Lightning claim winger Rudolfs Balcers off waivers from Panthers

Rudolfs Balcers is staying in Florida. At least, he’s staying in the state of Florida as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the Lightning have claimed the winger off waivers from the Panthers.

The 25-year-old signed a one-year deal with Florida this past summer after being bought out by San Jose despite putting up 11 goals and 12 assists in 61 games last season, all career highs. He had played in all 14 games for the Panthers this season, potting two goals and two assists despite logging a little under 11 minutes of playing time per game. However, the team needed to waive someone in order to create a spot for Aaron Ekblad to be activated off LTIR, and the team decided that Balcers was the better choice between him and veteran center Eric Staal.

Florida will be at 12 forwards on the active roster once that move is officially made later Saturday — with one of those being Patric Hornqvist, who has been injured for more than a week. However, the team confirmed that the veteran will be able to return Saturday, meaning the Panthers will be able to ice a full roster. Although, they won’t have enough cap space to carry any spare players, which could be problematic when injuries arise.

Balcers could immediately jump into Tampa Bay’s lineup with the team previously carrying only the minimum 12 forwards. That includes youngster Cole Koepke, who hasn’t produced much in the early going as he has been held off the scoresheet through his first dozen career NHL contests. Balcers would be an upgrade over Koepke on their fourth line, one that won’t have any significant cap effects since he’s signed at the league minimum with arbitration eligibility next summer. The Lightning are able to afford only cheap pickups while making sure they can be cap-compliant for when Anthony Cirelli is able to come off LTIR. This pickup is certainly a worthwhile one, especially if he’s able to produce at the level he did last season with the Sharks.