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Islanders Claim Adam Boqvist Off Waivers From Panthers

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Jan. 31: The Islanders claimed Boqvist off waivers from the Panthers on Friday, per Friedman. He’s the third puck-moving blue-liner they’ve added in the past few weeks, joining UFA pickup Tony DeAngelo and trade acquisition Scott Perunovich. He’ll add some needed depth to the team’s blue line as they deal with the long-term absences of Noah Dobson, Ryan Pulock, and Mike Reilly. They’ll need to open up a roster spot as Boqvist’s acquisition puts them over the 23-player limit.

Jan. 30: The Panthers placed defenseman Adam Boqvist on waivers Thursday, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. He will presumably be assigned to AHL Charlotte if he clears.

Boqvist, 24, has not played since Jan. 6 and was healthy scratched for an 11th straight game in Wednesday’s shutout win over the Kings. The 5’11” righty played in nine of Florida’s first 10 games of the season but has been a press box fixture since then, only suiting up 18 times among the Panthers’ 52-game slate thus far.

Once one of the league’s more highly-touted defense prospects, Boqvist was a low-risk pickup for the Panthers last summer on a one-year, league-minimum contract. He’d been bought out by the Blue Jackets with one season left on a three-year, $7.8MM deal, ending his tenure in Columbus prematurely after being brought in as the centerpiece of the return from the Blackhawks in the 2021 Seth Jones blockbuster.

Selected eighth overall by Chicago in the 2018 draft, Boqvist looked well on his way to becoming a top-four fixture soon after the trade to Columbus. He wasn’t logging a ton of even strength minutes but had worked his way up to a consistent power play role and, when healthy, notched 46 points in 98 games over his first two seasons in Ohio. His lack of physicality had always been a sticking point, though, and, paired with underwhelming possession quality numbers, he entered the 2023-24 campaign further down on the depth chart than in years past.

Healthy scratches and shoulder issues were the norm for Boqvist last season. He was limited to 35 appearances for the Jackets, scoring once and adding nine assists for 10 points. He averaged 18:17 per game when in the lineup, similar to the usage he’d had in years prior. However, he was an even less engaged checker with only 11 hits and fell behind as Columbus added veterans Ivan Provorov and Damon Severson to their ranks.

The Panthers were optimistic that Boqvist could regain a regular role in Florida, helping accommodate the departures of power-play fixtures, such as Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Brandon Montour, in free agency after winning the Stanley Cup. He also linked up with older brother Jesper Boqvist, who signed a matching league-minimum deal with the Cats. While Boqvist did get a long look on the power play, he was quickly overtaken on the top unit by Aaron Ekblad and averaged just 10:48 per game at even strength, the lowest among Florida defenders. His 3.4 GA/60 at even strength also ranked last among Panthers D-men, leading to his poor defensive impacts outweighing any offensive benefit.

Boqvist hits pause on his NHL career for now after recording six points (2 G, 4 A) in 18 appearances for the Panthers. If he suits up for Charlotte, it will mark his first AHL appearance since the 2019-20 campaign when he was still in the Blackhawks organization.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Bjornfot Assigned To AHL

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  • The Panthers announced (Twitter link) that they’ve loaned defenseman Tobias Bjornfot to AHL Charlotte. The 23-year-old got into eight games with Florida after being recalled earlier this month but with Aaron Ekblad returning yesterday, his presence was no longer needed on the roster.  Bjornfot is tied for third in scoring by Checkers blueliners, notching 11 points in 27 games at the minor league level.

Ekblad Returns From Upper-Body Injury

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The Panthers will welcome back a key blueliner to their lineup tonight in San Jose.  Team reporter Jameson Olive mentions that Aaron Ekblad has been cleared to return from the upper-body injury that has kept him out for seven straight games and eight of the last nine.  While the 28-year-old isn’t quite the two-way defender he was earlier in his career, he still leads all Florida rearguards in assists with 18 in 41 games while logging 23:32 per night, a team-high which certainly won’t hurt his case heading into unrestricted free agency this summer.  With his return, Tobias Bjornfot is expected to be a healthy scratch.  Ekblad remained on the active roster while injured so no roster moves need to be made on Florida’s end to accommodate his return.

Aaron Ekblad To Miss Fifth Straight Game

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  • A few hours southeast in Sunrise, FL, the Florida Panthers announced Aaron Ekblad would miss his fifth straight game this evening. However, it appears his return is on the horizon with head coach Paul Maurice saying, “I think we’re pretty confident he’ll be able to play on the road trip.“

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Aaron Ekblad And Jonah Gadjovich Won’t Travel On Road Trip

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Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad and forward Jonah Gadjovich will miss at least the next two games as neither player is travelling with the team on their road trip this week (as per George Richards of Florida Hockey Now).

The Panthers have a back-to-back in Philadelphia and New Jersey and will have to make do without Ekblad who has been having a solid bounce-back season and is dealing with an undisclosed injury. He did not play yesterday in an overtime loss to the Boston Bruins, and although it hasn’t been confirmed when he was hurt, it seems likely that it occurred when he blocked a shot against the Pittsburgh Penguins in a shootout win on January 3rd. Ekblad played regularly for the remainder of the game, but missed their next game on January 6th, and then was back in the lineup a few days later to take on Utah.

The injury doesn’t appear to be a long-term concern for Ekblad, but it does seem like a lingering issue that the Panthers would like to allow Ekblad to heal from. The 2014 first-overall pick has two goals and 18 assists in 41 games this season and has seen his ice time increase dramatically from last year as he is averaging 23:32 per game.

Gadjovich has played sparingly in 18 games this season, averaging just 7:50 of ice time per game. The Whitby, Ontario native has already missed the Panthers’ last nine games and will be reevaluated when the team returns home on Thursday. The 26-year-old has a single goal this season and is a -1 plus/minus with 56 hits.

Panthers’ Aaron Ekblad Unlikely To Play, Tobias Bjornfot In

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Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice has shared that top defenseman Aaron Ekblad, who was a game-time decision for Saturday afternoon, isn’t expected to play, per Colby Guy of the Associated Press. Ekblad is battling through an undisclosed injury that forced him to miss the final 26 minutes of Florida’s January 3rd win over Pittsburgh. He returned to the lineup for 24 minutes of ice time in Florida’s Wednesday win over Utah, but will now swing the other way and once again miss time with this undisclosed injury.

Ekblad has continued to serve as the beating heart of the Panthers’ blue-line. He leads the defense in scoring, with 20 points through 41 games putting him on pace to pass the 40-point mark for the first time since 2021-22. He’s been riddled with injuries since then, sitting out of a combined 42 games between the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. Ekblad seemed to be back on the mend this year, so far only missing one of Florida’s games this season, but it seems his injury luck has run dry once again.

Guy shares that, with Ekblad expected to sit, Tobias Bjornfot will draw into the lineup. Bjornfot has only appeared in two games with Florida – split between last season and this season – since they claimed him off of waivers in March of 2024. Bjornfot has spent the bulk of this season in the minor leagues, where his 11 points in 27 games ranks third on the Charlotte Checkers defense. Bjornfot hasn’t scored a point at the NHL level since he managed one assist in 10 games of the 2022-23 campaign. He’s played in five NHL games, for three different clubs, since then. This spot start will be a chance to buck his trend of cold feet at the top level.

Florida Panthers To Host Winter Classic, Tampa Bay Lightning To Host Stadium Series

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The Commissioner of the National Hockey League has followed through with his vague promise from the 2025 NHL Winter Classic at Wrigley Field. The Florida Panthers announced they would host the New York Rangers in the 2026 Winter Classic at LoanDepot Park, home of the MLB’s Miami Marlins. Their intra-state rival, the Tampa Bay Lightning announced they would host the Boston Bruins in the 2026 NHL Stadium Series at Raymond James Stadium, home of the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

It’ll be the southernmost outdoor event the NHL has attempted since successfully pulling off the 2020 NHL Winter Classic in Dallas, Texas. Unlike the Cotton Bowl Stadium, LoanDepot Park has some flexibility with the weather thanks to a retractable roof. There’s a high chance the roof will be used for a hockey event given that the temperature in Miami on January 1st, 2025 reached a high of 81°F (27°C ).

The Panthers organization will take part in their first Winter Classic and outdoor event. This is quite different from their opponent, the Rangers, who have already participated in two Winter Classics and three Stadium Series games.

Traveling northwest to Tampa Bay, the Lightning will play in their second Stadium Series contest in franchise history after defeating the Nashville Predators in 2022 at Nissan Stadium, home of the NFL’s Tennessee Titans. Like their in-state counterpart, it’ll be the first time the Lightning have hosted an outdoor event in franchise history.

Unfortunately, unlike the stadium amenities at LoanDepot Park, Raymond James Stadium does not have a roof and is exposed to the elements. Tampa is relatively milder than Miami in terms of heat, but still recorded a high of 64°F (18°C) in February of 2024 which could make the ice conditions more unpleasant.

Panthers Recall Tobias Björnfot

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The Panthers announced Monday that they’ve recalled defenseman Tobias Björnfot from AHL Charlotte. Florida had an open spot on the active roster, so no corresponding transaction is necessary.

It’s the first time Björnfot has been recalled since clearing waivers during training camp. The Panthers claimed the 23-year-old off waivers from the Golden Knights at last season’s trade deadline, but he has only logged one NHL game since then, skating 17:01 against the Rangers on March 23, 2024, and serving as a healthy scratch for the entirety of Florida’s run to the 2024 Stanley Cup.

A first-round pick of the Kings in 2019, Björnfot has spent much of his time as a fringe roster player and has never secured anything above a third-pairing role. The Swedish native has been passable in Charlotte this season but not overly impressive, recording a pair of goals and nine assists for 11 points in 27 games with a -1 rating.

Björnfot has one NHL goal across 120 appearances since debuting in the 2019-20 campaign, adding 14 assists for 15 points with a -20 rating. Only four of those appearances came last season, a tumultuous one where he was claimed off waivers by the Golden Knights from L.A. before landing on the wire again and heading to the Cats.

Drafted as a stay-at-home piece, Björnfot has 42 points with a +7 rating in 136 career AHL games, where he’s spent most of the last three seasons. His last campaign as a full-time NHLer came in L.A. in 2021-22, when he dressed in a career-high 70 games and posted eight assists with a -12 rating while averaging 16:46 per game.

Björnfot will likely sit in the press box but comes up as injury insurance with Niko Mikkola, who’s missed the last four games with an upper-body injury, still projected to be unavailable tonight against the Avalanche. He could make his season debut if Aaron Ekblad, who didn’t practice over the weekend, can’t go due to an undisclosed injury.

Björnfot can remain on Florida’s roster for up to 30 days or play 10 games until he needs waivers to return to Charlotte.

Sam Bennett Fined By Department Of Player Safety

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  • The NHL’s Department of Player Safety has fined Florida Panthers’ center Sam Bennett $5K for roughing Pittsburgh Penguins’ Drew O’Connor in last night’s contest. It’s the second time Bennett has been issued a fine by the Department of Player Safety and the fourth time he’s faced supplemental discipline. During the incident, Bennett attempted to hit O’Connor behind Pittsburgh’s net and threw his right hand into O’Connor’s face.

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Bettman: Panthers To Host Outdoor Game In 2025-26

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After the Blue Jackets host the Red Wings in a Stadium Series matchup at Ohio Stadium later this season, there will be only two NHL franchises left that haven’t played in an outdoor game – the Panthers and Utah. The former will be coming off the list quickly as NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said on Tuesday’s Winter Classic broadcast that the league would announce an outdoor game in Miami in the next couple of weeks.

“It’s going to be a little unusual,’’ Bettman said (via George Richards of Florida Hockey Now). “It’s going to be a little more unique. Some people will think we’ve lost our minds. We’re not ready to announce it, but we will soon. And it’s going to be good.’’

The game will take place at LoanDepot Park, which hosts MLB’s Miami Marlins. It’s a retractable roof stadium, which will presumably be necessary to keep an ice sheet intact in a South Florida climate that routinely sees 70-degree highs in winter.

Those hoping to see an intra-state rivalry matchup between the Panthers and Lightning will be out of luck, Richards reports. That matchup “appears to be off the table,” but the Lightning will still likely be getting their second outdoor game in franchise history in 2025-26 or 2026-27, sources tell Richards – this time on their turf at Raymond James Stadium, home of the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Instead, Richards reports that the Panthers’ visiting club will mark the sixth outdoor game appearance for the Bruins or Rangers.

If the roof at LoanDepot Park remains closed throughout the game in addition to the rink-building process, it wouldn’t be the first time that’s happened. The 2014 Heritage Classic between the Canucks and Senators at Vancouver’s BC Place was played with the retractable roof deployed due to rain in the forecast. Precipitation and humidity, not necessarily temperature, would likely decide whether the Panthers could play with the roof open.

Sources told Jordan McPherson and Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald and Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet last month that Florida would likely get an outdoor game next season.

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