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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.
A trade to the Florida Panthers would eventually place Viktor Kozlov on a line with his countryman, Pavel Bure.  Kozlov would enjoy the best success of his career with the Panthers as he had three seasons scoring over 50 Points including a 70 Point campaign where he had over 50…
The 10th overall draft pick form the 1995 Draft, Czech born forward, Radek Dvorak was young but he helped the Florida Panthers reach their first ever Stanley Cup.   Dvorak would prove to be a good two way player and decent on the shorthanded side of the ice, and was productive…
A Florida Panther for 199 Games, Defenseman, Bryan McCabe followed up on hi s run with the Toronto Maple Leafs to become the prime blueliner in Miami.  McCabe would have over half a point per game as a Panther, an excellent record for anyone who spent this many games and…
In the 2017-18 Season, it felt like Evgenii Dadonov came out of nowhere, but the reality was that he had already been a Panther. The Right Wing was a Third Rounder in 2007, and he would play 55 Games for Florida, though mostly he was in the minors.  He was traded…
After five-and-a-half years with Toronto and a cup of coffee with San Jose, James Reimer signed with the Florida Panthers in 2016 to share the goaltending duties with Roberto Luongo. Reimer was with the Panthers for three years, though it was his first two where he was mostly effective.  In his…
As of this writing there is still time for Dmitry Kusikov to become an NHL All Star, though now that he has been traded it won’t happen as a Panther.  Still, Kulikov provided solid defense for Florida while he was there and was only a fraction away from accumulating 25…
One of the few players who have tabulated over 500 Games as a Florida Panther, Defenseman, Paul Laus was known for his rugged and tenacious blueline play.  The Beamsville, Ontario native was also known for his toughness and was a large part of Florida’s 1996 Stanley Cup playoff run.  All…
A star at Michigan State, David Booth came to the Florida Panthers with fast skates and offense on his mind.  Booth is a three time 20 Goal scorer including a 31 Goal 2008/09 campaign, which was the best of his career.
Claimed by the Florida Panthers in the Expansion Draft, Bill Lindsay brought some necessary roughness to the upstart NHL Team.  Lindsay is one of the few players in franchise history to exceed 500 Games Played and he is best known for scoring the winning goal to secure the organization’s first…
The best portion of Mike Van Ryn’s career was spent with Florida where he would put out three consecutive seasons of 20 or more Assists.  The Defenseman would be with Florida for four seasons and was known for putting together good effort behind the blue line.
Somewhat of a veteran by the time he arrived to Florida, Ray Sheppard would have a 60 Point season in 1996-97.  Sheppard brought a veteran presence to Florida, which was showcased on their run to the Stanley Cup Finals where he scored 16 Points in 21 Games for the ’96…
From the University of Minnesota, Nick Bjugstad played the first six-and-a-half seasons with the Florida Panthers, where the Center scored 191 Points for the team The former “Mr. Hockey” (in Minnesota) had a 20 Goal season in 2014-15, and he twice cracked the 40-Point mark with Florida.  He was traded to…
A surefire first ballot Hall of Famer, we thought that when Jaromir Jagr was traded from New Jersey during the 2014-15, season, that this would be where he finished his NHL career.  That would not be the case, but the ageless one proved in Florida that he still had a lot of…
Carter Verhaeghe was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs, but was traded to the New York Islanders before he made the NHL.  He never played for the Isles either, as he was dealt to Tampa, where he won an AHL scoring title, and made it to the Lightning roster in…
Gustav Forsling was drafted by the Vancouver Canucks, but it was the Chicago Blackhawks who first signed him, as his rights were dealt to the Windy City.  The Swedish Defenseman played three years for Chicago before he was again traded, this time to Carolina, whom he never played for.  When the Hurricanes…
Brandon Montour was traded from the Buffalo Sabres to Florida for their playoff run in 2021, and since his arrival he has ascended to one of their top Defenseman. In Montour’s first full season in Florida, he scored 37 Points, three more than his previous best, but in 2022-23, he…
Mike Matheson was a First Round Pick (23rd Overall) from Boston College, and after appearing in three Games in 2015-16, the Defenseman was in a permanent pairing as a Florida Panther. Matheson emerged as a prototypical defender, focusing on his side of the ice.  While he would be mistake prone on occasion,…
Tomas Fleischmann had his best season in hockey setting career highs in Goals (27), Assists (34) and Points (61) in his first of three seasons with the Florida Panthers.  Fleischmann would not be able duplicate that scoring success again and would be shipped off two years later.
Jason Garrison was a Florida Panther for the first four seasons of his NHL career, the last of which is considered to be the most complete of his career.  Already possessing solid defensive skill, Garrison would add a bit of offensive flair with a 33 Point season in the 2011-12…
Due to serious issues that led to an order of protection against his fiancé, form his teammate’s (Erik Karlsson) wife, the Ottawa Senators needed to trade Mike Hoffman, and his landing place was San Jose – for two hours.  Hoffman was then traded to Florida. Hoffman responded well to the change…