Florida has landed a third-string netminder to serve behind Sergei Bobrovsky and Spencer Knight. TSN’s Chris Johnston reports the team has signed depth goalie Alex Lyon. They’ve also added some depth on the back end, adding Anthony Bitetto to a one-year, two-way contract.
Lyon, 29, is fresh off winning the Calder Cup with the Chicago Wolves, where he posted a .923 save percentage in 12 playoff appearances. An undrafted free agent signing out of Yale in 2016, he has been strong in the minor leagues but only appeared 24 times in the NHL.
He may not get any more chances this year but is at least a strong option should one of Bobrovsky or Knight face an injury.
Bitetto meanwhile is in a similar situation, save for the recent Calder Cup win. The 31-year-old defenseman has 197 games under his belt at the NHL level but none of those came in 2021-22. Instead, he split the year between the Hartford Wolf Pack and the San Jose Barracuda, scoring 17 points in 53 games.
If he’s playing regular minutes with the Panthers it is because they are dealing with serious injuries but should represent a stable veteran presence in the AHL.