Florida Panthers History.
Florida Panthers (hockey
team), professional ice hockey team and one of five teams in the
Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey
League (NHL). The Panthers play at the National Car Rental Center in
Sunrise, Florida, and wear uniforms of red, navy blue, yellow-gold, and
white. The club is named for an endangered black cat that inhabits
remote portions of south Florida.
The Panthers collected 83
points in their inaugural season of 1993-94, the most ever for an NHL
expansion team. Under the direction of head coach Doug Maclean, they
reached the Stanley Cup Finals in 1996, their third year in the league.
The Panthers were founded as an NHL expansion franchise in 1993 by H.
Wayne Huizenga, the owner of the Miami Dolphins of the National Football
League (NFL). William A. Torrey, who had been general manager of the New
York Islanders for twenty years, became the Panthers’ first president,
and Roger Neilson was hired as the team’s first head coach.
Florida set expansion-team records for most wins and points in the
1993-94 season. Goalie John Vanbiesbrouck, acquired from the New York
Rangers, grounded the team’s defense; right wing Scott Mellanby,
formerly of the Edmonton Oilers, led the offense. Center Brian Skrudland
was team captain. Vanbiesbrouck and right wing Bob Kudelski both
represented the Panthers in the 1994 NHL All-Star Game.
At the end of the Panthers’ second season, Neilson was replaced as head
coach by Doug Maclean, formerly of the Detroit Red Wings and the
Washington Capitals. In the 1995-96 season the Panthers qualified for
the playoffs for the first time. Ed Jovanovski led all first-year NHL
defensemen in goals scored. In the 1996 playoffs Florida defeated the
Boston Bruins, the Philadelphia Flyers, and the Pittsburgh Penguins to
reach the Stanley Cup Finals. The Panthers then lost four straight games
to the Colorado Avalanche in the championship round. In 1999 the
Panthers acquired center Pavel Bure from the Vancouver Canucks; as part
of the trade Jovanovski went to the Canucks.
|
Audette |
Donald
|
Right
Wing |
Florida
Panthers |
Unsigned
|
|
Berglund |
Christian
|
Centre |
Florida
Panthers |
$632,500.00 |
|
Biron |
Mathieu
|
Defence |
Florida
Panthers |
$1,100,000.00 |
|
Cairns |
Eric
|
Defence |
Florida
Panthers |
$700,000.00 |
|
Hagman |
Niklas
|
Left
Wing |
Florida
Panthers |
$775,500.00 |
|
Hill |
Sean
|
Defence |
Florida
Panthers |
$2,000,000.00 |
|
Hordichuk |
Darcy
|
Left
Wing |
Florida
Panthers |
$544,500.00 |
|
Horton |
Nathan
|
Centre |
Florida
Panthers |
$1,240,000.00 |
|
Huselius |
Kristian
|
Right
Wing |
Florida
Panthers |
$1,600,000.00 |
|
Jokinen |
Olli
|
Centre |
Florida
Panthers |
Unsigned
|
|
Karpovtsev |
Alexander
|
Defence |
Florida
Panthers |
$1,000,000.00 |
|
Kolnik |
Juraj
|
Right
Wing |
Florida
Panthers |
$440,000.00 |
|
Kwiatkowski |
Joel
|
Defence |
Florida
Panthers |
$450,000.00 |
|
Laus |
Paul
|
Defence |
Florida
Panthers |
Unsigned
|
|
Luongo |
Roberto
|
Goal |
Florida
Panthers |
$2,400,000.00 |
|
McLennan |
Jamie
|
Goal |
Florida
Panthers |
$625,000.00 |
|
Messier |
Eric
|
Left
Wing |
Florida
Panthers |
Unsigned
|
|
Mezei |
Branislav
|
Defence |
Florida
Panthers |
$950,000.00 |
|
Morisset |
David
|
Right
Wing |
Florida
Panthers |
Unsigned
|
|
Nedorost |
Vaclav
|
Centre |
Florida
Panthers |
$675,000.00 |
|
Odelein |
Lyle
|
Defence |
Florida
Panthers |
Unsigned
|
|
Samuelsson |
Mikael
|
Right
Wing |
Florida
Panthers |
Unsigned
|
|
Shields |
Steve
|
Goal |
Florida
Panthers |
Unsigned
|
|
Trnka |
Pavel
|
Defence |
Florida
Panthers |
Unsigned
|
|
Van Ryn |
Mike
|
Defence |
Florida
Panthers |
$1,400,000.00 |
|
