SUNRISE, Fla. – Florida Panthers forward Cole Scwhindt will miss an extended period of time after suffering a lower-body injury in Thursday’s 5-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“He’ll be out long-term,” head coach Paul Maurice said on Friday.
This is the second major injury for Schwindt this season after the 24-year-old previously sustained a broken arm during a collision with goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky on Nov. 17.
Claimed off waivers from the Vegas Golden Knights on Oct. 3, Schwindt, who’d originally been drafted by the Panthers in the third round (81st overall) of the 2019 NHL Draft, has produced four points (3G, 1A) and 25 hits in 22 games during his second stint with Florida.
Playing alongside A.J. Greer and Sandis Vilmanis prior to his latest injury, Schwindt had been doing a very good job centering the fourth line for the Panthers. Over 36:31 of ice time together, that feisty line led 3-0 in goals and 43-19 in shot attempts, according to NaturalStatTrick.com.
“It’s tough,” Maurice said. “Both times he went down, we really liked where his game was at. Going into the break, him and Villy (Vilmanis) and A.J. Greer had some great games for us. We were pretty excited about where they could get to, but that’s our story [this season].”
In Schwindt’s absence, Luke Kunin will slot into the lineup for the Panthers when they close out their back-to-back with a key battle against the Buffalo Sabres tonight at 7 p.m. ET.
