Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois took care of another restricted free agent on Monday when he re-signed Gabriel Fortier to a one-year, two way contract. PuckPedia is reporting that the deal is for $775,000 at the NHL level and $100,000 at the AHL level.
The 24-year-old forward spent all of last season in the AHL with the Syracuse Crunch, notching 13 goals and adding 13 assists in 62 games. He picked up another 5 points (1 goal, 4 assists) in 8 post-season games. After being called up in each of the previous two seasons, Fortier did not taste the NHL life last season.
The Bolts’ second-round pick in 2018 is a solid two-way player at the AHL level, but has yet to crack the NHL for a sustained period of time. His 10-game sampling during the 2021-22 season remains his best look in the big leagues, and while he did pick up a goal during that stint, it seems he has been passed by on the depth chart by a couple of other forwards in the organization.
Still, he should get a shot at making the team in training camp, especially if Mr. BriseBois isn’t able to bring in any veteran bottom-six forwards. Fortier’s game is tailored to a third or fourth-line game at the NHL-level. He has some wheels and can be annoyingly effective on the forecheck. He’s not the biggest forward (currently listed at 5’10”, 183 lbs.) but is solid on his skates and can chip in the occasional goal.
Next season will be a pivotal one for him. While he is technically a restricted free agent at the end of this deal, if he doesn’t appear in 69 NHL games this year he’ll be a Group VI unrestricted free agent and free to sign with anyone. As of right now, it’s unlikely that he’ll hit that number with the way the roster plays out. It is interesting that the contract is for a slight discount over what he was making under his entry-level deal ($791,667) at the NHL level, but a bump from what he was making in the AHL ($70,000). That would lead one to believe that he is likely to spend much of the season with the Crunch.
If he ends up back in Syracuse (he would have to clear waivers) he will be a valuable depth forward for coach Joel Bouchard. The hard-working forward was centering the third line by the end of the season, but with the Crunch he has the ability to play up and down the line-up, kill penalties, and add some scoring on the power play. While his stats were pretty much flat year-to-year, he did set a career high in power play goals with 4 and added 3 assists (he also had 2 short-handed assists).
With Fortier signing a new contract the Lightning are left with five RFAs. In that number are Hugo Alnefelt and Waltteri Merla who have signed to play in Europe as well as Logan Brown, who was injured for the entire season. They also still have at least one pretty big name left as an unrestricted free agent.
