Florida Panthers

NHL Team
team_name = Florida Panthers
bg_color = #01285D
text_color = #D6A10F
logo_

conference = Eastern
division = Southeast
founded = 1993
history = Florida Panthers
1993-present
arena = BankAtlantic Center
city = Sunrise, Florida
media_affiliates = FSN Florida
WAXY (790 AM)
team_colors = Navy Blue, Red, Gold, White
owner = flagicon|USA Alan Cohen
flagicon|USA Bernie Kosar
general_manager = flagicon|CAN Jacques Martin
head_coach = flagicon|CAN Peter DeBoer
captain = "Vacant"
minor_league_affiliates = Rochester Americans (AHL)
Florida Everblades (ECHL)
stanley_cups = none
conf_titles = 1995–96
division_titles = none
rivalries - Tampa Bay LightningThe Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in Sunrise, Florida, a suburb of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). They play their games at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise.

Franchise history

Blockbuster Video magnate H. Wayne Huizenga was awarded an NHL franchise for his native Miami on December 10, 1992. The Panthers were brought into the league with the Anaheim Ducks and took part in the 1993 expansion draft, which was hosted by Quebec. The draft produced 10 players that would be a part of the 1996 Eastern conference championship team. The team played at the Miami Arena, and its first major stars were New York Rangers goaltender castoff John Vanbiesbrouck, rookie Rob Niedermayer, and Scott Mellanby, who scored 30 goals. Their first game was a 4-4 tie on the road against the Chicago Blackhawks. The first win in franchise history was against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Thunderdome before a record crowd of 27,227. The Panthers had one of the most successful first seasons of any expansion team (and the best first year of any NHL team), finishing one point below .500 and narrowly missing out on the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. 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.

After missing another close brush with the playoffs in 1995, Neilson was fired and replaced by Doug MacLean. The team then acquired Ray Sheppard from the San Jose Sharks at the trade deadline in 1996 and looked toward the playoffs for the first time.

Also during that season, a very unusual goal celebration developed in Miami. 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. [ [http://www.darsys.com/panth/pfaq.html Florida Panthers FAQ Page ] ] 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.

In the 1996 playoffs, as the #4 seed, the Panthers beat the Boston Bruins in 5 games, then upset the top seeded Philadelphia Flyers in six, and then the second seeded Pittsburgh Penguins in seven to reach the Stanley Cup Final. Their opponents, the Colorado Avalanche, swept the Panthers in four games. Uwe Krupp scored the winning goal for the Avalanche in the 3rd overtime to defeat the Panthers 1-0.

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

The 1997–98 season would be a return to mediocrity for the Panthers.Fact|date=February 2007 After a 7–12–4 start, the Panthers fired coach Doug MacLean, replacing him for the season with General Manager Bryan Murray. The change didn't aid matters,Fact|date=February 2007 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, who in the midst of that streak, 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.

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

The team slumped in 2000–01. 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 Cats then started coveting defenceman Jay Bouwmeester, who was widely tipped to be picked first overall in the 2002 draft. But controversial bench boss “Iron Mike” Keenan sent Florida's first pick to the Columbus Blue Jackets, who took winger Rick Nash. 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 Keenan, "We shouldn’t have done that ... Jay would have been number-one if we'd kept that pick." [cite book| author=McDonell, Chris. | title=Hockey's Greatest Stars: Legends and Young Lions | publisher= Firefly Books | year=2005 | id=ISBN 1–55407–038–4 | pages=135]

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 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 went on to be a success in Vancouver, challenging Martin Brodeur for the Vezina trophy each of the past two seasons. 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. Alex Auld ended up being a poor replacement for the Panthers former franchise goalie and was subsequently traded to the Boston Bruins after one season.

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 1st 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.

As of 2008, the Florida Panthers are the only team in the NHL to have a lifetime winning percentage of .500 or better over the Montreal Canadiens, the winningest team in the NHL history with 24 Stanley Cup titles.

The 2008 season marked the seventh straight season that the Panthers have missed the playoffs.

In June 2008, the Panthers traded their captain Olli Jokinen to the Phoenix Coyotes for a 2nd round draft pick and two defensemen, Keith Ballard and Nick Boynton.

eason-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 Florida Panthers seasons"

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

Records as of February 6, 2007. [Hockeydb.com, [http://hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/teamseasons.php?tid=234 Florida Panthers season statistics and records.] ]

:¹ As of the 2005–06 NHL season, all games will have a winner; the OTL column includes SOL (Shootout losses).

Notable players

Current roster

Team captains

* Brian Skrudland, 1993–97
* Scott Mellanby, 1997–2001
* Pavel Bure & Paul Laus, 2001–02 (co-captains)
* No captain, 2002–03
* Olli Jokinen, 2003–08

Honored Members

;Players
*Igor Larionov, C, 2000-01, inducted 2008;Builders
*Roger Neilson, Coach, 1993–95, inducted 2002
*Bill Torrey, General Manager, 1993–2001, inducted 1995

First-round draft picks

* 1993: Rob Niedermayer (5th overall)
* 1994: Ed Jovanovski (1st overall)
* 1995: Radek Dvorak (10th overall)
* 1996: Marcus Nilson (20th overall)
* 1997: Mike Brown (20th overall)
* 1998: None
* 1999: Denis Shvidki (12th overall)
* 2000: None
* 2001: Stephen Weiss (4th overall) & Lukas Krajicek (24th overall)
* 2002: Jay Bouwmeester (3rd overall) & Petr Taticek (9th overall)
* 2003: Nathan Horton (3rd overall) & Anthony Stewart (25th overall)
* 2004: Rostislav Olesz (7th overall)
* 2005: Kenndal McArdle (20th overall)
* 2006: Michael Frolik (10th overall)
* 2007: Keaton Ellerby (10th overall)
* 2008: None

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"

NHL awards and trophies

Prince of Wales Trophy
* 1995–96

Rocket Richard Trophy
* Pavel Bure: 1999–00, 2000–01

Franchise individual records

* Most Goals in a season: Pavel Bure, 59 (2000–01)
* Most Assists in a season: Viktor Kozlov, 53 (1999–00)
* Most Points in a season: Pavel Bure, 94 (1999–00)
* Most Penalty Minutes in a season: Peter Worrell, 354 (2001–02)
* Most Points in a season, defenceman: Robert Svehla, 57 (1995–96)
* Most Points in a season, rookie: Jesse Belanger, 50 (1993–94)
* Most Wins in a season: Roberto Luongo, 35 (2005–06)
* Most Saves in a shutout win: Craig Anderson, 53 (NHL record)
* Most Shutouts in a season: Roberto Luongo, 7 (2003–04)
* All time leader in goals against average: John Vanbiesbrouck, 2.58
* All time leader in shutouts: Roberto Luongo, 26
* All time leader in games played by a goaltender: Roberto Luongo, 318
* All time leader in wins by a goaltender: Roberto Luongo, 108

References

ee also

* List of NHL players
* List of NHL seasons

External links

* [http://www.floridapanthers.com/ Official website of the Florida Panthers]
* [http://www.flpbc.com/ Official website of the Florida Panthers Booster Club]

Navboxes|titlestyle=background: #01285D; color:#D6A10F|list1=