Rudolf Balcers claimed off waivers.

The Florida Panthers took a gamble and it has not paid off.

On Friday it was revealed that the Panthers had placed 25 year old Latvian forward Rudolf Balcers on waivers and immediately there was a widely held belief that at least one rival team would submit a claim for Balcers' services. Those predictions have proven accurate and it has now been officially confirmed that Balcers has been claimed. Not only are the Panthers losing a forward for nothing though, they are losing him to arguably their most bitter rival in the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Lightning were relatively far down the waiver priority and many are surprised to have seen Balcers go unclaimed by so many teams, but the fact that he has now landed in the hands of a direct rival could come back to haunt the Panthers down the road.

Balcers saw limited action this season but scored 2 goals and added 2 assists for a total of 4 points in his 14 appearances with the Florida Panthers in 2022.