Lightning’s Matt Tomkins, Wild’s Vinni Lettieri placed on waivers

The Tampa Bay Lightning have placed goaltender Matt Tomkins on waivers. Tomkins will be sent down to the Lightning’s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate the Syracuse Crunch if he clears.

The Lightning have had to rely on Jonas Johansson and Tomkins between the pipes while franchise goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy recovered from surgery. In three games with Tampa, Tomkins posted a 1-2-0 record and a .889 save percentage.

Tomkins, 28, was previously drafted in the seventh round by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2012 before embarking on a four-year run at Ohio State University. He put up solid numbers there before turning pro in 2017-18, splitting his time between the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL and Indy Fuel of the ECHL. He was full-time with the IceHogs for two seasons (2019-20 and 2020-21), but he served as the team’s backup most of the time.

Meanwhile, the Minnesota Wild have placed Minnesota product Vinni Lettieri on waivers. Lettieri has tallied two goals in 11 games with the Wild. When he scored his first goal with the Wild, it was his grandfather and Wild commentator Lou Nanne who called the goal.

Lettieri was signed out of college in 2016-17 by the New York Rangers and made his AHL debut with the Hartford Wolf Pack that season. He made his NHL debut with the Rangers in 2017-18, appearing in 19 games and registering one goal and five points. Last season, Lettieri played 48 regular season games with the Providence Bruins in the AHL, recording 23 goals, 26 assists and 49 points, the most of his AHL career. He registered a goal in four playoff games as the Bruins lost to the Wolf Pack in the Atlantic Division Semifinals. In 94 NHL games, he has recorded nine goals and 20 points.