Panthers Recall Cole Schwindt; Reassign Sam Lafferty

According to a team announcement, the Florida Panthers recalled forward Cole Schwindt from the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers. In a corresponding roster move, the Panthers assigned forward Sam Lafferty the other way.

Schwindt, 25, recently played his first AHL contests since the 2023-24 season, then with the Calgary Flames. Since the Panthers entered the 2026-27 campaign relatively healthy, Schwindt didn’t make Florida’s opening-night roster. He has performed relatively well with the Checkers, scoring one goal and three points in five games with a -1 rating.

Still, Schwindt earned an extended stay with the Panthers last season because the team dealt with so many injuries. He was on that list early in the season, fracturing his arm in November, which caused him to miss several months. He finished the campaign with five goals and seven points in 29 games with a +2 rating, averaging 10:02 of ice time per game.

Meanwhile, Lafferty is headed to AHL Charlotte to delay his waiver eligibility. The eight-year NHL veteran was recalled on October 3rd after captain Aleksander Barkov was injured. On the roster since then, Lafferty was only five games and/or 14 days from requiring waivers for reassignment again.

Furthermore, Lafferty didn’t start great. Joining the Panthers this past offseason on a one-year, $850K contract, Lafferty went scoreless in five games with a -4 rating. Even though he began over 70% of his shifts in the offensive zone, Lafferty won only eight of his 32 draws. He also owns the worst CorsiFor on the team at 36.4% in all situations.