Florida Panthers

For the animal species by this name, see Florida panther. For the FIU intercollegiate sports teams, see FIU Golden Panthers.
Florida Panthers
Conference Eastern
Division Atlantic
Founded 1993
History Florida Panthers
1993–present
Home arena BB&T Center
City Sunrise, Florida
Colors Red, blue, gold, white

                   

Media FS Florida
WQAM Sports Radio (560 AM)
Owner(s) Sunrise Sports and Entertainment
(Vincent Viola, chairman)[1]
General manager Dale Tallon
Head coach Gerard Gallant
Captain Willie Mitchell
Minor league affiliates Portland Pirates (AHL)
Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL)
Stanley Cups 0
Conference championships 1 (1995–96)
Presidents' Trophies 0
Division championships 1 (2011–12)
Official website panthers.nhl.com

The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in Sunrise, Florida, in the Miami metropolitan area. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). They play their games at the BB&T Center in Sunrise and are the southernmost team in the NHL. They made one trip to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1996, getting swept by the Colorado Avalanche in four games.

The team advanced to the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in twelve years in 2012,[2] but were eliminated in 7 games by the eventual Eastern Conference champions, the New Jersey Devils in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.[3]

Franchise history

1990s

Blockbuster Video magnate Wayne Huizenga was awarded an NHL franchise for Miami on December 10, 1992, the same day The Walt Disney Company earned the rights to start a team in Anaheim. At the time, Huizenga owned both the newly founded Florida Marlins of Major League Baseball and a share of the National Football League's Miami Dolphins. The entry fee was $50 million, but despite fellow Florida team Tampa Bay Lightning starting play the year before, the league did not consider it to be a case of territory infringement. Huizenga announced the team would play at the Miami Arena, sharing the building with the NBA's Miami Heat, until a new arena was built.[4] Offices for the team were only established on June 1993. Vice president of business operations Dean Jordan declared that "none of the business people, myself included, knew anything about hockey."[5]

On April 20, 1993, a press conference in Fort Lauderdale announced that the team would be named Florida Panthers, with Bill Torrey as president and Bobby Clarke as general manager. The team is named for the Florida panther, an endangered species of large cat endemic to the nearby Everglades.[6] Once the logos and uniforms were unveiled on June 15, the team also announced its financial commitment to the panther preservation cause.[7] Huizenga held the Panthers trademark since 1991, when he purchased it from a group of Tampa investors who sought to create an MLB team on the Bay area.[8]

The new franchise would join the league in the 1993-94 NHL season along with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. The Panthers' and Ducks' roster was filled up in the both an expansion draft and the 1993 NHL Entry Draft in June 1993, hosted by Quebec City;[9][10] that draft produced ten players who would be a part of the 1996 Eastern Conference championship team.[11]

Inaugural season (1993–94)

The Panthers' first major stars were New York Rangers goaltender castoff John Vanbiesbrouck, rookie Rob Niedermayer, and Scott Mellanby, who scored 30 goals.[5] Their first game was a 4-4 tie on the road against the Chicago Blackhawks. The first win in franchise history was a 2-0 shutout of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Thunderdome before a then-NHL record crowd of 27,227. The Panthers had one of the most successful first seasons of any expansion team finishing one point below .500 and narrowly missing out on the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.[12] Their first-year success was attributed mainly to the "trap defense" that first-year coach Roger Neilson implemented. This conservative style was widely criticized by NHL teams; some even suggested that the Panthers were ruining the game at the time.[13] While the team executives expected the audience to consist of mostly "snowbird" Canadians living in Florida, the Floridians soon embraced the Panthers.[5] Helped by Miami's other teams having middling performances, the club averaged 94% capacity at the 14,500-seat Miami Arena, and managed to sell 8,500 season tickets in 100 days.[5]

In August 1994, Clarke left to work in the Philadelphia Flyers, and Bryan Murray was brought in from the Detroit Red Wings.[14] After another close brush with the playoffs, finishing the lockout-shortened 1994–95 season again at ninth,[15] Neilson was fired following an argument with Murray regarding Ed Jovanovski, whom the Panthers chose as the top pick at the 1994 NHL Entry Draft.[16] Doug MacLean, who had been the team's player development director, was promoted to coach.[17] The team then acquired Ray Sheppard from the San Jose Sharks at the trade deadline and looked toward the playoffs for the first time.

Run to the Stanley Cup Finals

A very unusual goal celebration developed in Miami during the 1995–96 NHL season. On the night of the Panthers' 1995–96 home opener, a rat scurried across the team's locker room. Mellanby reacted by "one-timing" the rat against the wall, killing it. That night, he scored two goals, which Vanbiesbrouck quipped was "a rat trick." Two nights later, as the story found its way into the world, a few fans threw rubber rats on the ice in celebration of a goal. The rubber rat count went from 16 for the third home game to over 2,000 during the playoffs.[11]

In the 1996 Stanley Cup Playoffs, as the fourth seed, the Panthers faced the Boston Bruins in the first round and won in five games. Bill Lindsay's famous series-clinching goal is still a trademark image for the incredible run the third-year franchise went on. The Panthers went on to upset the top-seeded Philadelphia Flyers in six games and then the second-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins in seven (with Tom Fitzgerald scoring what would end up being the game-winning goal) to reach the Stanley Cup Finals, against the Colorado Avalanche, another team on its first final.[11] The Avalanche swept the Panthers in four games.[18] Bryan Murray was honored as NHL Executive of the Year.[19]

Struggles

The Panthers would begin the next season with a 17–game unbeaten streak but faded in the second half of the season after trading second line center Stu Barnes. They lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Wayne Gretzky-led Rangers in five games.

The team would plummet in the 1997–98 season. After a 7–12–4 start, the Panthers fired MacLean, replacing him for the season with general manager Bryan Murray. The change did not aid matters, as Florida suffered a franchise-worst 24–43–15 record, including a 15–game winless streak. This season would also mark the end of Vanbiesbrouck's time in Florida; in the midst of that streak, he was shelled by the Chicago Blackhawks and never played another game for the Panthers. He would sign with the Flyers that off-season as a free agent.

Florida's alternate logo; a palm tree and a hockey stick crossing one another over a sun.

The Panthers moved into the brand new National Car Rental Center (later Office Depot and BankAtlantic Center, now known as BB&T Center) in 1998. In 1998–99, they acquired Pavel Bure (the "Russian Rocket"), in a blockbuster trade with the Vancouver Canucks. They reached the playoffs again in 1999–2000, losing in a first-round sweep to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion New Jersey Devils.

2000s

The team slumped in 2000–01. Afterward, Huizenga sold the panthers to an ownership group lead by Alan Cohen.[20] The following season, 2001–02, the Panthers had their worst record ever. Bure struggled despite being reunited with his brother Valeri, and was traded to the Rangers at the 2002 trading deadline.

The Panthers then started coveting defenceman Jay Bouwmeester, who was widely tipped to be picked first overall in the 2002 draft. But then-General Manager Rick Dudley sent Florida's first pick to the Columbus Blue Jackets, who took winger Rick Nash. In return, the Panthers received the right to trade 1st round selections with the Blue Jackets in the 2003 draft,[21] a right which was not exercised when the Panthers received the 1st overall selection in 2003 as well. The Atlanta Thrashers, after picking goalie Kari Lehtonen second overall, announced that the Panthers had given them two draft picks to guarantee that Bouwmeester would still be available for Florida's selection. Bouwmeester was selected third overall by the Panthers. Said then-head coach Mike Keenan, "We shouldn’t have done that ... Jay would have been number-one if we'd kept that pick."[22]

In 2003, the Panthers hosted the NHL All-Star Weekend in which the Western Conference earned a 6–5 victory after the first OT shootout in All-Star history. The West overcame a four-goal outburst by Thrashers winger Dany Heatley, who took home MVP honors in his first All-Star Game.

On June 23, 2006, the Panthers were again involved in a blockbuster trade with the Vancouver Canucks, sending Roberto Luongo, Lukas Krajicek, and a sixth-round draft pick (Sergei Shirokov) in exchange for Todd Bertuzzi, Alex Auld, and Bryan Allen. This trade has been regarded by some as one of the worst trades in professional sports history. Luongo who was and still is at the prime of his career is one of the top goalies in the NHL. Bertuzzi only played a handful of games for the Cats before getting injured. He would be traded to Detroit Red Wings at the trade deadline for Shawn Matthias. Alex Auld ended up being a poor replacement for the Panthers former franchise goalie and was let go after one season.

Various Panthers uniforms used between 1993 and 2007

On June 22, 2007, the Florida Panthers were involved in yet another draft day deal involving a goalie. The Florida Panthers acquired Tomas Vokoun from the Nashville Predators in exchange for three draft picks, a first round pick in 2008, a second round pick in 2008, and a conditional second round pick that can be used in 2007 or 2008. The move would eventually pay off when Vokoun was selected to the Eastern Conference All-Star team.

On July 28, 2007, the Florida Panthers unveiled their new jerseys to over 11,000 fans at the BankAtlantic Center during the first intermission of the Panthers 1996 Reunion game. Star forwards Nathan Horton and Stephen Weiss were both in full gear to help showcase the sweater changes.

In June 2008, the Panthers traded their captain Olli Jokinen to the Phoenix Coyotes for a second round draft pick and two defensemen: Keith Ballard and Nick Boynton.

The Panthers finished the 2008–09 season with a strong 41-30-11 record and 93 points, their second best ever in franchise history. Despite this, however, the Panthers missed the playoffs for an eighth straight season, the then longest streak in the NHL.

In November 2009, Cliff Viner and Stu Siegel became the new majority owners.[23]

On November 23, 2009 the Panthers made their third jersey, ridding red from the alternate jersey, replacing it with powder blue.

The Florida Panthers missed the playoffs for the 9th consecutive time in the 2009–10 NHL season, making them the first team in NHL history to do so in one city. On March 25, 2011, the Panthers lost to the Buffalo Sabres 4-2 mathematically eliminating them from the postseason for an NHL record 10th consecutive season.

2010s

Panthers management hired Dale Tallon as the team's new general manager on May 17, 2010. Tallon rebuilt the team with 2010 draft picks Erik Gudbranson and Quinton Howden, acquired players Steve Bernier, Michael Grabner, Marty Reasoner, Ryan Carter, and Sergei Samsonov. Subsequently, all of the above-mentioned players were traded at the 2011 trade deadline or released during the 2011 offseason. At the end of the 2011 season, only Stephen Weiss and David Booth remained from the pre-lockout era Panthers roster.

On June 1, 2011, Kevin Dineen, head coach of the AHL Portland Pirates, was named to be the 11th head coach of the Panthers. The team also rebranded their image, releasing a new home jersey, predominantly red with navy blue sleeves, and eliminating the navy blue piping on the road jersey; this new jersey replaced the navy blue one as the main home jersey.

The 2011 offseason saw the acquisitions of Scottie Upshall, Tomas Fleischmann, Sean Bergenheim, Marcel Goc, Matt Bradley, Ed Jovanovski, Jose Theodore, Kris Versteeg, Tomas Kopecky and Brian Campbell.

After several more trades and over 300 man games lost to injury throughout the season, the Panthers were able to finish first in the Southeast Division, marking the end of their record-setting decade-long postseason drought. The Panthers won the first ever division title in franchise history with a 4-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on April 7, 2012. However, the Panthers were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the eventual Eastern Conference Champions New Jersey Devils, losing at home in double overtime of Game 7.

In the lockout shortened 2012-13 NHL Season, the Panthers had an abysmal season. Unable to regain their form from last season, the Panthers suffered key injuries and fell back down into the basement with the worst record in the league.

In the 2013-2014 season, the Panthers failed to gain any momentum and finished 29th out of 30 teams. The team fired head coach Kevin Dineen and replaced him with Peter Horachek. At the trade deadline, the Panthers reacquired Roberto Luongo from the Vancouver Canucks. The Panthers would relieve Horachek of his duties at the end of the season, replacing him with former Columbus Blue Jackets head coach, Gerard Gallant. The team also received the first overall pick in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, and used it to select Barrie Colts defenseman Aaron Ekblad.

In the 2014-15 season, the Panthers set a team record for the lowest attendance at a home opener on October 12, 2014, with 11,419 fans in attendance against the New Jersey Devils. The next game against the Ottawa Senators marked the team's lowest attendance ever, with only 7,311 fans at the event. Despite finishing with a record of 38-29-15, the Panthers missed the playoffs by seven points.

Season-by-season record

This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by the Panthers. For the full season-by-season history, see List of Florida Panthers seasons.

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

Records as of the end of the 2010-11 season.

Season GP W L OTL Pts GF GA Finish Playoffs
2010–11 82 30 40 12 72 195 229 5th, Southeast Did not qualify
2011–12 82 38 26 18 94 203 227 1st, Southeast Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 3-4 (Devils)
2012–13 48 15 27 6 36 112 171 5th, Southeast Did not qualify
2013–14 82 29 45 8 66 196 268 7th, Atlantic Did not qualify
2014–15 82 38 29 15 91 206 223 6th, Atlantic Did not qualify

Players, Coaches, and Front Office

Current roster

Updated April 9, 2015.[24]

# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
16 Finland Barkov, AleksanderAleksander Barkov C L 19 2013 Tampere, Finland
27 United States Bjugstad, NickNick Bjugstad  C R 22 2010 Minneapolis, Minnesota
63 Canada Bolland, DaveDave Bolland (A) C R 28 2014 Etobicoke, Ontario
24 Canada Boyes, BradBrad Boyes RW R 33 2013 Mississauga, Ontario
51 Canada Campbell, BrianBrian Campbell (A) D L 35 2011 Strathroy, Ontario
5 Canada Ekblad, AaronAaron Ekblad D R 19 2014 Windsor, Ontario
44 Canada Gudbranson, ErikErik Gudbranson D R 23 2010 Ottawa, Ontario
12 United States Hayes, JimmyJimmy Hayes RW R 25 2013 Boston, Massachusetts
11 Canada Huberdeau, JonathanJonathan Huberdeau LW L 21 2011 Saint-Jérôme, Quebec
68 Czech Republic Jagr, JaromirJaromir Jagr RW L 43 2015 Kladno, Czechoslovakia
36 Finland Jokinen, JussiJussi Jokinen LW L 32 2014 Kalajoki, Finland
3 United States Kampfer, StevenSteven Kampfer D R 26 2014 Ann Arbor, Michigan
82 Slovakia Kopecky, TomasTomas Kopecky RW L 33 2011 Ilava, Czechoslovakia
7 Russia Kulikov, DmitryDmitry Kulikov D L 24 2009 Lipetsk, Soviet Union
1 Canada Luongo, RobertoRoberto Luongo G L 36 2014 Montreal, Quebec
17 Canada MacKenzie, DerekDerek MacKenzie (A) C L 33 2014 Sudbury, Ontario
33 Canada Mitchell, WillieWillie Mitchell (C) D L 38 2014 Port McNeill, British Columbia
35 United States Montoya, AlAl Montoya G L 30 2014 Chicago, Illinois
72 Canada Petrovic, AlexAlex Petrovic D R 23 2010 Edmonton, Alberta
73 Canada Pirri, BrandonBrandon Pirri C L 24 2014 Toronto, Ontario
22 Canada Thornton, ShawnShawn Thornton LW R 37 2014 Oshawa, Ontario
21 United States Trocheck, VincentVincent Trocheck C R 21 2011 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
19 Canada Upshall, ScottieScottie Upshall (A) LW L 31 2011 Fort McMurray, Alberta

Retired numbers

Florida Panthers retired numbers
No. Player Position Career No. retirement
93 Bill Torrey President &
General Manager 		1993–2001 October 23, 2010

Team captains

Head Coaches

See List of Florida Panthers head coaches.

General Managers

See List of Florida Panthers general managers.

NHL All-Star Game Selections

Players
Head Coaches

Hockey Hall of Fame members

Players
Builders

First-round draft picks

Franchise scoring leaders

These are the top-ten point-scorers in franchise history. Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season.

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game; * = current Panthers player

Points
Player Pos GP G A Pts P/G
Olli Jokinen C 567 188 231 419 0.73
Stephen Weiss C 654 145 249 394 0.60
Scott Mellanby RW 552 157 197 354 0.64
Nathan Horton C 422 142 153 295 0.66
Viktor Kozlov C 414 101 190 291 0.70
Robert Svehla D 573 61 229 290 0.51
Radek Dvorak RW 613 113 155 268 0.44
Rob Niedermayer C 518 101 165 266 0.51
Pavel Bure RW 223 152 99 251 1.13
Ray Whitney LW 273 97 130 227 0.83
Goals
Player Pos G
Olli Jokinen C 188
Scott Mellanby RW 157
Pavel Bure RW 152
Stephen Weiss C 145
Nathan Horton C 142
Radek Dvorak RW 113
Viktor Kozlov C 101
Rob Niedermayer C 101
Ray Whitney LW 97
David Booth LW 87
Assists
Player Pos A
Stephen Weiss C 249
Olli Jokinen C 231
Robert Svehla D 229
Scott Mellanby RW 197
Viktor Kozlov C 190
Rob Niedermayer C 165
Radek Dvorak RW 155
Nathan Horton C 153
Jay Bouwmeester D 150
Ray Whitney LW 130

NHL awards and trophies

Prince of Wales Trophy

Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy

Lady Byng Memorial Trophy

Calder Memorial Trophy

Franchise individual records

References

  1. ↑ "Vincent Viola Becomes Owner Of The Florida Panthers". Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  2. ↑ Richards, George. "Florida Panthers in hockey heaven after ending playoff drought Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/04/08/2737116/florida-panthers-in-hockey-heaven.". Miamiherald. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
  3. ↑ Richardson, Jordan. "New Jersey Devils Eliminate Florida Panthers". News Hockey Draft Ca. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
  4. ↑ NHL to add teams in Miami, Anaheim Huizenga, Disney high-profile owners, The New York Times
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Farber, Michael (1996-11-09). "Above And Beyond". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2009-01-29.
  6. ↑ They`re Panthers, Torrey Is President Nhl Expansion Team`s New Boss Shaped Isles
  7. ↑ Panthers Unveil Uniforms, Logo, Sun-Sentinel
  8. ↑ Local Fans Give Huizenga 113,000 Votes Of Confidence, Sun-Sentinel
  9. ↑ http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1993-06-27/sports/9306270413_1_sharks-goaltender-ron-hextall
  10. ↑ http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1993-06-24/sports/9306240127_1_expansion-draft-tampa-bay-entry-draft
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Montville, Leigh (1996-06-10). "Rat Pack". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2009-01-29.
  12. ↑ http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1994-07-27/sports/9407270532_1_panthers-tampa-bay-lone-home-game
  13. ↑ Cut The Trap? Neilson Isn't Staying In Neutral Zone
  14. ↑ http://articles.philly.com/1994-08-02/sports/25842215_1_terry-murray-new-flyers-coach-bryan-murray
  15. ↑ http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1995-05-04/sports/9505040096_1_jagr-s-shot-john-vanbiesbrouck-panthers
  16. ↑ http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1995-06-13/sports/9506120510_1_jovanovski-hockey-team-roger-neilson
  17. ↑ "SPORTS PEOPLE: HOCKEY; Panthers Promote From Within By Hiring MacLean as Coach". The New York Times. 1995-07-25.
  18. ↑ Ulman, Howard (1996-06-11). "No stopping the Avalanche — Colorado completes Cup sweep of Panthers with 3OT victory". Associated Press. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
  19. ↑ http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1996-05-07/sports/9605060431_1_coach-doug-maclean-jason-podollan-voting
  20. ↑ Panthers sold, will stay put
  21. ↑ This Day In Panthers History - June
  22. ↑ McDonell, Chris. (2005). Hockey's Greatest Stars: Legends and Young Lions. Firefly Books. p. 135. ISBN 1-55407-038-4.
  23. ↑ Panthers announce new majority owners
  24. ↑ "Panthers Roster - Florida Panthers - Team". Florida Panthers. Retrieved February 24, 2015.

External links