The Florida Panthers today have signed Finnish defender Petteri Lindbohm to a contract. Lindbohm was under contract with Jokerit of the KHL until that team withdrew from the KHL playoffs.

Lindbohm, 28, is a free agent, and no NHL team currently had his rights, although he did play a little for St. Louis at one time. Because he played in a league outside North America, he has to clear entry waivers. Once a staple of the NHL signing process, they now exist only for players signed in this way, which is why almost no players ever are signed as free agents after their European season is over.

Note: entry waivers do not apply to drafted prospects or anyone else on a team’s reserve list.

The reason for the waivers aside, the process is exactly the same as regular waivers. Any team can put in a claim, and the priority order is the reverse of the standings.

It’s possible Florida signed him to a contact that will make other teams not want to claim him, and no details have been released yet, but the Leafs should claim him.

Why?

Because it will upset the Panthers, of course. How often does any team get a shot at a freebie defender to try out while your number two guy is on LTIR? And on top of that, from a division rival. He’s not a big points man, we can tell that from his past play in the NHL. And he’s tall, you can tell that from the photo above (he’s 6’3”) and the rest is virtually irrelevant. If he doesn’t work out, the waiver wire is right there to use again.

Yes, it’s true that Florida could claim him back, but when has a player ever worked out for the Panthers who didn’t on the Leafs?

I say claim him, Kyle, make Florida’s day a little less sunny.

Should the Leafs claim this defender I first heard of today?

Yes! Stick it to the Panthers.759
No, come on, you can’t do that in the NHL. Someone’s feelings will get hurt.104