TAMPA BAY – The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed goaltender Michael Leighton to a one-year, two-way contract, vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman announced today.

Leighton, 36, appeared in four games with the Carolina Hurricanes last season, compiling a record of 2-2-0 to go along with a 3.43 goals-against average and .870 save percentage. The 6-foot-3, 186-pound goaltender has played in 110 career NHL games, posting a record of 37-43-4 with 10 ties, to go along with a 2.98 goals-against average and .900 save percentage. Leighton has also appeared in 16 career Stanley Cup Playoff games, registering a 8-4 record to go along with a 2.54 goals-against average and .912 save percentage. He started for the Flyers during the 2010 Stanley Cup Final, losing to Chicago in six games.

The Petrolia, Ontario native also played in 23 games with the Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League during the 2016-17 season, posting a record of 11-7-3 to go along with 2.17 goals-against average and .921 save percentage. Leighton has appeared in 318 career AHL games over 10 seasons, compiling a record of 157-120-32 to go along with a 2.41 goals-against average and .918 save percentage. He’s also played in 16 career Calder Cup Playoff games, posting a record of 7-8 to go along with a 1.79 goals-against average and .947 save percentage.

Leighton was originally selected by the Chicago Blackhawks in the sixth round, 165th overall, at the 1999 NHL Draft.

TAMPA BAY – The Tampa Bay Lightning have acquired forward Carter Verhaeghe from the New York Islanders in exchange for goaltender Kristers Gudlevskis, vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman announced today.

Verhaeghe, 21, skated in 45 games with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League, recording 16 goals and 29 points with 20 penalty minutes. The 6-foot-1, 182-pound forward ranked tied for third on the Sound Tigers for goals and tied for fifth for power-play goals with four. He set career highs for games played, goals, assists, points and power-play goals during the 2016-17 season. Verhaeghe also played in 16 games with the Missouri Mavericks of the ECHL, collecting 12 goals and 32 points.

The Toronto, Ontario native has appeared in 77 career AHL over the past three seasons with the Sound Tigers and Toronto Marlies, collecting 22 goals and 45 points. Verhaeghe played four seasons with the Niagara IceDogs of the Ontario Hockey League prior to turning pro, recording 83 goals and 224 points in 262 career games.

Verhaeghe was originally drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the third round, 82nd overall, at the 2013 NHL Draft.

TAMPA BAY – The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed forward Alex Volkov to a three-year, entry-level contract, vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman announced today.

Volkov, 19, skated in 16 games with SKA St. Petersburg in the MHL, the Russia Junior League, last season, posting six goals and 11 points to go along with 12 penalty minutes. The 6-foot-1, 191-pound forward also appeared in 15 games with Neva St. Petersburg, scoring three goals and four penalty minutes.

The Moscow, Russia native has played in 128 career games with SKA St. Petersburg over four seasons, registering 33 goals and 61 points to go along with 88 penalty minutes. During the 2014-15 season, he helped his club win their first ever Kharlamov Cup, posting a goal and two points during the playoffs.

Volkov was selected in the second round, 48th overall, at the 2017 NHL Draft. He’s currently attending the Lightning’s development camp at the Ice Sports Forum, which will be held through Saturday, July 1.

TAMPA BAY – The Tampa Bay Lightning have re-signed forward Cory Conacher to a two-year contract today, vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman announced. The deal is one-way during the first season and two-way during the second, paying $650,000 per season at the NHL level.

Conacher, 5-foot-8, 180 pounds, skated in 11 games with the Lightning last season, recording a goal and four points. He also skated in 56 games with the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League, notching 17 goals and 60 points. Conacher ranked eighth in the AHL for assists and tied for eighth for points. He was tied for the team lead for points, second for assist and third for goals. Conacher played in 22 games in helping the Crunch to the Calder Cup Finals in 2017. He paced Syracuse with 12 goals, four power-play goals and 28 points during the postseason. Conacher also led the Calder Cup Playoffs for goals and points.

The Burlington, Ontario native has skated in 152 career NHL games with Tampa Bay, Ottawa, Buffalo and the New York Islanders since making his NHL debut in 2012, posting 20 goals and 62 points to go along with 88 penalty minutes.

The 27-year old has appeared in 222 career American Hockey League games, recording 84 goals and 213 points. In 2011-12, Conacher led the Lightning’s then-top affiliate Norfolk Admirals to a Calder Cup Championship and was awarded the Les Cunningham Award as the AHL’s regular season MVP after registering 39 goals, 14 power-play goals and 80 points.

Conacher went undrafted out of Canisius College and originally signed as a free agent with the Bolts on March 3, 2012.