On Tuesday, the Tampa Bay Lightning announced that they had signed forward Nick Abruzzese to a one-year, two-way contract for the 2026-27 season. Abruzzese joined the Lightning organization last July, signing as an unrestricted free agent after spending several years as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs organization. Toronto originally selected Abruzzese in the fourth round of the 2019 NHL Draft. In his first season under contract with the Lightning, he spent the entire campaign with their American Hockey League affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. In 56 regular season games with the Crunch, he scored 15 goals and 51 points. Then, in the postseason, Abruzzese had a goal and three assists in four games. In his career, the Slate Hill, New York native has played 11 NHL games, all of which came with the Maple Leafs. He scored one goal during the 2021-22 season and registered two assists during the next campaign. He's also previously represented the United States in the Olympic Games in 2022, scoring a goal and four total points in four games. Considering it's been three full seasons since we've seen Abruzzese appear in an NHL game, he'll need to overcome substantial odds to make his way onto the Lightning roster. With that being said, the fact that Julien BriseBois is willing to sign him to an NHL deal at this stage in his career, shows that Abruzzese's window hasn't closed yet.
