Tampa Bay Lightning sign Canadian Olympic goaltender Matt Tomkins

The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed goaltender Matt Tomkins to a two-year, two-way contract.

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.

Tomkins elected to sign with Frolunda in the SHL last year, where he had a 19-13-0 record with three shutouts. He then represented Canada at the Olympics, earning the starter’s gig near the end of the tournament over previous No. 1 Edward Pasquale and current Buffalo Sabres goaltender Devon Levi.

Tomkins moved to Farjestad this year, where he served as one of the better goalies in the SHL. He shared the net with Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Dennis Hildeby, with the pair proving to be a solid goaltending duo. But after missing out on the NHL the first time around, Hildeby is looking for a second chance, and he gives the Lightning some solid goaltending depth to work with next year.

The team currently has Andrei Vasilevskiy and Hugo Alnefelt signed to deals next year. Max Lagace served as one of the AHL-affiliated goaltenders this year and could return, but it would make sense for the Bolts to run with a Tomkins-Alnefelt combo next year. The backup position could be open, with 38-year-old Brian Elliott set to become an unrestricted free agent.

The Bolts were eliminated in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs by the Toronto Maple Leafs. Tampa Bay won the championship in 2020 and 2021 before falling just short against Colorado last season.