Florida Panthers Claim Defenseman Off Waivers

The Florida Panthers have claimed Casey Fitzgerald off of waivers from the Buffalo Sabres.

When it was announced that Fitzgerald was hitting the waiver wire, it certainly seemed possible that another team would scoop him. After all, he has shown that he can be a serviceable depth defenseman, and he carries a very small cap hit. With the Panthers having serious trouble defensively this season, it is not too surprising to see that they have decided to take a chance on Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald will now be competing for a spot on Florida's bottom pairing from here. In 23 games this campaign with the Sabres, the 25-year-old, right-shot defenseman has three assists to go along with a minus-1 rating. It will be intriguing to see how these numbers improve now that he is a Panther.