The Lightning are proving even more during free agency to be focused on goal scoring and pressure up front. General Manager Julien BriseBois announced on Sunday that they signed veteran right-handed, right-winger/ forward Scott Sabourin to a one-year, two-way contract.
Sabourin worked hard to stay the course and persevere throughout his career, spending most of the last eight years in the AHL.
Over the course of his 12-season career, he has skated in 532 career AHL games between Barracuda, Belleville Senators, Toronto Marlies, Stockton Heat, San Diego Gulls, Iowa Wild, Ontario Reign and Manchester Monarchs. He scored 88 goals, accrued 181 points and 1,223 penalty minutes.
He finally earned his shot, making his NHL debut in 2019 at age 27 for the Ottawa Centers. Since then he has spent time with the Toronto Maple Leafs (2020-21), back with the Ottawa Senators for a season (2021-22), and has spent the last two seasons with the San Jose Sharks. However, he has played a limited amount of games with the Sharks, with the majority of his skating time being with the AHL affiliate San Jose Barracuda.
Last season with the Barracuda he skated in 68 games as an alternate captain, scoring 10 goals, with 15 assists, 25 total points, and was -14 on the season.
Between the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons, he skated in just four NHL games with the Sharks. Combined between those two seasons, he was -2 and incurred nine penalty minutes.
Over the 47 NHL games he has played between Ottawa, Toronto, and San Jose, he has two goals, six assists, eight points and is -10 on his career.
The 32-year old is an Ontario, Canada native stands at 6’4”, 207lbs. He is known most for his physicality and a guy who plays the game hard. Though he’s not a young prospect, but a veteran who’s fought his way, he plays with heart and with passion, and that’s noticeable for clubs.
With a two-way contract, it is likely Sabourin spends most of his first season with Tampa Bay with the AHL Syracause Crunch while also skating a few games with the Lightning.