. 2 the past two seasons, has not officially retired. He struggled mightily last year, but is only one year removed from a .912 save percentage in 19 outings in 2021-22. Surely GM Julien BriseBois still has the 38-year-old’s number and could at least give him a ring.
Domingue, meanwhile, is in the second year of a two-year pact with the Rangers that counts for $775,000 against the cap. He’s behind Igor Shesterkin and Jonathan Quick on the depth chart. However, the question that comes up here (and with other Eastern Conference rivals) is, even if New York is inclined to move an extra 'tender (for a pittance of a return, realistically) do they have any interest in helping a squad they could be scrapping it out with for a playoff spot?
Try another veteran UFA
The Athletic pointed out Jaroslav Halak, unsigned at 38, is still working out in Boston in the hopes of landing a ride this season. The veteran Slovak still managed a .903 save percentage last year for the Blueshirts and would surely suit up for the league minimum.
Monitor the waiver wire
We’ve already seen Spencer Martin claimed by the Blue Jackets and a few teams, including Toronto, Florida and Pittsburgh, might have to place a goalie on waivers as rosters get trimmed down to 23 men for opening night. Would Martin Jones (Leafs), Anthony Stolarz (Panthers) or Magnus Hellberg (Penguins) be worth biting on?
Swing a small-time trade
While some Eastern Conference teams might have zero interest in helping the Bolts out in any way, the same might not be true of rebuilding squads in the West. Anaheim has John Gibson and up-and-comer Lukas Dostal in its midst and could be interested in adding any draft pick it can get for the next year or so. Alex Stalock inked a one-year deal worth $800,000 in the summer with Anaheim and would represent a little stability for two months. The 36-year-old managed a .908 save percentage playing for bottom-feeding Chicago last season.
Ride it out
I mean, not for nothing, but Johansson hasn’t allowed a goal in two full-game, pre-season starts this year. He blanked the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night, a performance that came on the heels of a stopping all 42 shots the Carolina Hurricanes threw at him on Sept. 28.
Johansson had a .920 save percentage in the AHL last season and boasts the six-foot-five frame everybody seems to want in a goalie these days.
When you get right down to it, even if Vasilevskiy didn’t return until early December, the Bolts would need about 20 starts out of him, throwing in a handful for Tomkins. It’s a risk, no doubt, but in the absence of a truly great alternative, maybe the play is to see what Johansson has in the hopes you’ve found not only a temporary starter, but a guy who can lessen Vasilevskiy’s load going forward.
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