Tampa Bay Lightning swap goaltenders in minor trade

by Erik Erlendsson | @Erik_Erlendsson | Like us on Facebook
November 14, 2017

TAMPA – The Tampa Bay Lightning once again showed on Tuesday the organization is not shy about moving on quickly from a move that didn’t work out.

During the summer, the signing of veteran goaltender Michael Leighton figured to be a perfect fit on paper. An experienced netminder who has played in the Stanley Cup Final looked to be quality insurance as the No. 3 goaltender on the depth chart behind Andrei Vasilevskiy and Peter Budaj while serving as the No. 1 goalie in Syracuse who could help mentor first-year pro Connor Ingram.

One month in to the season, Leighton was moved to the Arizona Coyotes along with veteran forward Tye McGinn in exchange for 25-year-old goaltender Louis Domingue, who will report to Syracuse.

Leighton, 37, has appeared in nine games with the Crunch this season, posting a 3-3-2 record with a 3.03 goals against average and .868 save percentage, well below expectations after Leighton posted a 2.17 GAA and .921 save percentage in 23 appearances with Charlotte in the AHL last season.

McGinn, 27, was in his third season with the Lightning organization but was hesitant to sign a contract with the team over the summer, finally signing a one-year, two-way deal as a restricted free agent on August 17. The contract guarantees McGinn $200,000.

One of a handful of veteran forwards on the Crunch, McGinn had two goals and five points in 11 games with Syracuse this season. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound winger was a key part of the Crunch last season on the run to the Calder Cup Final with five goals and 16 points in 22 playoff games after missing all but 21 games during the regular season due to injury.

By moving McGinn, the Lightning open up a spot in the lineup with the Crunch, a team filled with handful of first-year players on the roster. It also opens up an available spot on the organizational contract chart, which caps the number of spots available at 50.

Bringing in Domingue, meanwhile, still allows the Lightning to have an experienced netminder serve as the No. 3 goalie on the depth chart.

Domingue, 25, has 84 games of NHL experience, all with the Coyotes over the course of four seasons with a 3.01 GAA and .906 save percentage, posting a 27-41-7 record with two shutouts. Domingue has also appeared in 71 games in the American Hockey League with Portland and Springfield. He was a fifth-round pick of the Coyotes in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

He is in the final year of a two-year contract that carries a salary cap hit of $1.05 million and a salary of $1.1 million this season. Domingue is scheduled to be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights at the end of the season. He lost his spot in Arizona to Scott Wedgewood as the backup to Antti Raanta.