Twitter chatter over the last several days and weeks, from Tampa Bay Lightning fans and Boltosphere media personalities, has been a mix of banter as well as impatience over the goaltending front. Only Mathieu Garon is under contract for the 2012-13 season as it stands, and speculation has existed for a while about the organizations desire for a long-term answer in net.

Bolt Prospects writer Chad Schnarr joked on Twitter on Wednesday, saying "We have hereby dubbed draft weekend, Weekend at Bernier's " in homage of speculation the Lightning will try to acquire Jonathan Bernier, the Los Angeles Kings backup, at the 2012 NHL Draft next week in Pittsburgh. The 2006 1^st round draft pick's name has been mentioned repeatedly as a sought-after commodity for teams looking for goaltending help.

Yet it's another goaltender selected in the 1^st round of the 2006 NHL Draft that the Lightning seem to have brought into the fold. A trusted, third-party source with knowledge to the situation has informed Raw Charge that Tampa Bay has come to terms with Finnish goalie Riku Helenius on a two-year contract. We'd previously reported that the two-year length was part of the contract demands by Helenius camp. The team was expected to announce the signing as soon as Thursday.

[Note by John Fontana, 06/13/12 9:05 PM EDT ] RDS confirms the signing and posts the terms

Helenius, 24, was selected 15^th overall (4 places behind Bernier, as it were) in the 2006 draft. His addition would not mean the Bolts would be settled with their goaltending situation. Helenius has not played a game in North America since the 2009-10 season, after all, and that was an AHL contest.