The Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday announced that they signed right winger, Pontus Holmberg to a two-year deal, sweeping him away from the Toronto Maple Leafs as the NHL signing period opened.
Holmberg, who was initially a restricted free agent, was not extended a qualifying offer by Toronto, which then made him available for Tampa Bay to go after. Some thought that Holmberg and Toronto were trying to work a deal out to avoid arbitration, but when no qualifying offer was extended, Holmberg was open to sign with other organizations and ultimately, landed in the sunshine state.
Holmberg, the 26-year old forward from Vasteras, Sweden has spent all three of his NHL career seasons with the Maple Leafs, recording a career 19 goals, 30 assists, 49 points, and a +15 rating over the course of 159 games that he skated in with the Maple Leafs.
Over the last three season, he has continued to improve offensively, recording career-high numbers in each of the last two seasons as his time on ice has increased as well.
Though he’s a weapon offensively, what makes the 6’0”, 201lb lefty special is he is also a weapon defensively as well. He is known for his aggressiveness on the ice and he is a threat on skates with his plus-speed and ability to get up and down the ice.
Holmberg also appeared in the Stanley Cup playoffs with the Maple Leafs in 2025, recording one assist in 12 playoff appearances.
Holmberg’s accolades also include representing the Swedish national team in the 2022 Olympic games, recording two assists in six games skated; he also played in the 2024 IIHF Men’s World Championship, where he took home Bronze and recorded six assists in 10 games, which ties all Sweden forwards at 10.
It is likely that Holmberg could end up on the fourth line with Conor Geekie and Zemgus Girgensons with Gourde, Paul, and Goncalves on the third line.
Holmberg’s two-year contract is worth an AAV of $1.55 million, leaving the Lightning with $2.7 billion left in cap space.