The Tampa Bay Lightning continued their trend of keeping players in the organization instead of pulling from the free agent market. On Tuesday afternoon they officially announced that they had signed Tristan Allard to an entry-level contract. They followed that up with news that they had signed goaltender Ryan Fanti. The Fanti signing was first reported in June, but the Lightning made it official today.
Fanti signed a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000 at the NHL level and $80,000 in the minors after posting a 1.45 GAA and .946 SV% in 7 games with the Syracuse Crunch last season. The 25-year-old also appeared in 37 games for the Orlando Solar Bears with a 2.71 GAA and .907 SV%. He’ll likely compete for a spot in Syracuse with Brandon Halverson and rookie Harrison Meneghin.
The 23-year-old Allard earned a two-year entry-level contract with the Lightning after two strong seasons with the Syracuse Crunch playing on an AHL contract. Last season he put up 16 points (7 goals, 9 assists) in 45 games with the Crunch. He was an undrafted free-agent signing for Syracuse following a strong finish to his junior hockey career where he posted 77 points (27 goals, 50 assists) in 68 games for the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.
The 6’2″, 196 lbs. forward is expected to play a big role for the Crunch this season, and now has the chance to earn a shot with the Lightning at some point in the season. With the possibility of some younger players like Dylan Duke or Jack Finley spending a large portion of the season with the Bolts, Allard should see a bit more ice time than he has over the first two seasons with the Crunch.
