With Dmitry Kulikov being placed on injured reserve back on Friday, the Panthers had an open roster spot at their disposal. They’ve now filled that spot as they’ve recalled defenseman Tobias Bjornfot from AHL Charlotte, per the AHL’s transactions log.
The 24-year-old was an injury recall a couple of times last season, seeing stints with Florida back in January and March last season, getting into 14 games overall where he was held off the scoresheet while averaging just over 13 minutes per game. For his career, Bjornfot has a goal and 14 assists in 134 NHL appearances between Los Angeles, Vegas, and Florida.
Bjornfot played in three games with the Panthers in the preseason but cleared waivers last weekend, paving the way for him to return to the Checkers. This stint lasted all of one game and if Kulikov is indeed out longer term as expected, he may be up with Florida for a while this time. Bjornfot had 18 points in 50 games at the AHL level last season.
With Florida deep into using LTIR (with Matthew Tkachuk, Aleksander Barkov, and Tomas Nosek), they’re not banking any cap room right now, meaning that Bjornfot’s recall doesn’t do much beyond cutting into their current LTIR space. That sits at just over $1.49MM, per PuckPedia, meaning they have enough cap space for one more recall if more injuries arise.