Casey Fitzgerald

Casey Fitzgerald (born February 25, 1997) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman who plays for the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the third round (86th overall) of the 2016 NHL entry draft by the Buffalo Sabres.

Playing career

Amateur Fitzgerald played youth AAA hockey with the Middlesex Islanders out of North Andover MA. Fitzgerald was a part of the 2014–15 US national under-18 team of the United States Hockey League (USHL), where he won a gold medal and had the best plus/minus rating on the team at the 2015 IIHF World U18 Championships.

Collegiate Fitzgerald joined the Boston College Eagles ice hockey team for the 2015–16 season. In his freshman year, he appeared in 39 games and scored 27 points, including 4 goals 23 assists. He was named to the Hockey East Pro Ambitions All-Rookie team at the conclusion of the 2015–16 season.

Professional Fitzgerald was drafted in the third round (86th overall) in the 2016 NHL entry draft by the Buffalo Sabres. He made his NHL debut with the Sabres on December 17, 2021 and finished the game with an assist.

After being a healthy scratch for six straight games during the 2022–23 season, Fitzgerald was placed on waivers by the Sabres on January 10, 2023, upon the return of defenseman Henri Jokiharju from injury. He was subsequently claimed off waivers by the Florida Panthers on January 11.

Fitzgerald played just 4 games with the Panthers during the remainder of the season, but was called into action for the postseason. He made his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut in Game 4 of the First Round against the Boston Bruins, subbing in for the injured Aaron Ekblad. On July 17, 2023, he signed a one-year contract extension with the Panthers.

At the conclusion of his contract with the Panthers, Fitzgerald was signed as a free agent to a two-year, two-way contract with the New York Rangers on July 2, 2024.

Having completed his contract with the Rangers, Fitzgerald returned to former club, the Florida Panthers, as a free agent after signing a one-year, two-way contract on July 1, 2026.

Personal life Fitzgerald is the son of former New Jersey Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald, and was born in Boca Raton, Florida when his father was a member of the Florida Panthers. As a result of his father's career, he grew up in Florida and Tennessee, before his family settled in North Reading, Massachusetts.

Fitzergald's older brother Ryan was a teammate at Boston College. Ryan was drafted in fourth round (120th overall) by the Boston Bruins in the 2013 NHL entry draft.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2013–14 U.S. National Development Team USHL 52 3 9 12 43 — — — — — 2014–15 U.S. National Development Team USHL 57 9 16 25 67 — — — — — 2015–16 Boston College HE 39 4 23 27 46 — — — — — 2016–17 Boston College HE 37 5 17 22 46 — — — — — 2017–18 Boston College HE 36 6 13 19 45 — — — — — 2018–19 Boston College HE 39 2 12 14 26 — — — — — 2018–19 Rochester Americans AHL 4 1 2 3 0 — — — — — 2019–20 Rochester Americans AHL 25 2 6 8 30 — — — — — 2020–21 Rochester Americans AHL 22 2 9 11 34 — — — — — 2021–22 Rochester Americans AHL 28 4 8 12 43 10 2 5 7 11 2021–22 Buffalo Sabres NHL 36 0 6 6 36 — — — — — 2022–23 Buffalo Sabres NHL 23 0 3 3 4 — — — — — 2022–23 Florida Panthers NHL 4 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 10 2023–24 Charlotte Checkers AHL 69 4 17 21 65 3 0 0 0 4 2024–25 Hartford Wolf Pack AHL 66 5 16 21 75 — — — — — 2025–26 Hartford Wolf Pack AHL 71 4 19 23 85 — — — — —NHL totals 63 0 9 9 40 2 0 0 0 10

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2014 United States U17 6 0 2 2 2 2015 United States U18 7 1 3 4 4 2017 United States WJC 7 0 3 3 6Junior totals 20 1 8 9 12