At the beginning of the day there were some questions about goaltending for the Tampa Bay Lightning and their affiliates. They have since been answered. The Lightning signed Jonas Johansson to be the back-up to Andrei Vasilevskiy. Meanwhile, the Syracuse Crunch added to their tandem of Hugo Alnefelt and Matt Tompkins with the signing of Evan Fitzpatrick.
The plan is for Alnefelt to be the starter with Tompkins keeping him honest. Fitzpatrick will be there in case of injury or poor play, but will likely by in the net for the Orlando Solar Bears. The reality of life in the AHL is that teams will need three goaltenders. Whether it’s the schedule, injuries, or call-ups, it’s extremely rare for an AHL team to go through an entire season with just two players in net.
Fitzpatrick should fill that role nicely. The 25-year-old has seen action in the AHL a few times since turning pro in the 2018-19 season after his junior career ended (hey, he played for Sherbrooke, that’s where Ethan Gauthier is hanging out these days!). While in Sherbrooke he was drafted in the second round by the St. Louis Blues (one pick after the Lightning took Taylor Raddysh).
The Panthers signed Fitzpatrick in January of 2022 and kept him for the 2022-23 season where he spent most of the year in the ECHL with the Florida Everblades. He was called up to the Panthers in April as part of their black aces. While he didn’t see any action in the playoffs for the Kelly Cup Champions, he did appear in 17 games during the regular season with 11 wins, a 2.25 GAA, and .921 save percentage. He also appeared in one AHL game with the Charlotte Checkers.
