There is no rest for the defeated. General manager Julien BriseBois isn’t going to let a pesky thing like the second round of the playoffs get in his way of adding to his roster for next season. On Monday, the Tampa Bay Lightning added to their defensive depth by signing Charle-Edouard D’Astous to a one-year, two-way contact. Financial terms were not announced, but PuckPedia is showing the contract at $775,000 if he makes the NHL team and $150,000 at the AHL level.
The 27-year-old has spent the last three seasons in Europe, with Brynas IF as his most recent. In 49 games with the SHL team, he put up 12 goals and 27 assists during the regular season. He then added 4 goals and 4 assists in 17 playoff games. His 39 points was second among all defensemen in the SHL while he led the league with 67 penalty minutes. At 6’2″ and 187 lb. he plays with a physical edge.
Reports are that he possess a pretty big shot that plays well, especially on the power play. Born in Montreal, he does have experience playing in North America. He wasn’t drafted after four seasons with Rimouski (where he put up 49 goals and 132 assists in 244 games and served as their captain) but signed an two-year AHL deal with Grand Rapids in 2019.
While he had limited success in his AHL stops with Grand Rapids and Colorado, he did have an outstanding 2021-22 with Utah in the ECHL with 57 points (26 goals, 31 assists) in 52 games.
The deal kicks in next season and the left-shot defenseman will likely spend most of the season in Syracuse, but he does give the Lightning a player with experience in highly competitive leagues (Liiga and SHL) that could be recalled if needed. It’s not a game-changing pick-up, but it does add to the organization’s depth.
He has a pretty impressive pedigree with defenseman of the year awards in the Liiga with KooKoo, ECHL with Utah, and QMJHL with Rimouski.
