The Nick Malik decision and a lack of goaltending prospects in the Tampa Bay Lightning organization

Yesterday, there was a deadline for the Tampa Bay Lightning to extend a bona fide offer to goaltending prospect Nick Malik to retain his draft rights. The 22-year-old netminder was drafted by the Lightning in the fifth round of the 2022 draft and has spent the last couple of seasons playing for KooKoo in the Liiga. The deadline came and went without an offer, thus making Malik an unrestricted free agent. It wasn't likely that the Bolts were going to sign him as earlier this month he had signed a two-year contract with HC Plzen in his native Czechia, but there was always a chance that Tampa Bay would toss him an offer just to keep him in the system.