On Tuesday, the Lightning signed forward Pontus Holmberg to a two-year contract worth an AAV of $1.55 million.
Holmberg, played in 68 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs last season, scoring seven goals and 19 points, while averaging just under 13 minutes of ice time.
A pending restricted free agent, Toronto opted not to extend Holmberg a qualifying offer before the July 1 deadline, effectively turning the 26-year-old into an unrestricted free agent on Tuesday.
"It wasn’t necessarily a situation where we didn’t like the player. We did," Toronto general manager Brad Treliving said. "He had arbitration rights. When you see players go free, sometimes, people don’t understand the rights that are associated with certain players. Up until 5 p.m. yesterday, if we were to qualify him, he then kicks into arbitration mode or is attached to an arbitration filing. That elevates the number.”
"Between us and Pontus’ side, we weren’t able to find a number that we felt fit for us. Now, once you get into UFA, a lot of times that number will come down because you are not attached to the arbitration.”
"We like Pontus. We had discussions and talked to each other prior to us not qualifying him."
The 6-foot, 201-pound forward started his career in Toronto after being drafted in the sixth round in 2018. Holmberg skated in a total of 159 career NHL games, all with the Leafs, where he registered 19 goals and 49 points with a plus-15 rating. He also appeared in 19 career Stanley Cup Playoff games, averaging 12:20 of ice time.
Holmberg has represented Team Sweden in several international tournaments. Most recently, playing a key role at the 2024 IIHF Men’s World Championship, helping Sweden win the bronze medal by recording six assists in 10 games.
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