Florida Panthers facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Florida Panthers
Conference	Eastern
Division	Atlantic
Founded	1993
History	Florida Panthers 1993–present
Home arena	Amerant Bank Arena
City	Sunrise, Florida
Colors	Red, blue, flat gold, white
Media	Scripps Sports (WSFL-TV) WQAM Sports Radio (560 AM)
Owner(s)	Sunrise Sports & Entertainment (Vincent Viola, chairman)
General manager	Bill Zito
Head coach	Paul Maurice
Captain	Aleksander Barkov
Minor league affiliates	Charlotte Checkers (AHL) Savannah Ghost Pirates (ECHL)
Stanley Cups	2 (2023–24, 2024–25)
Conference championships	4 (1995–96, 2022–23, 2023–24, 2024–25)
Presidents' Trophies	1 (2021–22)
Division championships	4 (2011–12, 2015–16, 2021–22, 2023–24)

The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in Sunrise, Florida, near Miami. They play in the National Hockey League (NHL) as part of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team is named after the Florida panther, a big cat native to the area.

The Panthers are the southernmost team in the NHL. They share a rivalry with Florida's other NHL team, the Tampa Bay Lightning. After playing at the Miami Arena for their first few years, they moved to the Amerant Bank Arena in 1998.

When the Panthers started in the 1993–94 season, they set a record for the most points by a new team. Just a few years later, in 1996, they made a surprise run to the 1996 Stanley Cup Finals. For many years after that, the team struggled to win in the playoffs.

Recently, the Panthers have become one of the best teams in the league. They appeared in the Stanley Cup Finals three years in a row from 2023 to 2025. They won their first Stanley Cup in 2024 and won it again the next year in 2025.

Team History

Starting the Team (1992–1995)

On December 10, 1992, Wayne Huizenga, who owned Blockbuster Video, was given an NHL team for Miami. He named the team after the Florida panther, an endangered animal from the nearby Everglades. The team wanted to help protect the panthers.

Wayne Huizenga was the first owner of the Florida Panthers.

The Panthers joined the NHL for the 1993–94 season. Their first stars included goalie John Vanbiesbrouck and forward Scott Mellanby. The team surprised everyone by having one of the best first seasons for an expansion team in NHL history. They used a defensive style called the "neutral zone trap," which made it hard for other teams to score.

The Rat Trick and a Trip to the Finals (1995–1998)

During the 1995–96 season, a funny tradition started. Before the first home game, Scott Mellanby saw a rat in the locker room and hit it with his hockey stick. That night, he scored two goals. His teammate called it a "rat trick," a play on the term "hat trick."

Soon, fans started throwing rubber rats onto the ice to celebrate goals. During the 1996 playoffs, thousands of rats would fly onto the ice. The team went on an amazing run, beating bigger teams to reach the 1996 Stanley Cup Finals. They lost to the Colorado Avalanche, but their exciting playoff journey made them famous.

The next season, the Panthers made the playoffs again but lost in the first round. After that, the team started to struggle and missed the playoffs in 1998.

A New Arena and a Long Struggle (1998–2010)

The Panthers moved into their new arena in 1998. They made the playoffs in 2000 with star player Pavel Bure, known as the "Russian Rocket." But after that, the team had many difficult years. They had some of the worst records in the league and missed the playoffs for a decade.

The Panthers drafted defenseman Jay Bouwmeester third overall in 2002.

During this time, the team drafted future stars like defenseman Jay Bouwmeester and goalie Roberto Luongo. However, they often traded away their best players. The team could not find a way to win, and they missed the playoffs for ten straight seasons, a league record at the time.

Rebuilding the Team (2010–2020)

In 2010, the team hired a new general manager, Dale Tallon, to rebuild the team. He brought in many new players through trades and the draft. In the 2011–12 season, the Panthers finally made it back to the playoffs after winning their first-ever division title. They lost in a tough seven-game series to the New Jersey Devils.

Brian Campbell was a key player for the Panthers from 2011 to 2016.

The team continued to rebuild, drafting future captain Aleksander Barkov in 2013 and defenseman Aaron Ekblad first overall in 2014. In the 2015–16 season, the team had a great year, winning their division again. However, they lost in the first round of the playoffs.

For the next few years, the team had some good seasons but kept missing the playoffs by a small margin. In 2019, they hired famous coach Joel Quenneville and signed star goalie Sergei Bobrovsky.

Becoming Champions (2020–present)

In 2020, Bill Zito became the new general manager. He made smart moves that turned the Panthers into a top team. In the 2020–21 season, they made the playoffs but lost to their rivals, the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The next season, 2021–22, was the best in the team's history. They won the Presidents' Trophy for having the most points in the entire league. They also won their first playoff series in 26 years but were again knocked out by the Lightning.

Back-to-Back Stanley Cups

The Panthers traded for star forward Matthew Tkachuk in 2022.

Before the 2022–23 season, the Panthers hired coach Paul Maurice and made a huge trade for star forward Matthew Tkachuk. That season, they barely made the playoffs as the final seed. But in the playoffs, they shocked everyone by beating the record-breaking Boston Bruins. They continued their amazing run all the way to the 2023 Stanley Cup Finals, where they lost to the Vegas Golden Knights.

Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky lifts the Stanley Cup in 2024.

In the 2023–24 season, the Panthers were one of the best teams again. They won their division and fought their way back to the Stanley Cup Finals. This time, they faced the Edmonton Oilers. In a thrilling seven-game series, the Panthers won their first-ever Stanley Cup.

The following season, they proved it wasn't a fluke. After another strong year, they made it to the Stanley Cup Finals for the third year in a row. They faced the Oilers again and won the series in six games, becoming back-to-back Stanley Cup champions.

Team Identity

Logos and Uniforms

The Panthers' first logo, used from 1993 to 2016, was a leaping panther. It was a very popular logo. In 2016, the team changed to a new look. The current main logo is a shield with a panther's head on it. The word "Florida" is above the panther on away jerseys, and "Panthers" is on home jerseys.

The team's colors are red, blue, and flat gold. Their red home jerseys and white away jerseys have thick stripes on the chest and sleeves. They also have an alternate logo on the shoulder that looks like the flag of Florida.

Mascots

The Panthers have two mascots.

• Stanley C. Panther is a big, friendly Florida panther. His name is a play on the Stanley Cup. He was introduced in 1995.
• Viktor E. Ratt is a rat mascot. He was introduced in 2014 to honor the "rat trick" tradition from the team's 1996 playoff run.

Team Information

Broadcasting

You can watch Panthers games on TV through Scripps Sports. The main station is WSFL-TV in the Miami area. Games are also broadcast on the radio on stations like WQAM 560.

Minor League Teams

The Panthers work with two minor league teams to help develop young players.

• The Charlotte Checkers in the American Hockey League (AHL).
• The Savannah Ghost Pirates in the ECHL.

Season-by-Season Record

This is a list of the last five seasons completed by the Panthers.

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

Players and Personnel

Current Roster

Updated January 2, 2023

#	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace
16		Barkov, AleksanderAleksander Barkov (C)	C	L	29	2013	Tampere, Finland
9		Bennett, SamSam Bennett	C	L	29	2021	East Gwillimbury, Ontario
72		Bobrovsky, SergeiSergei Bobrovsky	G	L	36	2019	Novokuznetsk, Soviet Union
21		Cousins, NickNick Cousins	C	L	31	2022	Belleville, Ontario
22		Dalpe, ZacZac Dalpe	C	R	35	2021	Paris, Ontario
10		Duclair, AnthonyAnthony Duclair	LW	L	29	2020	Pointe-Claire, Quebec
5		Ekblad, AaronAaron Ekblad (A)	D	R	29	2014	Windsor, Ontario
42		Forsling, GustavGustav Forsling	D	L	29	2021	Linköping, Sweden
7		Gudas, RadkoRadko Gudas	D	R	35	2020	Kladno, Czechoslovakia
70		Hornqvist, PatricPatric Hornqvist (A)	RW	R	38	2020	Sollentuna, Sweden
3		Kiersted, MattMatt Kiersted	D	L	27	2021	Elk River, Minnesota
30		Knight, SpencerSpencer Knight	G	L	24	2019	Darien, Connecticut
94		Lomberg, RyanRyan Lomberg	LW	L	30	2020	Richmond Hill, Ontario
15		Lundell, AntonAnton Lundell	C	L	23	2020	Espoo, Finland
27		Luostarinen, EetuEetu Luostarinen	C	L	26	2020	Siilinjärvi, Finland
28		Mahura, JoshJosh Mahura	D	L	27	2022	St. Albert, Alberta
62		Montour, BrandonBrandon Montour	D	R	31	2021	Ohsweken, Ontario
13		Reinhart, SamSam Reinhart	C	R	29	2021	North Vancouver, British Columbia
12		Staal, EricEric Staal	C	L	40	2022	Thunder Bay, Ontario
18		Staal, MarcMarc Staal	D	L	38	2022	Thunder Bay, Ontario
19		Tkachuk, MatthewMatthew Tkachuk	LW	L	27	2022	Scottsdale, Arizona
23		Verhaeghe, CarterCarter Verhaeghe	C	L	29	2020	Toronto, Ontario
6		White, ColinColin White	C	R	28	2022	Hanover, Massachusetts

Team Captains

• Brian Skrudland, 1993–1997
• Scott Mellanby, 1997–2001
• Pavel Bure & Paul Laus, 2001–2002 (co-captains)
• Olli Jokinen, 2003–2008
• Bryan McCabe, 2009–2011
• Ed Jovanovski, 2013–2014
• Willie Mitchell, 2014–2016
• Derek MacKenzie, 2016–2018
• Aleksander Barkov, 2018–present

Head Coaches and General Managers

Paul Maurice has been the head coach of the Panthers since June 22, 2022. Bill Zito has been the general manager since September 2, 2020.

Team Honors

Awards and Trophies

Stanley Cup

• 2023–24, 2024–25

Prince of Wales Trophy (Eastern Conference Champions)

• 1995–96, 2022–23, 2023–24, 2024-25

Presidents' Trophy (Best Regular Season Record)

• 2021–22

Individual Player Awards

• Pavel Bure won the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy for most goals in the league twice (2000, 2001).
• Aleksander Barkov has won the Frank J. Selke Trophy three times (2021, 2024, 2025) as the league's best defensive forward.
• Aaron Ekblad (2015) and Jonathan Huberdeau (2013) won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league's best rookie.

Hockey Hall of Fame

Seven former Panthers players are in the Hockey Hall of Fame, including Pavel Bure and Roberto Luongo. Two team builders, Roger Neilson and Bill Torrey, are also in the Hall of Fame.

Goalie Roberto Luongo is the only player to have his jersey number retired by the Panthers.

Retired Numbers

The Panthers have retired three numbers in honor of people important to the team.

• 1 Roberto Luongo, Goalie (2000–2006, 2014–2019)
• 37 Wayne Huizenga, First Owner (1993–2001)
• 93 Bill Torrey, First President (1993–2001)
• The number 99 was retired for all NHL teams in honor of Wayne Gretzky.

Team Records

Franchise Scoring Leaders

These are the top ten point-scorers in the team's history.

•  *  – current Panthers player

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

Franchise Individual Records

• Most goals in a season: Pavel Bure, 59 (2000–01)
• Most assists in a season: Jonathan Huberdeau, 85 (2021–22)
• Most points in a season: Jonathan Huberdeau, 115 (2021–22)
• Most wins in a season (goalie): Sergei Bobrovsky, 39 (2021–22)
• All-time leader in goals: Aleksander Barkov
• All-time leader in assists: Aleksander Barkov
• All-time leader in points: Aleksander Barkov
• All-time leader in games played: Aleksander Barkov

Images for kids

• 

  Aleksander Barkov, drafted in 2013, is the team's current captain and all-time leading scorer.

• 

  Stephen Weiss played for the Panthers for 11 seasons and is fourth all-time in franchise scoring.

See also

In Spanish: Florida Panthers para niños

• List of Florida Panthers general managers
• List of Florida Panthers head coaches
• List of Florida Panthers players
• Sports in Miami
• FTL War Memorial