Tampa Bay Lightning Free Agents: Should they stay or should they go?

Name: Louis Domingue

Age: 26

Position: G

Free-agent status: Restricted

Louis Domingue came to the Lightning this season in a trade that sent Tye McGinn and fellow goaltender Michael Leighton to the Arizona Coyotes.  Domingue became the Lightning’s backup when Peter Budaj went down with an injury and performed so well in his role that he kept it.  In total, he played 19 games for the Lightning this season and posted a record of 7-9-1.

While a losing record may not look faltering, three of those games Domingue didn’t start, which means he was put in after Andrei Vasilevskiy was pulled.  Relief appearances don’t exactly give Domingue the best odds of winning, so instead, let’s look at his other stats.

Of the 578 shots he faced, he allowed only 61 goals giving him a .894 save percentage and a goals-against average of 3.41.  These aren’t starter quality numbers, but Domingue isn’t a starter.  In fact, that’s exactly why the Lightning should keep him around.

Verdict: Stay.  Domingue is the backup goaltender of the future for the Bolts.  Since Budaj’s trade, it’s been all but confirmed that he’ll be getting a new contract from the Lightning soon.  Regardless of the Budaj trade, this was the right move for the Lightning.  Age is hardest on goalies, and at age 26 he has a natural advantage over Budaj.

Before coming to Tampa, Domingue was in a tough spot with his career and almost considered quitting hockey entirely.  Prior to the trade, he was waived and had nowhere to play as the Coyotes already had three goalies in the AHL and the Coyotes had no intention of sending him there.

With all of that considered, it seems almost hard to believe now that things worked out the way they did.  Giving him a chance was a good move for the Lightning though as Domingue and Vasilevskiy should be Tampa’s goalie tandem for years to come.