 Unclaimed, O'Brien was assigned to affiliate, the Abbotsford Heat, marking a return to the AHL for the first time since 2006.On June 30, 2014, O'Brien was placed on unconditional waivers for purposes of a compliance buyout.As a free agent O'Brien failed to attract significant interest and, on September 2, 2014, he accepted a professional try-out contract to the Florida Panthers training camp.