Wojciech Stachowiak signs one-year contract with Lightning

The Tampa Bay Lightning have announced that they’ve signed left winger Wojciech Stachowiak to a one-year, entry-level contract.

The Gdansk, Poland product is an undrafted free agent signing by the Lightning, joining the team after an impressive showing with Germany at the IIHF Men’s Ice Hockey World Championship.

At the time of publishing, the details on Stachowiak’s cap hit, and if there are any performance bonuses on the contract, have yet to be confirmed.

The 25-year-old spent his 2024-25 season in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, the top hockey league in Germany, with the first-place finishing ERC Ingolstadt, where he had 10 goals and 20 assists for 30 points in 52 games. He also had 6 goals and 5 assists for 11 points in 12 games in the playoffs before ERC Ingolstadt was eliminated in the semifinals.

Stachowiak also played for Germany in the World Championship, where he had 3 goals and 3 assists for 6 points in 7 games on the team’s top line in the round robin portion of the tournament. Germany failed to qualify for the playoffs. Despite being born in Poland, Stachowiak has national eligibility for both Poland and Germany, which is why he was able to play on the German team.

“Stachowiak spent a lot of time creating and generating for Germany at the World Championship,” said Steven Ellis, Daily Faceoff’s prospect analyst. “He played on the team’s top line and on the power play and seemed to be always involved around the crease. I like his heads up hockey IQ and his ability to push guys around in front of the net.

Stachowiak is one of a few signings that the Lightning have already made since their season ended a few weeks ago. They also signed 2024 seventh-round pick Harrison Meneghin to a three-year entry level deal, as well as locked up backup goaltender Jonas Johansson to a two-year contract extension with a $1.25 million cap hit.

The Lightning will look to improve the team this summer in hopes of advancing past the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2022, after failing to do so again this year with a first round loss to the Florida Panthers in five games despite finishing second in the Atlantic Division with a 47-27-8 record.