Panthers Pulse: Tobias Bjornfot Looks to Make Run for Roster Spot in Camp

After the Florida Panthers invested in him with a trade deadline waiver claim, Tobias Bjornfot looks to make his case for a spot in the opening night lineup.

Photo courtesy of FortunateNeil (Twitter)

Leading up to the beginning of training camp, Pucks and Palms will be previewing each of the key pieces of the defending Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers in a series called ‘Panthers Pulse’ heading into the 2024-25 season. Tobias Bjornfot is next.

2023-24 Stats: 0 points, four games played (Playoffs: DNP)

After limited opportunity following a deadline day waiver claim, Tobias Bjornfot has a chance for a bigger opportunity with the Florida Panthers in 2024-25.

The Panthers claimed Bjornfot from the Vegas Golden Knights off of waivers on trade deadline to add to their defense depth heading into their 2024 playoff run. He only played one game, but this move was an investment for the future.

The 23-year-old is a former first-round pick (drafted 22nd overall by the Los Angeles Kings) and has yet to have the opportunity to fully prove himself at the NHL level.

He has played one full NHL season, a 70-game campaign for the Kings in 2021-22 where he racked up eight assists and had a plus/minus of 12, before spending most of the following season in the AHL and an injury-plagued 2023-24 season.

The Golden Knights claimed him off waivers in January after an early season injury derailed his season, then placed him on waivers at the deadline after he suffered another injury just two games into his tenure in Vegas.

Bjornfot held his own in a lone game in a Panthers uniform — logging 17:01 of time-on-ice in a 4-3 overtime loss to the New York Rangers on March 23 — and came along for the ride as a healthy scratch as the Panthers went on to win the Stanley Cup.

So, what is Bjornfot’s ceiling?

When he was coming up in the Swedish leagues, he was a mobile, two-way defenseman who could move the puck and put up about 0.5 points per game. That also translated to the North American game when he put up six goals and 19 points for the AHL’s Ontario Reign in 2019-20.

He showed flashes of that offensive talent in the NHL, putting up a goal and six points in 33 games the following season.

After all he’s gone through, does he still have it in him?

He certainly has the chance to prove himself now with the departures of Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Brandon Montour opening up a couple spots on the blue line.

Nate Schmidt will almost certainly lock up one of the two, and that leaves Adam Boqvist, Uvis Balinskis and Bjornfot as the three biggest contenders for that sixth and final spot.

Boqvist appears to be the favorite to lock up that final spot — with the former eighth overall pick having the potential to be a key replacement on the power play — but that’s not set in stone.

If Boqvist has a slow camp and loses ground on the roster battle — just as he did last year with the Columbus Blue Jackets — one of Balinskis or Bjornfot could jump into that sixth spot.

And, of course, as the season goes on, Bjornfot will inevitably have a chance to prove himself at some point.

Up Next in Panthers Pulse: Mackie Samoskevich

Previously: Matthew Tkachuk, Gustav Forsling, Sam Bennett, Evan Rodrigues, Eetu Luostarinen, Uvis Balinskis, Anton Lundell, Sergei Bobrovsky, Spencer Knight, Aleksander Barkov, Adam Boqvist, A.J. Greer, Sam Reinhart, Niko Mikkola, Nate Schmidt