The Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled goaltender Matt Tomkins on an emergency loan (Twitter link). Tomkins will fill-in for Jonas Johansson, who missed the team’s Monday game with a lower-body injury. Tampa had to utilize an emergency back-up goalie in his absence, dressing former NA3HL goalie Kyle Konin. It was the second time that Konin has suited up for an NHL team, having served as an EBUG for the St. Louis Blues in 2021.
This is Tomkins’ first call-up of the season, after making the Lightning roster out of training camp. He played in just three games through the first two months of the season, while the Lightning awaited the return of an injured Andrei Vasilevskiy. The appearances were Tomkins’ first NHL games and he performed modestly, allowing 10 goals on 90 shots (.889 save percentage) en route to one win. Tampa placed Tomkins on waivers and assigned him to the AHL in late November. He’s since rediscovered his groove, recording 15 wins and a .904 save percentage in 29 games with the Syracuse Crunch. He’s served as the team’s starting goaltender, though closely paced by Hugo Alnefelt, who has a .902 save percentage in 27 games of his own.
Tomkins returned to North America ahead of this season, after spending the last two seasons in Sweden’s SHL. He played with both Frölunda HC and Färjestad BK, managing an impressive 39 wins and .910 save percentage in a combined 65 games. The Swedish performance was a strong show of strength for Tomkins, who had previously spent four seasons bouncing between the minor leagues in the Chicago Blackhawks organization. Tampa has Tomkins under contract through the end of next season, on a league-minimum $775K salary. And while call-ups like this one certainly present opportunity, it’s likely that the 29-year-old netminder continues to serve as Tampa’s de facto injury fill-in.