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| Florida Panthers | |
|---|---|
 2011-12 Florida Panthers season |
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| Conference | Eastern |
| Division | Southeast |
| Founded | 1993 |
| History | Florida Panthers 1993–present |
| Home arena | BankAtlantic Center |
| City | Sunrise, Florida |
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| Colors | Red, blue, gold, white
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| Media | FS Panthers WQAM Sports Radio (560 AM) |
| Owner(s) |  Sunrise Sports and Entertainment(Cliff Viner, chairman) |
| General manager |  Dale Tallon |
| Head coach | Kevin Dineen |
| Captain | Vacant |
| Minor league affiliates | San Antonio Rampage[1] (AHL) Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL) Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees (CHL) |
| Stanley Cups | 0 |
| Conference championships | 1 (1995–96) |
| Presidents' Trophies | 0 |
| Division championships | 0 |
The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in Sunrise, Florida, in the Miami metropolitan area. 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 and are the southernmost team in the NHL. The Panthers have been one of the least successful teams in League history, holding the eighth-worst record in NHL history among active teams when measured in points percentage (points divided by maximum points), and having made the playoffs only 3 times in their 17 seasons, which translates to 17.6%, third worst among active teams.[2] They made one trip to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1996, losing to the Colorado Avalanche in four games.
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[edit] Franchise history
[edit] 1990s
Blockbuster Video magnate H. Wayne Huizenga was awarded an NHL franchise for Miami on December 10, 1992. Huizenga hired Philadelphia Flyers Senior Vice President Bobby Clarke as the franchise's first GM following the 1992-93 season.
The new franchise joined the league along with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. The team is named for the Florida panther, an endangered species of large cat endemic to the nearby Everglades.
The Panthers took part in the 1993 NHL draft hosted by Quebec City; that draft produced ten players who would be a part of the 1996 Eastern Conference championship team.
[edit] Initial season 1993-94
The team played at the Miami Arena sharing the building with the Miami Heat, 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 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 (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.[citation needed]
After another close brush with the playoffs in 1994–95, Neilson was fired and replaced by Doug MacLean. The team then acquired Ray Sheppard from the San Jose Sharks at the trade deadline in 1995–96 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.[3] 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.
[edit] Run to the Cup final
In the 1996 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 Final. Their opponent, the Colorado Avalanche, swept the Panthers in four games. Uwe Krupp scored the winning goal on a slap shot from the blue line for the Avalanche in the third overtime of Game 4 to defeat the Panthers 1-0. Colorado was led by captain Joe Sakic in the franchise's first year in Denver after moving from Quebec City. GM Murray was honored as NHL Executive of the Year.
[edit] Struggles
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. 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.
The Panthers moved into the brand new National Car Rental Center (now known as BankAtlantic 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.
[edit] 2000s
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 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. 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."[4]
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.
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 current longest streak in the NHL.
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.
[edit] 2010s
In an attempt to bring playoff hockey back to South Florida, the Panthers management hired Dale Tallon as the team's new general manager on May 17, 2010. Tallon had previously been GM in Chicago where he helped to build the Blackhawks team that eventually won the Stanley Cup. He quickly made his mark at the 2010 NHL Entry Draft by drafting 13 players including Erik Gudbranson and Quinton Howden. Also during the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, a trade was made with the Vancouver Canucks to send Steve Bernier and Michael Grabner and the Canucks first round choice in the draft, the twenty-fifth selection (used to select Quinton Howden) to the Panthers for Keith Ballard and Victor Oreskovich. He also made a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks to acquire Marty Reasoner shortly after the draft.
He continued the rebuild of the franchise with the move to loan Steven Reinprecht to the Mannheim Eagles of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. He also traded forward Michael Frolik and goaltender Alexander Salak to Chicago for forwards Jack Skille, Hugh Jessiman, and David Pacan. On February 24, the Panthers made several moves to gain draft picks in the upcoming 2011 NHL Entry Draft The first of which was trading of veteran Cory Stillman to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Ryan Carter and a fifth round 2011 draft pick. In a separate deal with Carolina, Florida acquired Sergei Samsonov in exchange for Bryan Allen. On February 25, he traded for defensemen Alexander Sulzer from the Nashville Predators. Finally, in a trade with the Atlanta Thrashers, Florida acquired Patrick Rissmiller and Niclas Bergfors in exchange for Radek Dvorak and a fifth round pick in the 2011 draft. 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. He replaced Peter DeBoer who was fired after the 2010-2011 season due to the team's poor performance. The team also rebranded their image, by going on an aggressive marketing campaign dubbed "We See Red", which paid homage to the franchise's original color scheme. To co-incide with the campaign, the team released a new home jersey, which was predominately red with navy blue sleeves, and eliminating the navy blue piping on the road jersey.
A major step in the rebuilding came during the first day of free agency on July 1, 2011. Several new players were signed to contracts including, Scottie Upshall, Tomas Fleischmann, Sean Bergenheim, Marcel Goc, Matt Bradley, Ed Jovanovski, and Jose Theodore. These signings came on the heels of trades to acquire players Kris Versteeg, Tomas Kopecky, and Brian Campbell, all of whom were members of the 2010 Chicago Blackhawks Stanley Cup winning roster. After Scott Clemmenson was injured in training camp, the Panthers got a good look at their goalie of the future, Jacob Markstrom. He played like a star going 2-2-1 with a .944 SV% and a 2.05 GAA. After the half-way mark in the season, the Panthers are 1st in the Southeast Division and four points out of 1st Place in the Eastern Conference.
[edit] 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 |
| 2006–07 | 82 | 35 | 31 | 16 | 86 | 247 | 257 | 4th, Southeast | Did not qualify |
| 2007–08 | 82 | 38 | 35 | 9 | 85 | 216 | 226 | 3rd, Southeast | Did not qualify |
| 2008–09 | 82 | 41 | 30 | 11 | 93 | 234 | 231 | 3rd, Southeast | Did not qualify |
| 2009–10 | 82 | 32 | 37 | 13 | 77 | 208 | 234 | 5th, Southeast | Did not qualify |
| 2010-11 | 82 | 30 | 40 | 12 | 72 | 195 | 229 | 5th, Southeast | Did not qualify |
[edit] Players
[edit] Current roster
Updated January 23, 2012.[5]
[edit] 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
- No captain, 2008–09
- Bryan McCabe, 2009–11
[edit] Hockey Hall of Fame members
- Players
- Ed Belfour, G, 2006–2007, inducted 2011
- Dino Ciccarelli, RW, 1998–1999, inducted 2010
- Igor Larionov, C, 2000, inducted 2008
- Joe Nieuwendyk, C, 2005–2006, inducted 2011
- Builders
- Roger Neilson, Coach, 1993–95, inducted 2002
- Bill Torrey, President and General Manager, 1993–2001, inducted 1995
[edit] Retired numbers
- 93 Bill Torrey, President and General Manager, 1993–2001, number retired on October 23, 2010
- 99 Wayne Gretzky, C, number retired league wide February 6, 2000
[edit] 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
- 2009: Dmitri Kulikov (14th overall)
- 2010: Erik Gudbranson (3rd overall), Nick Bjugstad (19th overall) & Quinton Howden (25th overall)
- 2011: Jonathan Huberdeau (3rd overall)
[edit] 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
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[edit] NHL awards and trophies
Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy
[edit] Franchise individual records
- Most goals in a season: Pavel Bure, 59 (2000–01)
- Most assists in a season: Viktor Kozlov, 53 (1999–2000)
- Most points in a season: Pavel Bure, 94 (1999–2000)
- Most penalty minutes in a season: Peter Worrell, 354 (2001–02)
- Most points in a season, defenseman: 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
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Rampage, Panthers ink affiliation deal". theahl.com. http://theahl.com/rampage-panthers-ink-affiliation-deal-p171462. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
- ^ http://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/
- ^ "Florida Panthers FAQ Page". http://www.darsys.com/panth/pfaq.html.
- ^ McDonell, Chris. (2005). Hockey's Greatest Stars: Legends and Young Lions. Firefly Books. pp. 135. ISBN 1-55407-038-4.
- ^ "Florida Panthers - Team - Roster". Florida Panthers. http://panthers.nhl.com/club/roster.htm?type=roster. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
[edit] External links
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