The Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday signed undrafted free agent goaltender, Ryan Fanti to a one year, two-way contract deal woth $775,000 in the NHL and $80,000 in the minors. The news that the Lightning had signed Fanti was first reported by PuckPedia on X.
Fanti played in 37 regular season games with the ECHL Orlando Solar Bears in 2024-25. He had a 18-13-5 record, a .907 save percentage, and a 2.71 GAA. He also played in seven games for the Lightning’s AHL affiliate Syracuse Crunch. With the crunch he had a 3-1-0 record with a .946 save percentage and a 1.45 GAA.
Fanti became an undrafted free agent after he was no longer qualified by the Edmonton Oilers, with whom he was originally a prospect of when he signed with them as an undrafted free out of college in 2022.
The 25-year old from Thunder Bay in Ontario, Canada also has time spent with the AHL Bakerfield Condors and ECHL Fort Wayne Komets.
With the Condors from 2021-2023, he played in 9 games and had a 1-5-0 combined record. He then played the 2022-24 sesons with the ECHL Fort Wayne Komets, posting a 24-22-1 record over the course of 54 games played. He had a .915 save percentage in 2023-24, with a 2.75 GAA.
With the signing of Fanti, the Lightning now have five goaltenders under contract in 2025-26. In order to see time on the ice, however, he’ll likely have to prove he has what it takes in the minors first and out-dual Brandon Halverson, Harrison Meneghin, and Matt Tomkins.
With his impressive stats, if he continues to put up those kind of numbers, he could put up a battle to challenge current goaltenders Jonas Johansson and Andrei Vasilevskiy for the spot in the net at the NHL level. But he’ll first most likely have to prove he has what it takes back down in Syracuse where he spent part of the 2024-25 season before going to the Solar Bears.
Fanti now finds himself in a position where he will have to battle to win if he wants to make it to the NHL from the AHL and become an everyday goaltender in the NHL.