Defenseman Tobias Bjornfot was placed on waivers by the Florida Panthers on Wednesday. He spent parts of five seasons with the Los Angeles Kings and was a first-round pick for them.
The Florida Panthers were the only active team on the NHL's waiver wire on Wednesday. They placed goaltender Louis Domingue on waivers as they signed him to a new two-way contract. But Florida also placed former Los Angeles Kings defenseman Tobias Bjornfot on the wire.
Bjornfot, 24, is available to be taken if any team puts in a claim within the next 24 hours. If not, he'll be assigned to the AHL's Charlotte Checkers, Florida's American League affiliate.
Therefore, the Kings could potentially bring back the blueliner, after losing him on waivers in 2023-24 to the Vegas Golden Knights. He was claimed again off waivers later that 2023-24 season by the Panthers.
After being selected 22nd overall in the first round of the 2019 draft, Bjornfot played parts of five seasons with the Kings. Across those years, he featured in 117 games for Los Angeles, scoring one goal and 15 points from the back end.
The best year of his NHL career was with the Kings in 2021-22. Bjornfot made 70 appearances and put up eight assists for eight points, all of which are career-highs.
In that very campaign, he averaged 16:46 of ice time per game and had a minus-12 plus-minus rating.
Tobias Bjornfot (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)Since that 2021-22 season, he hasn't featured in more than 14 regular-season affairs. This year, Bjornfot has played 11 games for the Panthers, registering two goals and three points while averaging 11:33 of ice time, and has a plus-four rating.
For most of the past two years, Bjornfot has spent most of the time in the minors. In the past two seasons, the six-foot defenseman has played 72 games for the Checkers. That includes 22 appearances this season and putting up one goal and seven points, along with a plus-six rating.
He also had an exceptional Calder Cup playoff campaign last season for Charlotte. Bjornfot scored two goals and seven points in 14 post-season appearances, helping his team advance to the final. The Abbotsford Canucks got in their way and were Calder Cup champions.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.