Panthers Recall Sam Lafferty, Alex Petrovic

The Florida Panthers have called up some reinforcements after placing captain Aleksander Barkov on long-term injured reserve earlier this afternoon. According to a team announcement, the Panthers have recalled forward Sam Lafferty and defenseman Alexander Petrovic ahead of tomorrow’s matchup against the Anaheim Ducks.

Although he is a depth forward for the Panthers, Lafferty will add experience to Florida’s bottom six if he enters the lineup. The 31-year-old forward joined the Panthers this past offseason on a one-year, two-way contract worth $850K at the NHL level. He’s not the player he used to be, but he is only a few years removed from being a quality tertiary performer for the Vancouver Canucks.

Lafferty parlayed his 13-goal, 24-point performance for the Canucks in the 2023-24 season into a two-year, $4MM ($2MM AAV) contract with the Buffalo Sabres. Unfortunately, he didn’t have his best first season with the Sabres, finishing with four goals and seven points in 60 games, a -15 rating, and 9:53 of ice time per game. The Sabres cut bait one year later, trading Lafferty to the Chicago Blackhawks on the opening day of free agency for a 2026 sixth-round pick.

Unfortunately, nothing improved with the Blackhawks. Limited by multiple lower-body injuries, Lafferty finished the 2025-26 campaign with one goal and two points in 29 games with a -2 rating. Still, given the number of new faces Florida had to rely on last season, they could do a lot worse than Lafferty for a short time.

Meanwhile, the Panthers have much more familiarity with Petrovic. Florida selected the Edmonton, AB, native with the 36th overall pick in the 2010 NHL Draft. He spent the first six and a half years of his NHL career with the Panthers until being traded to the Edmonton Oilers in the 2018-19 season. Petrovic spent the last three years with the Dallas Stars, registering two goals and 10 points in 54 games with a +2 rating throughout the 2026-27 season. He signed a two-year, $1.75MM ($875K AAV) contract with Florida on July 2nd, 2026.