Tampa Bay Lightning sign undrafted free agent Bennett MacArthur

Credit: Olivier Croteau/QMJHL

On the first day NHL teams are able to sign undrafted free agents, the Tampa Bay Lightning have jumped out to sign Bennett MacArthur.

The 21-year-old left winger currently plays for Acadie-Bathurst of the QMJHL, where he will remain for the remainder of the year. MacArthur, an assistant captain with the Titans, is in the midst of his most productive season in the ‘Q’ with 25 goals and 43 points in just 26 games.

Prior to this season, his most productive campaign was in 2020-21 when he amassed 28 goals and 40 points in 33 games. Over his three-year QMJHL career, his numbers have improved with every season and, in 92 games with the Titans, he’s tallied 61 goals and 95 points.

His rise into the major-junior ranks was far from normal. A native of Summerside, PEI, he was twice passed over in the QMJHL draft.

“You start to lose a little bit of faith, but you still have to find a way to motivate yourself and keep that hope. This was my goal to play in this league my whole career growing up,” MacArthur told the Annapolis Valley Register last May.

“I think I persevered pretty well and I am just happy to be up here now.”

Titan general manager Sylvain Couturier called MacArthur a key cog for their team.

“He’s not just a goal scorer,” Couturier said in that same article. “He’s one of our key guys on the PK, he’s reliable defensively, he does a lot of things for our team.”

The contract will kick off in the 2022-23 season.

Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.