Panthers Reassign Six To AHL
The injury-plagued Panthers sent significant reinforcements back to their AHL affiliate in Charlotte last night after their season came to an end with an 8-1 win over the Red Wings on Wednesday. Per the AHL’s transactions log, the Cats reassigned forward Wilmer Skoog and defensemen Marek Alscher, Michael Benning, Tobias Björnfot, Mikulas Hovorka, and Ludvig Jansson to the Checkers as they prep for the Calder Cup Playoffs.
Most of these names has only been summoned in the last few days as even more injuries piled up in Sunrise, although Benning and Björnfot were around for longer. The former potted his first two career NHL goals against Detroit en route to being named the first star of the game in his season finale.
In a Panthers pool light on prospects, Benning is among the more intriguing. A fourth-round pick in 2020, he was a dominant offensive threat over three years at the University of Denver. He hasn’t quite had the point output expected of him since turning pro, meaning he didn’t get an NHL look until late in his third season in the organization. Recalled back on March 12 in the wake of an Uvis Balinskis injury, Benning played in 18 straight to end the season and recorded a 2-4–6 scoring line with a -4 rating.
Benning, 24, may have done enough to work himself into the conversation for a roster spot in the fall if the high-spending Panthers need somebody cheap. All six of their regulars on the blue line when healthy are signed through next year, plus likely #7 Donovan Sebrango is under team control as a restricted free agent, so the math isn’t in his favor. His underlying numbers over the last few weeks were strong enough to cement him as one of the Cats’ primary recall options, though.
While he only laid the body four times (the 5’9″ righty will never be mistaken for an imposing defensive threat), Florida controlled 52.1% of shot attempts and 49.4% of expected goals with him on the ice at even strength. He surprisingly didn’t receive a very long look on the power play, only averaging 16:54 of ice time per game in total, but didn’t receive sheltered deployment in those conservative minutes.
Björnfot, a pending restricted free agent with arbitration rights, could also be retained with a qualifying offer to give the Cats a more experienced recall option to lean on. The former Kings first-rounder is now 25 years old with 153 games of NHL experience, 19 of which came this season. That was his highest workload since appearing in a career-high 70 games with L.A. in the 2021-22 campaign.
A good skater with some positioning lapses, the defensive-minded Björnfot recorded four points, a +1 rating, 23 blocks, and 14 hits for the Cats this year while skating 14:11 per night. His possession impacts weren’t great – a relative Corsi share of -2.6% at even strength and an expected goals share of 43.9% – so Florida may want to think twice about giving him another look down the line over someone like Benning. Björnfot also carries a tad more excess in his role as a lefty – just like five of Florida’s seven projected regulars heading into next season.
The rest of the list only just made their NHL debuts this month as Florida’s entire defense corps and about half its forward group ended up on the injured list by the time Game 82 rolled around. Skoog, 26, is a pending RFA after signing as an undrafted free agent out of Boston College in 2023.
Amid a strong AHL showing this season that’s seen him produce 18 goals and 37 points in 59 games for Charlotte, the Swedish forward didn’t look out of place on a line with Jesper Boqvist and Cole Schwindt while handling a couple of special teams shifts as well. He saw 15:01 of average ice time across three nights with a pair of assists, four shots on goal, five blocks, and two hits. That trio of Skoog, Boqvist, and Schwindt also controlled an excellent 70.6% of expected goals in the two games they were matched together, per MoneyPuck.
Alscher was a third-round choice in 2022 but is Florida’s top defense prospect if you deem Benning too old to qualify, as Scott Wheeler of The Athletic writes. The 22-year-old is tracking nicely toward a career as a potential press-box/bottom pairing piece with a standout defensive performance as a second-year pro in Charlotte, logging 11 points and a +18 rating in 51 games. The Czech lefty brings great size at 6’3″ and 205 lbs and got a real look over the last few games, posting three assists, and a +4 rating, and six blocks in four outings while seeing over 20 minutes per night.
The even larger Hovorka (6’6″, 229 lbs) didn’t quite have the same impact. A 24-year-old undrafted free agent pickup from Czechia’s HC Motor Ceske Budejovice in 2024, he’s had success akin to Alscher’s in Charlotte this season but is a couple of years ahead of him on the development curve. He’s now a pending RFA whom Florida must decide whether to qualify. Through his first four NHL outings, Hovorka managed an assist with a -1 rating while averaging 14:55 per night. His possession numbers were particularly underwhelming for his sheltered usage, so if he’s retained for next season, it’ll likely be solely as depth for Charlotte.
Jansson, 22, was selected one round after Alscher four years ago. The 6’0″, 181-lb righty is in his first season stateside. He’s been limited to 29 games with Charlotte by injuries, but hasn’t looked bad at all with a 3-7–10 scoring line and a +1 rating. He notched an assist and a +1 rating with five blocks through his first four NHL games this month.
Panthers Recall Tobias Bjornfot, Mikulas Hovorka
The Florida Panthers need more depth with two additional defensemen out with injury. According to George Richards of Florida Hockey Now, the Panthers have recalled Tobias Björnfot and Mikulas Hovorka from the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers. Florida later confirmed the transaction.
It’s expected that both defensemen will be in the lineup tomorrow against the Boston Bruins. In the same report, Richards shared that Aaron Ekblad, who is dealing with a hand injury after blocking a shot, and Dmitry Kulikov, who took a puck off the face, are both being held out.
That will leave Seth Jones and Gustav Forsling as the only two defensemen who played on opening night this season to be in Florida’s lineup tomorrow. That’s without factoring in the multiple injuries to the forward corps, as the Panthers are also expected to be without Aleksander Barkov, Brad Marchand, Jonah Gadjovich, Evan Rodrigues, Sam Reinhart, and Anton Lundell.
It’s been the overarching theme of the 2025-26 season for Florida. Injuries have prevented the Panthers from achieving any success this year and will also prevent the team from defending their back-to-back Stanley Cup championships.
At any rate, it allows a pair of defensemen who haven’t played much for the team this season. Björnfot, 24, has scored two goals and one assist in 11 games for the Panthers this season, averaging 11:33 of ice time per night. Meanwhile, Hovorka, 24, has only one game of NHL experience under his belt, skating for 11:27 against the Tampa Bay Lightning on February 5th.
AHL Assignments: 3/6/25
Today’s trade deadline also has minor-league implications. Players must be on an AHL roster at 2:00 p.m. Central in order to be eligible to play in the Calder Cup Playoffs. As such, teams will be ferrying a large number of waiver-exempt players to the minors this morning and afternoon before recalling them before the end of the league day for cap counting at 4:00 p.m. That allows them to bypass the new rule that players must play at least one game in the minors after being reassigned before they’re eligible for a recall again.
Here’s the rundown of today’s reassignments that will be announced during the blizzard of other moves today:
- The Flames will ferry winger Matvei Gridin to the Calgary Wranglers, Ryan Pike of Flames Nation reports. The 2024 #28 overall pick is in his first professional season and is already beginning to look like a natural fit in the Flames’ top nine, posting seven points through his first 18 NHL games while averaging 14:18 of ice time per night. Gridin’s 4.17 shot attempts per game are fourth on the team after Rasmus Andersson and MacKenzie Weegar were traded away. He’s also got 10 goals and 29 points in 36 games for the Wranglers, but with the Flames’ roster thinning out as they sell pieces off, he’ll be up in the NHL for the stretch run before returning to the playoff-bound Wranglers after the regular season ends.
- The Jets announced they’ve sent winger Walker Duehr and defender Isaak Phillips to AHL Manitoba. Both may find their way back down to Manitoba on a full-time basis before the end of the season as Winnipeg gets some of its IR-bound players back in the lineup, but for now, they’ll serve as depth pieces for the Jets as they potentially subtract more talents from their roster today.
- The Mammoth sent defenseman Dmitriy Simashev to Tucson, per PuckPedia. The 2023 sixth overall pick got into the Utah lineup for the first time since December last night. The rookie has been exceptional in the minors but has just one assist with a -9 rating through his first 25 career NHL outings.
- The Blackhawks assigned defender Ethan Del Mastro to Rockford, per PuckPedia. He’ll be back up after being recalled earlier in the week to replace Connor Murphy on the roster after he was dealt to the Oilers.
- The Penguins have sent down winger Avery Hayes to make him post-season eligible, per Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The 23-year-old rookie has two goals through his first six NHL contests over the past several weeks, both of which came in his debut.
- The Avalanche have demoted winger Gavin Brindley to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. Brindley is in his first full NHL season after being acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets last year, scoring six goals and 12 points in 47 games, averaging 9:51 of ice time per game.
- The Rangers are making sure that AHL Hartford has reinforcements for the playoffs. New York has reassigned forwards Jaroslav Chmelar and Juuso Pärssinen. The former scored the first goal of his NHL career in a lopsided victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
- According to a team announcement, the Vancouver Canucks have reassigned netminder Nikita Tolopilo and defenseman Cole Clayton to AHL Abbotsford. Tolopilo has been a mainstay between the pipes for Vancouver over the last little while, managing a 3-5-2 record in nine starts this season with a .901 SV% and 3.27 GAA.
- Unlikely to make the playoffs this season, the Panthers are making sure the cupboards are stocked for the Charlotte Checkers’ playoff run. The Panthers have reassigned Tobias Björnfot and Sandis Vilmanis, allowing them to remain eligible for the postseason.
- The Kraken have reassigned forwards Jacob Melanson and Ryan Winterton to the AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds. The pair have combined for four goals and 19 points in 82 games for Seattle this season.
- According to Bill Hoppe of the Times Herald, the Buffalo Sabres have assigned Zach Metsa to the AHL’s Rochester Americans in a paper transaction. Metsa, 27, is in his first full NHL season, scoring two goals and four points in 31 games, averaging 9:45 of ice time per game.
- The best team in the AHL may be even better during the playoffs. To maintain their eligibility for the postseason, the Grand Rapids Griffins announced that captain Dominik Shine and defenseman Axel Sandin Pellikka have been reassigned in a paper transaction.
- According to Charlie O’Connor of PHLY Sports, the Flyers have reassigned Denver Barkey and Adam Ginning to AHL Lehigh Valley. Barkey has been an encouraging story of late, scoring two goals and 10 points in his first 26 games of NHL action.
- Murat Ates of The Athletic confirmed that the Winnipeg Jets reassigned defenseman Elias Salomonsson to retain his postseason eligibility. Salomonsson has been relatively disappointing for AHL Manitoba this season, registering one goal and nine points in 29 contests.
- Pushing back on the earlier report today indicating that the Canucks had recalled Ty Mueller, Brendan Batchelor of Sportsnet shared that he won’t be joining the Canucks. Vancouver will run with a bare-bones roster tonight against the Blackhawks.
- Missing the playoffs for the first time in a decade, the Maple Leafs are making sure AHL Toronto has additional firepower for their postseason run. According to Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun, the Maple Leafs have reassigned Easton Cowan and Jacob Quillan in a paper transaction. Despite being a higher-regarded prospect, Cowan only has two games of AHL experience.
- As expected, the Edmonton Oilers have reassigned forward Josh Samanski to the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors to ensure his postseason eligibility. Samanski has been exceptional for AHL Bakersfield this year, registering eight goals and 31 points in 43 games with a +6 rating.
This page will be updated throughout the day.
Panthers Waive Tobias Bjornfot, Louis Domingue
The Panthers have placed defender Tobias Björnfot on waivers for the purpose of assignment to AHL Charlotte, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Florida also waived goalie Louis Domingue after signing him to a two-way deal earlier today. The former’s demotion will open a roster spot for the Cats to activate either winger Jonah Gadjovich or defenseman Seth Jones, both of whom are close to a return, from long-term injured reserve.
Initially claimed off waivers from the Golden Knights in 2023-24, Björnfot subsequently re-signed with Florida last summer on a two-way deal and continues to be rewarded with a good bit of recall action. Florida recalled Björnfot at the start of January after Jones’ upper body injury and, after sitting as a healthy scratch for several games, finally got a start as their #3 lefty over Donovan Sebrango and stuck in the lineup for a good stretch. He missed some time last month with an undisclosed injury but has since returned.
Through 11 games, Björnfot was the ideal no-fuss replacement piece. The former first-round pick of the Kings posted a pair of goals and an assist while recording a +4 rating, averaging just 11:33 per game. The smooth-skating rearguard had eight hits and posted great possession metrics in his sheltered minutes, controlling 61.7% of shot attempts at even strength.
Florida will hope to retain the 24-year-old through the waiver process. Considering his limited NHL utility over the past few seasons, it’s unlikely a team looking to add on the blue line will use a roster spot on him right now, so they should be able to retain him. He’ll be a restricted free agent again this summer so Florida still has first right of refusal on his signing rights.
It wouldn’t be surprising to see them try to get him re-upped on another two-way deal, potentially with a higher guarantee than the $450K one he’s on now. He’s been a great defensive conscience in Charlotte’s top four over the past two years and has shown to be a reliable insurance option in the #8 slot or so on their defensive depth chart.
Panthers Reassign Mikulas Hovorka
2/6/26: The Panthers reassigned Hovorka back to AHL Charlotte today. He played 11:27 time on ice in Florida’s loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning yesterday.
2/5/26: With the Panthers dealing with several injuries for their final game before the Olympic break against Tampa Bay, they needed some help on the back end. Accordingly, the team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled Mikulas Hovorka from AHL Charlotte. To make room on the roster, blueliner Tobias Bjornfot was placed on injured reserve.
The 24-year-old is in his second season in North America since signing as an undrafted free agent with Florida back in 2024. Prior to tonight’s game, he had exclusively played in the minors with the Checkers. This season, Hovorka has two goals and eight assists in 30 games, meaning he has equaled his rookie-season output in half the games he played in 2024-25. However, given that the break is coming after tonight’s game, it’s a lock that he’ll be returned to Charlotte in the very near future.
As for Bjornfot, the nature of the injury is currently undisclosed but he sustained it on Wednesday against Boston. The 24-year-old was recalled last month and has seen fairly regular action since then. Bjornfot has played in 10 games with Florida this season, picking up two goals and one assist in 11:20 per night of playing time. Meanwhile, he hasn’t been much more productive in Charlotte as he has a goal and six helpers in 22 games with them. Bjornfot will be eligible to be activated in time for Florida’s next game on February 26th against Toronto.
Panthers Recall Tobias Bjornfot
Ahead of their game this evening against Colorado, the Florida Panthers announced that defenseman Tobias Björnfot has been recalled from AHL Charlotte. Although official word has yet to be provided, the move suggests that Seth Jones will not play, after his Winter Classic injury. The Panthers had an open roster spot, and no corresponding transaction is required.
The 24-year-old is in his second full season with the Panthers organization, where he has spent most time in the AHL, after being claimed off waivers from Vegas in March of 2024. Björnfot was already called upon earlier this season, in mid October, but did not get into a game, and has yet to debut in the NHL this season.
Selected 22nd overall by Los Angeles in 2019 with the pick acquired from Toronto in the Jake Muzzin deal, Björnfot was thought to be a well-rounded two-way defender with top-four upside. After proving unable to break through with the Kings, he was waived, where the Golden Knights took a flyer. Björnfot had a very short stay there, before finding himself back on the wire, catching on with Florida.
Björnfot’s AHL play has not jumped off the page, but he is the undisputed most NHL capable defensive option in Charlotte, with 134 games at the highest level. Florida offers Donovan Sebrango as their current seventh defender, another lefty, who will likely join the lineup today. A pending RFA, Björnfot figures to be no more than organizational depth at the NHL level, but with Uvis Balinskis and Jeff Petry as pending UFAs, the door may be cracked for him to stick around as a bottom pair option in 2026-27.
In the meantime, it is thought that Jones dodged a more serious injury and should return sometime this week, so Björnfot’s latest stint with the big club is likely brief.
Panthers Recall Tobias Bjornfot
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.
Waivers: 10/4/25
With a little over 48 hours remaining before season-opening rosters need to be submitted to the league, it’s expected to be a very busy weekend on the waiver wire. Not surprisingly, it’s another big list of players on waivers today as 17 players have been put there, per PuckPedia. Meanwhile, all 12 players on waivers yesterday passed through unclaimed, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link). Here’s today’s list of players on the wire:
Dallas Stars
F Cameron Hughes
D Vladislav Kolyachonok
Florida Panthers
D Tobias Bjornfot
G Brandon Bussi
New Jersey Devils
F Thomas Bordeleau
F Angus Crookshank
F Brian Halonen
F Zack MacEwen
D Colton White
Philadelphia Flyers
Pittsburgh Penguins
D Alexander Alexeyev
D Ryan Graves
F Rafael Harvey-Pinard
F Bokondji Imama
F Samuel Poulin
San Jose Sharks
Utah Hockey Club
Graves is the headliner in today’s class, primarily due to his contract which has four years left on it. We covered his situation in more detail earlier today.
Among the rest of the players, Bjornfot is no stranger to being in this situation but he has been claimed twice before. He spent most of last season in the minors with Florida but did get into 14 games with the Panthers and has 134 games at the top level under his belt. Alexeyev played sparingly last season with Washington not wanting to risk losing him for nothing on waivers but it appears that Pittsburgh doesn’t have that same level of hesitance. Meanwhile, Kolyachonok was claimed off waivers by the Penguins back in February before being flipped to Dallas over the summer so it’s possible another team might have their eye on him as well. Gilbert signed with the Flyers this summer after splitting last season between Ottawa and Buffalo but while the thought was that he’d at least be able to land a seventh role, that isn’t the case.
As for the forwards, San Jose’s White is by far the most experienced with 323 NHL appearances. However, he has primarily been an AHL player in recent years and it’s likely that he will clear and be assigned to the Barracuda. Poulin was a 2019 first-round pick but hasn’t seen much time with the Penguins, including just seven games last season. But at 24, he’s young enough to potentially be of interest to a team that wants to take a longer look at him. Bordeleau held his own in 27 games with the Sharks in 2023-24 but only played once for them last season before being moved in July in a swap of AHL players. But like Poulin, he’s young enough (23) to potentially draw attention.
These players will be on waivers until 1:00 PM CT on Sunday.
Panthers Sign Tobias Bjornfot
The Panthers have signed restricted free agent defenseman Tobias Bjornfot to a two-way contract, per a team press release. He’ll earn a $775K salary in the NHL and a $450K salary in the minors this season, according to PuckPedia.
Bjornfot was a first-round pick by the Kings in 2019 out of the Djurgarden program in his native Sweden, but he and L.A. decided to move his development to North America immediately after he was drafted. In hindsight, that was a hasty decision for a mobile but raw stay-at-home defender who played most of his draft year at the under-20 level in Sweden, and he never pieced together a career as a full-time NHLer as a result.
Florida is Bjornfot’s third NHL organization. He ended up being claimed off waivers by the Golden Knights in January 2024 before the Panthers snagged him off the wire two months later. He’s remained in the organization since, successfully passing through waivers at the beginning of 2024-25 and spending most of the season with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers.
Last season saw Bjornfot regain some stability after suiting up for five different NHL and AHL clubs in 2023-24. He made 50 regular-season appearances for Charlotte, posting a 5-13–18 scoring line and a plus-six rating. He also added seven points in 14 AHL playoff games and made 14 NHL appearances for the Panthers as an injury replacement throughout the season, going without a point and logging a minus-three rating while averaging 13:06 of ice time per night.
He’s a fine No. 8 defender at this stage of his career, and while he doesn’t have the current pedigree nor ceiling that his draft position indicated, he’s still an experienced and reliable call-up option that benefits a Panthers club that lost some of its organizational defensive depth this summer following its second straight Stanley Cup championship. Bjornfot, 24, will be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights again next summer.
Panthers Recall Jaycob Megna, Reassign Tobias Bjornfot
The Florida Panthers have swapped depth defensemen on the roster, assigning Tobias Bjornfot to the minor league and recalling Jaycob Megna per the AHL Transactions Log. Bjornfot will return to the minors after appearing in Florida’s last six games. He manageed no scoring, two penalty minutes, and a minus-five in the appearances.
Bjornfot is now up to no scoring and a minus-three through 14 NHL appearances this season. He’s had a bit better footing in the minor leagues, where he’s potted 16 points, 22 penalty minutes, and a plus-one in 43 games. Bjornfot has developed into more-and-more of a stay-at-home defenseman as his professional career progresses, though his lack of offense at the top flight has made him hard to routinely trust.
With a three-game road trip on the horizon, Florida will opt to instead reward Megna with the first call-up of his season. He’s matched Bjornfot’s AHL scoring, with 16 points in 64 games of his own. Megna adds to that 23 penalty minutes and a strong plus-26, which ranks second on the Charlotte Checkers. The six-foot-six defender appeared in 44 games with the Chicago Blackhawks last season – recording two assists, 22 penalty minutes, and a minus-15. He’s totaled 27 points in 185 career games in the NHL, and 114 points in 434 games in the AHL. Megna could be in store to step immediately into the NHL roster on this recall, headed for the third-line left-defender role that Bjornfot previously occupied.