TAMPA — The Tampa Bay Lightning signed forward Kole Lind to a professional tryout agreement, vice president and general manager Julien BriseBois announced, adding a proven AHL scorer with 319 career points to the club’s training camp roster.
Lind, 27, brings 454 career AHL games to Tampa Bay, a résumé that includes 122 goals, 42 power-play goals and 25 game-winners across stints with the Texas Stars, Coachella Valley Firebirds, Charlotte Checkers and Utica Comets. The 6-foot-1, 192-pound native of Shaunavon, Saskatchewan, also has 63 career Calder Cup Playoff games under his belt, producing 24 goals and 59 points with eight power-play tallies in postseason action.
Lind skated in 70 games with the Texas Stars last season, recording 11 goals and 35 points with 95 penalty minutes. His production was modest by his own standards — he has averaged better than a point every other game across his AHL career — but his physicality and special-teams experience make him a candidate to compete for a bottom-six role.
The forward has limited NHL experience: 31 career games split between the Vancouver Canucks and Seattle Kraken, where he recorded two goals and eight points with 12 penalty minutes. Vancouver originally drafted Lind in the second round, 33rd overall, of the 2017 NHL Draft.
A PTO gives the Lightning a low-risk look at a veteran forward during training camp with no guaranteed contract obligation. Lind will have the opportunity to earn a roster spot or an AHL deal with the Syracuse Crunch when camp opens at Amalie Arena later this month.