On November 12th, the Florida Panthers announced that they have claimed forward Seth Griffith off waivers. A natural center, Griffith has shown that he has the ability to play all three forward positions. With the Panthers injury situation as it is, this could be the best chance for Griffith to show he has what it takes to excel at the NHL level.

Seth Griffith, 23 years old, was drafted by the Boston Bruins in the 5th round (131st overall). At the time, Griffith was coming off a season in which he scored 45 goals and 85 points total while playing for the OHL’s London Knights. After he was drafted, the Bruins returned him to the London Knights for an additional year of development in which he scored 33 goals and 81 points. Impressed by Griffith’s play, the Bruins decided that they have seen enough and inked Griffith to an entry level contract following the 2012-13 season.

After scoring 20 goals and 50 points in 89 games for the Providence Bruins in his first professional season, the Bruins gave him his first call-up to the NHL in the third game of the 2014-15 season. In Griffith’s fourth NHL game, he scored his first NHL goal vs. the San Jose Sharks. (Fun Fact: current Florida Panthers defensemen Jason Demers was on the ice for Griffith’s first NHL goal).

Griffith would go on to score his first NHL assist in the following game vs. the New York Islanders. The right-handed shooter from Wallaceburg, Ontario would score his first multi-point game and multi-goal game vs. the Minnesota Wild on October 28th vs. Minnesota.

It is worth noting that throughout his tenure with the Bruins, the line that he was deployed on the most was on a line with David Krejci and Milan Lucic. He would go on to score 10 points total in the 30 games that he would play with the Boston Bruins for that season. If Seth Griffith’s name sounds familiar, he was remembered for scoring one of the best NHL goals of the 2014-15 season vs. the New Jersey Devils. During that game, he split through New Jersey’s two defensemen and shot the puck between his own legs while turned around into the goal.

He would go on to play an additional four games for the Bruins during the 2015-16 season before being put on waivers and claimed by the Toronto Maple Leafs on October 11th, 2016.

Seth Griffith would go on to play three games for the Maple Leafs, including one vs. the Florida Panthers back on October 27th, before being put on waivers again on November 12th. Flooded with injury concerns regarding their Top 9, the Florida Panthers would then proceed to claim Griffith off waivers.

Seth Griffith claimed off waivers by #FlaPanthers. With injuries, he should find much more opportunity there than he got with #leafs. — Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) November 12, 2016

It’s easy to see how Griffith could fit into the Florida Panthers lineup over the next few months. The choice to claim Griffith off waivers shows that the Panthers are not comfortable with their Top 9 right now, with Nick Bjugstad out for another week and Jonathan Huberdeau out for another two to three months.

#Panthers claim Seth Griffith, who will surely go on to put up 40 points with proper usage. — Scott Wheeler (@scottcwheeler) November 12, 2016

The top two lines are presumably set, in which case Griffith might get a look with Denis Malgin and one of Colton Sceivour or Jared McCann until Bjugstad returns to the lineup. Seth Griffith might stick with the team for at least the next couple of months until Huberdeau returns from injury. If he excels, then he will likely stick with the team throughout the season.

Seth Griffith is on my list of ‘Marchessault All-Stars’. Small, produces at every stop, just needs a real chance to show it in the NHL. — Dimitri Filipovic (@DimFilipovic) November 11, 2016

There is no question that Seth Griffith has the talent to play at the NHL level. Although he was already given thirty games as a member of the Boston Bruins, this could be Griffith’s best chance to stick at the NHL level.

Seth Griffith could slide into the lineup as soon as Tuesday night when the Panthers visit the Montreal Canadians to kick off a four game road trip.

How do you think Seth Griffith will perform for the Florida Panthers? Please leave your opinion in the comments section below. Thanks for reading!