Top 50 Florida Panthers
South Beach may have taken over the Basketball world for a spell but there was a brief time in 1996 where an upstart expansion team made the Stanley Cup Finals and almost shocked the world of hockey by winning the entire thing.The Florida Panthers did not win the Cup, but hockey historians still remember what they accomplished in such a short time and this should be celebrated.
As such, the Top 50 of the Florida Panthers, even in their brief existence should be celebrated, but of course, this is what we do best at Notinhallofffame.com!
Note: Hockey lists are based on an amalgamation of tenure, traditional statistics, advanced statistics, playoff statistics, and post-season accolades.
This list is up to the end of the 2022-23 Season.
After his rookie year with the New York Islanders, Roberto Luongo was traded to the Florida Panthers with Olli Jokinen in what can be best described as one of the most lopsided trades in favor of the Panthers in their history. Luongo played more in his first two years in…
From Finland, Alexsander Barkov had lofty expectations coming in as the number two overall pick in 2013. It is safe to say that the Panthers obtained a player who came as adevrtised.Barkov saw ample playing time as a rookie, but Florida made sure to ease the Center into action. He…
The winner of the Calder Trophy in 2013, Jonathan Huberdeau would nlt only become the prime offensive weapon for the Forida Panthers, but also one of the premier Left WIngs in Hockey.Huberdeau, who was a former Third Overall Pick (2011), would have back-to-back 50 Point years (2014-15 & 2015-16), and…
Can it be argued that the first pick of the Florida Panthers Expansion draft could not have gone any better?
Aaron Ekblad did as much as you could ask for in his rookie year, as the number one pick from the Barrie Colts scored 39 Points and won the Calder Trophy. Ekblad never slowed down, showing exemplarart two-way hockey and a helathy Plus/Minus on a team that for the most…
Playing for the Florida Panthers for 8 of his 9 NHL seasons, blueliner, Robert Svehla is as of this writing without question the greatest Defenseman in Panthers history. The Slovakian star would represent Florida in the 1997 All-Star Game and had four seasons where he would exceed 40 Points. He…
Pavel Bure may not be ranked #1 on this list of all-time Florida Panthers but there is a case to be made for him isn’t there?
The very respected Scott Mellanby has an important place in Florida Panthers folklore. It was the rigged Right Winger who scored the first goal in franchise history and it was there where the “Rat Trick” was born. In the locker room, Mellanby killed a rat with his hockey stick and…
Olli Jokinen is known for having gone the longest in NHL history before tasting the NHL playoffs. That stint largely took place when he was with the Florida Panthers, his longest tenured team by far over his career, and for his first two seasons in South Beach, he wasn’t helping…
In his first season as a Florida Panther (2011-12), Brian Campbell made history as the first Defenseman in over 50 seasons to win the Lady Byng Trophy. Campbell scored over 50 Points that campaign and would receive Norris Trophy votes in three of his five seasons as a Panther. Campbell…
One of the best pure skaters in the game, Defenseman, Jay Bouwmeester has the ability to cause damage on the offensive rush as good as anyone. Drafted 3rd Overall in the 2002 Draft, Bouwmeester played his first seven seasons of his career with the Florida Panthers. Bouwmeester would eclipse 40…
Twice an All-Star with the Coyotes, Keith Yandle was dealt to the Florida Panthers after his second team, the New York Rangers, were concerned that they would not be able to resign the Defenseman when his contract expired after the season. It worked out well for the Panthers, as they only…
A somewhat unheralded player due to his lengthy time in Florida, Stephen Weiss still holds (as of this writing) the franchise record for Assists and Games Played. Weiss actually played 637 Games with the Panthers before he finally played in his first post-season game. He would have two seasons over…
Arriving from the Philadelphia Flyers via the Expansion Draft, Gord Murphy brought a steady blueine presence to the Florida Panthers. Murphy was never an All Star, but he was the type of player that elevated the game of those around him and was a big part of the Panthers first…
A member of the Florida Panthers for the majority of his career, Nathan Horton would have three seasons with Florida where he would have 50 Points plus, two of which would have 62 Points. This run would also see Horton eclipse the 20 Goal mark four times as a Panther.
The career of Tomas Vokoun as a Florida Panther is not as celebrated nearly as much as it should be. Perhaps it was because he led the NHL in Losses twice as a Panther and that he is known for the blooper clip of being injured by his own teammate…
A third round pick in 2011, American Center, Vincent Trocheck made his NHL debut two years later with the Florida Panthers. Two years later, Trocheck scored 53 Points, and had similar numbers the season after with 54 with a trip to the All-Star Game. Trocheck showed that he was proven…
While concussions turned Rob Niedermayer into a more defensive forward early in his career, he was still a productive two way player; especially considering that “early” in his career was all with the Florida Panthers. Niedermayer was a large part of that Stanley Cup run and he was an instant…
A two-time Vezina winner with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Russian-born Goalie, Sergei Bobrovsky signed with Florida as a Free Agent, with the Panthers believing that he was the missing piece of the puzzle. Bobrovsky’s Florida career did not start off with a bang, as his 3.23 GAA in his debut…
Drafted late in the Seventh Round in 2013, Defenseman, MacKenzie Weeger plied his trade in the minors for three years, before he appeared in three Games for the Panthers in 2016-17. Just doing that was an accomplishment considering where Weegar was selected, but he had bigger things in mind. Weegar made…