After spending most of the day filling in holes on the Syracuse Crunch’s roster it appears the Tampa Bay Lightning have addressed one of their own roster needs as they signed forward Pontus Holmberg to a two-year contract. The 26-year-old forward has agreed to a deal that pays him $1.55 million a year and will slot into a bottom-six role.
The #GoBolts bring in forward Pontus Holmberg on a 2-year deal with $1.55m AAV. The 26-year-old is known for defense and speed, but he scored 7-12—19 in 68 NHL GP for the Toronto Maple Leafs last season.
— Benjamin Pierce (@boltsben.bsky.social) July 1, 2025 at 5:10 PM
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After splitting time between the Toronto Marlies and Maple Leafs in 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons, the 6’0, 201 lbs. forward spent the season at the NHL level last year as he appeared in 68 games and set a career high in points with 19 (7 goals, 12 assists). He added one assist in Toronto’s 12 playoff games. He was a little more productive at the AHL level with 36 points (18 goals, 18 assists) in 55 games with the Marlies.
He was a restricted free agent at the end of the season, but the Maple Leafs didn’t extend a qualifying offer. There was some thought that they were working on a deal with him and didn’t want to go through the arbitration process. The Lightning did a similar thing with Gage Goncalves earlier in the day. However, Holmberg decided to try his luck with the Lightning.
It wasn’t the 18 AHL goals that intrigued Julien BriseBois, though, it was Holmberg’s defensive game. According to the stats sites, he should provide a pretty solid defensive effort:
If the Lightning need to be a tougher team to play against in front of the net, Holmberg is the type of player that should be able to help with that, especially in controlled minutes. He had one of the best expected goals against (2.14) at 5v5 among Toronto forwards last season, and the team was better defensively when he was on the ice.
If Gage Goncalves takes a spot on the third line with Yanni Gourde and Nick Paul, Holmberg likely slots in on the fourth line with Conor Geekie and Zemgus Girgensons. Despite his defensive prowess, the Lightning do need some sort of offensive production from the fourth line. Holmberg’s signing doesn’t necessarily help with that.
With the signing, PuckPedia reports that the Lightning have about $2.7 million left in cap space. Also, it seems that Toronto fans were a little annoyed by the signing, so there’s that.
The Lightning’s official press release:
TAMPA BAY – The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed forward Pontus Holmberg to a two-year contract worth an AAV of $1.55 million, vice president and general manager Julien BriseBois announced today.
Holmberg, 26, played in 68 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs last season, recording seven goals and 19 points while averaging 12:40 of time on ice. The 6-foot, 201-pound forward has skated in a total of 159 career NHL games, all with Toronto, and registered 19 goals and 49 points with a plus-15 rating. He has also appeared in 19 career Stanley Cup Playoff games, averaging 12:20 of time on ice and collecting one assist with 17 shots on goal.
A native of Vasteras, Sweden, Holmberg made his NHL debut on November 2, 2022 against the Philadelphia Flyers and recorded his first career point, an assist, on November 15, 2022 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Four games later, Holmberg netted his first career goal, a game-winning tally, in a 2-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils on November 23, 2022.
Holmberg has represented Team Sweden in several international tournaments, including the 2022 Olympic Games, where he logged two assists in six contests. His most recent international experience came during the 2024 IIHF Men’s World Championship, where he won the Bronze Medal and recorded six assists in 10 games to rank tied for second among all Team Sweden forwards.
Prior to his career in North America, Holmberg helped lead the Swedish Hockey League’s Växjö Lakers HC to an SHL Championship in 2021, recording seven goals and 14 points in 14 postseason contests. Leading all SHL skaters in playoff goals and points, Holmberg received the Stefan Liv Memorial Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs and was also voted the Swedish Forward of the Year. He has skated in a total of 192 career SHL games, logging 30 goals and 91 points with a plus-32 rating.
Holmberg was originally drafted by the Maple Leafs in the sixth round, 156th overall, of the 2018 NHL Draft.
