Veteran goaltender Louis Domingue is headed overseas for 2026-27. The 34-year-old has signed a contract with HC Bolzano, a Northern Italian club that competes in the ICEHL, which is the top professional circuit in Central Europe.
A veteran of 144 NHL games, Domingue was a regular NHL backup from 2015-16 through 2019-20, across four NHL franchises. His best season came in 2015-16, his rookie year, when he played in 39 games for the Arizona Coyotes and posted a .912 save percentage.
Domingue was a steady backup for the Tampa Bay Lightning for two years, but a decision to sign with the New Jersey Devils in 2019-20 backfired, and ended up costing Domingue his status as a No. 2 in the NHL. That year, he posted a grisly .882 save percentage in 16 games with the Devils, and ended up dealt to the Vancouver Canucks in February of 2020.
From that point forward, Domingue bounced around a few teams before settling in as a steady AHL No. 1 goalie and organizational No. 3 with the New York Rangers in 2022-23.
Within that period of instability in Domingue’s career came the moment he is likely best remembered for in the eyes of most hockey fans. Domingue became something of a folk hero among Pittsburgh Penguins fans during the team’s first-round series against the New York Rangers during the 2022 postseason.
During game one of the series at Madison Square Garden, Penguins backup Casey DeSmith, who was already starting in place of an injured Tristan Jarry, suffered an injury of his own in the middle of double overtime. That thrust Domingue into the crease in a situation where surrendering a single goal would have put the team behind in the series.
Domingue himself admitted he had not expected to play at all, and famously told the media he had “quite the meal” between the first and second overtime periods. He ended up needing to make 17 saves for Pittsburgh before Evgeni Malkin won the game in triple overtime. Domingue ended up making 168 total saves for the Penguins in the rest of the series, delivering them two additional wins before the team fell in overtime of game seven.
The days of Domingue starting playoff games appear to be long gone, but he showed he could still play at a solid level in 2025-26.
After beginning the year in the KHL with Sibir Novosibirsk, and going winless in his first 11 starts, Domingue left Russia to sign with the Charlotte Checkers in the AHL. In Charlotte, Domingue went 9-4-0 in 14 games and posted a 2.21 goals-against average.
Now, he’ll continue his pro career in Europe. He joins former top OHL goalie Marco Costantini in the crease for Bolzano, and will look to help them sustain their organizational standard as a consistent playoff contender in the ICEHL.