Lightning activate forward Pontus Holmberg

According to Erik Erlendsson of Lightning Insider, the Tampa Bay Lightning have activated depth forward Pontus Holmberg from the injured reserve. No corresponding roster move was required as the Lightning placed defenseman Erik Cernak on injured reserve a few days ago.

Although Tampa Bay’s defense is still banged up, Holmberg’s activation brings the Lightning’s forward core to full health. Holmberg had missed a little over two weeks with an undisclosed issue.

The 26-year-old native of Vasteras, Sweden, has performed relatively well in his first year with the Lightning. Leading up to the injury on Nov. 8, Holmberg had scored one goal and five points in 15 games, averaging 12:24 of ice time per game.

That output is relatively consistent in terms of his performance during his tenure with the Toronto Maple Leafs from 2022 to 2025. After debuting with the Maple Leafs in the 2022-23 season, Holmberg scored 19 goals and 49 points in 159 games, averaging approximately 25 points over 82 games. His output over 15 games with Tampa Bay equates to 27 points over a full campaign.

Despite the numerous injuries across the roster, the Lightning have done great work of late, making the most of their spare parts. Winning four consecutive games and seven out of their last 10, Tampa Bay has vaulted to the top of the Atlantic Division and the top three of the Eastern Conference.