Evan Fitzpatrick is returning to the organizational fold, as the netminder has signed a one-year, AHL contract with Florida.
The 24-year-old signed an AHL contract last offseason before the Panthers inked him to an NHL deal in January that ran through the end of the campaign.
Fitzpatrick, a second-round pick in 2016, spent the majority of last season with the ECHL’s Greenville Swamp Rabbits. Despite a 9-11-2 record, he was stellar between the pipes - posting the third-best goals-against average in the league (2.50) and tying for eighth in save percentage (.915). Fitzpatrick appeared in one game for the Checkers last season, turning in a 25-save win over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
The Newfoundland native has four pro campaigns under his belt, going 5-3-0 with a 2.44 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage in 12 AHL appearances with San Antonio, Utica and Charlotte. In 61 ECHL games with Tulsa, Brampton and Greenville, Fitzpatrick is 24-26-7 with a 3.10 goals-against average and an .890 save percentage.
Prior to turning pro, Fitzpatrick spent four seasons in the QMJHL with Sherbrooke before joining Acadie-Bathurst and leading the Titan to a Memorial Cup in 2018.