The Tampa Bay Lightning have claimed forward Chris DiDomenico off of waivers from the Ottawa Senators. The center/right winger was placed on waivers after the Ottawa Senators claimed center Gabriel Dumont from the Lightning.
The Lightning also recalled Cory Conacher this morning due to a couple of players being banged up and a back-to-back set of games today and tomorrow. DiDomenico likely can’t make it to Washington in time to play tonight against the Capitals, but he should be able to join the team in Pittsburgh tomorrow.
For the Lightning, DiDomenico can fill in for the bottom two lines. As a right-hander, he could potentially get a shot at the right wing spot on the third line next to Alex Killorn and Tyler Johnson. Otherwise, he could be seeing a lot of the press box as Dumont was doing before the Lightning placed him on waivers.
The 28 year old DiDomenico was originally a sixth-round pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs. DiDomenico played four seasons in the QMJHL for the Saint John Sea Dogs and Drummondville Voltigeurs. The Maple Leafs signed him to a three-year entry-level contract at the end of the 2008-09 season. Deemed not ready for the AHL, the Maple Leafs sent him back to Drummondville for an overage season in 2009-10.
Prior to the 2010-11 season, DiDomenico was traded with Viktor Stalberg and Philippe Paradis to the Chicago Blackhawks for Kris Versteeg and Bill Sweatt. DiDomenico finished out the last two seasons of his entry-level contract split between the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL and the Toledo Walleye of the ECHL. At the end of his ELC, the Blackhawks did not tender him a contract and he became a free agent.
With his prospects in North America most limited to an ECHL contract, DiDomenico went overseas. He played two seasons in Italy before jumping to the Swiss second league at the end of the second season to play in the playoffs for the SCL Tigers. He remained with SCL Tigers for three full seasons and helped them to gain promotion from NLB to NLA at the end of the 2014-15 season. He continued to produce in his last two seasons with the Tigers in the NLA.
With his contract finished at the end of the 2016-17 season, DiDomenico signed with the Ottawa Senators on a two-year, two-way contract. He played in three games for the Senators and was held pointless. DiDomenico started the 2017-18 season in the AHL with the Belleville Senators. He played in four games and scored three goals and five points before being called up to the NHL. In 12 games with the Ottawa Senators this season, DiDomenico has scored three goals and six points in 12 games.
