Examining Lightning's goaltending options in wake of veteran's injury

One hallmark of Tampa Bay’s success in recent years has been strong goaltending from veteran Andrei Vasilevskiy. The Lightning have had so much confidence in their starter that they’ve gone quite cheap with their backups over the last few seasons. The risk to that approach, of course, is Vasilevskiy getting injured, a reality they’re now facing for at least the next two months after he underwent back surgery.

At the moment, the Lightning have Jonas Johansson as their projected starter, a netminder who has seen action with Buffalo, Colorado and Florida but has a save percentage of just .886 in 35 career appearances. Sure, that should improve behind a strong Tampa back end but his track record shouldn’t be particularly confidence-inspiring for management. An upgrade would certainly be helpful.

Of course, an upgrade is quite difficult for them to be able to afford. While Vasilevskiy will be LTIR-eligible, the fact he’ll return means that Tampa Bay is basically limited to replacing him with a low-cost netminder who can be waived and sent down upon Vasilevskiy’s return. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the low-cost options that are out there.

Waiver candidates

Magnus Hellberg (PIT): Hellberg is no stranger to being in this situation as he was plucked off waivers twice last season by teams in this very situation, looking for a bit of short-term veteran depth. His NHL track record is limited and his numbers are no better than Johansson’s, but he’d at least give them a bit more of an experienced option.

Martin Jones (TOR): Jones was a late signee in free agency, eventually accepting a cheap one-way deal with an eye on being Toronto’s AHL starter. He played in 48 games with Seattle last season, and while he had a save percentage of just .886, his career numbers are a bit better. If they want someone that can still handle a short-term starters’ workload, he’ll garner some consideration.

Alex Lyon (DET): The veteran impressed down the stretch last season with Florida and actually went into the playoffs as their starter before Sergei Bobrovsky got on his run partway through the first round. His NHL numbers last year (2.89 GAA, .912 SV%) came in less than a three-month span which is around how long Vasilevskiy will be out. Could those numbers be repeatable (or close to it) in Tampa Bay?

Cayden Primeau (MTL): This one would be a bit more of a gamble considering his very limited NHL experience. However, he has been a multi-year starter in the minors now and at 24, it’s possible there’s still some upside. Could he be this year’s Connor Ingram where a change of scenery helps him to unlock his potential? If Tampa Bay thinks so, he could be an under-the-radar option if Montreal doesn’t opt to carry three goalies instead.

Alex Stalock (ANA): If Anaheim decides to start Lukas Dostal in the minors, this one won’t be an option for Tampa. However, if he is on waivers, he could be an intriguing option after putting up a .908 SV% in 27 games with Chicago last season, his first extended NHL action since 2019-20 after dealing with myocarditis.

Anthony Stolarz (FLA): Stolarz is coming off an injury-riddled season but he’s only a year removed from posting a .917 SV% on an Anaheim team that had struggled considerably. His cap hit would make it quite difficult for them to potentially keep him after Vasilevskiy returns, but he is one of the more proven goalies likely to hit the waiver wire in the coming days.

All of these players are on contracts that can be fully buried in the minors without any salary-cap penalty.

Trade options

Eric Comrie (BUF): With Devon Levi and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in the fold, it’s quite possible that the Sabres decide to go with the young duo, which would leave Comrie as the odd one out. With a $1.8M AAV, Tampa Bay would need the Sabres to retain a decent chunk of that (if not the 50% maximum), so it’d be understandable if Buffalo asked for a draft pick in return. Given that there will be other goalies available for free (and Comrie himself could be waived, too), this might not be their preferred route at this time.

Dan Vladar (CGY): This has been a popular speculative option but it’s not necessarily the most viable for Tampa Bay since he has a two-year deal and a $2.2M cap hit, which is something they can’t afford when Vasilevskiy returns. Tampa Bay would need to come close to matching money in a trade as a result, meaning they’d have to part with a regular on their roster, but he’d give them a higher-upside second-string option.

Free-agent options

Brian Elliott: Elliott is no stranger to the team as he served as the backup over the past two seasons. Things went quite well in 2021-22, but that certainly wasn’t the case last season with numbers that were among the worst in his career. If familiarity with the organization and systems is important to the Lightning, it wouldn’t be shocking to see them at least consider the possibility of a reunion.

Jaroslav Halak: Last month, Halak indicated that he wants to keep playing but doesn’t want to be in a third-string/reserve role. This short-term vacancy would seemingly fit him well. He’d be guaranteed some consistent playing time and if he can outplay Johansson, it’s possible that he could push for a season-long opportunity. He had a .903 SV% in 25 games with the Rangers last season, a better mark than many others on this list.

Internal options

Tampa Bay has two other goalies on NHL deals, neither of whom have made an NHL start. Hugo Alnefelt is viewed as a possible goalie of the future but didn’t have a great year with AHL Syracuse. Ideally, he needs frequent playing time, and that’s easier to get with the Crunch. Matt Tomkins is the other goalie in the system. He exercised an opt-out in Sweden to sign with the Lightning back in May. The 25-year-old hasn’t been more than an AHL backup in North America, and it would be tough to rely on him in the NHL for any sort of extended stretch.

With Vasilevskiy’s surgery occurring now instead of in-season, the Lightning will have considerably more options over the next couple of weeks if they decide to add someone from outside the organization. At this point, their best bet might be via the waiver wire where the list above certainly isn’t exhaustive; there will be plenty of netminders for them to choose from to give them a bit more stability in the short term. They just might have to wait a week or two for the better options to become available.