Dealing with a hand injury to starting netminder Roberto Luongo, the Florida Panthers claimed goaltender Antti Niemi on waivers from the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday.
The Penguins waived Niemi on Monday after he lost his first three starts with the team after being signed as a free agent from the Dallas Stars this summer. The 34-year-old veteran has given up 16 goals in less than seven periods of play so far this season. He has a porous 7.49 goals against average and a .797 save percentage.
With Luongo out, Niemi will give the Panthers a backup option with actual NHL experience as Harri Sateri has yet to play a game in the world’s best league.