Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the top 50 of each major North American sports team. That being said, we maintain and update our existing Top 50 lists annually.  As such, we are delighted to present our pre-2025/26 revision of our top 50 Florida Panthers.

As for all of our top 50 players in hockey, we look at the following: 

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Hockey League.

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles that are not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, the Panthers repeated as Stanley Cup Champions by again knocking off the Edmonton Oilers.  As such, there were multiple elevations, especially in the upper half of the Top 50.  Astoundingly, there was only one new entrant.

As always, we present our top five, which saw two changes. 

1. Alexsander Barkov
2. Roberto Luongo
3. Jonathan Huberdeau
4. Aaron Ekblad
5. John Vanbiesbrouck

You can find the entire list here.

We have a brand new #1 with Alexsander Barkov, who has supplanted Roberto Luongo for the top spot.  Sadly, Barkov will be out this season with a torn ACL.

Defenseman Aaron Ekblad has passed Goalie John Vanbiesbrouck for #4.

Center Sam Reinhart catapulted ten spots to #8.  He was the runner-up for the Frank J. Selke Trophy last season.

Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky went up a rung to #9.

Superstar forward, Matthew Tkachuk, skyrockets from #25 to #12. 

Another significant jump was Defenseman Gustav Forsling, who went to #13 from #26.

Center Carter Verhaghe also moved up substantially.  He climbed to #17 from #28.

Defenseman Dmitry Kulikov edged up to three spots to #18. 

Sam Bennett, who won the Conn Smythe Trophy last year, vaulted to #25 from #39.

The lone new entrant is Anton Lundell.  He debuts at #33.

We thank you for your continued support of our lists on Notinhalloffame.com.

From Finland, Anton Lundell was selected 12th overall in 2020.  A year later, he left the Finnish League for Florida, where he made the team out of training camp.

Entering his fifth season with Florida, Lundell has been a good depth Center for the organization, where he has twice scored 40 Points and helped the Panthers win back-to-back Stanley Cups.  Last year, he led all skaters in Playoff Plus/Minus (+19), and as he is still under 25, there is still room for him to improve.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the top 50 of each major North American sports team. That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists and consistently look to update them when necessary and based on necessity. As such, we are delighted to present our post-2023-24 revision of our top 50 Florida Panthers.

As for all of our top 50 players in hockey, we look at the following:

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Hockey League.

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles that are not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, Florida finally did it!  They won their first Stanley Cup championship with a deep and talented squad.  As this franchise formed in the 1990s, last season’s accomplishments led to one of the most significant changes ever in our 50 franchise lists.

As always, we present our top five, which saw some significant changes:

1. Roberto Luongo
2. Alexsander Barkov
3. Jonathan Huberdeau
4. Aaron Ekblad
5. John Vanbiesboruck

You can find the entire list here.

Again, as this is still a young franchise, the changes were huge.

It was very tempting to put Barkov at #1, and perhaps it is a mistake not to have done so.  Barkov captained the Panthers to their first Stanley Cup, but Luongo was a first ballot Hall of Famer.  An average Barkov season will easily place Barkov at #1.

Aaron Ekblad, who was #5, moved up one spot to #4.

Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who was third in Vezina Trophy voting, rocketed to #10 from #19.

We might have made a mistake in not ranking Sam Reinhart last year.  That has been corrected, and the sniper who lit the lamp 57 times last year is here at #18.

Defenseman Dmitry Kulikov, who began his second run in Florida last season, climbed to #21 from #26.

2022/2023 Second Team All-Star Matthew Tkachuk rocketed to #25 from #42.

Defenseman Gustav Forsling reached #26 from #35.

Center Carter Verhaeghe went to #28 from #34.

Defenseman Brandon Montour, who is now with Seattle, advanced from #36 to #30.

Center Sam Bennett jumped ten spots to #39.

We thank you for your continued support of our lists on Notinhalloffame.com.

Second-generation hockey player (his father was Defenseman Paul Reinhart), Sam Reinhart had quality seasons in Buffalo, where he scored at least 20 Goals five times.  Still, when he was traded to Florida, he took his career (and his new team) to the next level.

Reinhart broke 30 Goals in each of his first two seasons, and last year he became the prime sniper for Florida, where he led the NHL in Power Play Goals (27), was accurate as he league’s leader in Shooting Percentage, and was second overall in Goals (57).  Florida won their first Stanley Cup, and Reinhart was the man who had the game-winning goal in Game 7.  

After last year's breakout, Reinhart had another great year, finishing with 81 Points and a second-place finish behind his teammate, Aleksander Barkov, for the Frank J. Selke.  He again had another phenomenal playoff, aiding the Panthers in their second straight Stanley Cup win, with Reinhart leading all skaters with 11 Even Strength Goals.

Who is to say that Reinhart and the Panthers can't do it all again?

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity.  As such, we are very happy to present our post 2022/23 revision of our top 50 Florida Panthers.

As for all of our top 50 players in basketball we look at the following:

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Hockey League.

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, Florida had an excellent post-season, making it to the Eastern Conference Finals after shocking the Boston Bruins in the opening round.  Last year resulted in three new entries, and several elevations.

As always, we present our top five, which had no changes:

1. Roberto Luongo

2. Alexsander Barkov

3. Jonathan Huberdeau

4. John Vanbiesbrouck

5. Aaron Ekblad

You can find the entire list here.

Notably, Barkov was unable to surpass Luongo for the #1 spot, and remains at #2.  In addition, Ekblad also was not able to move up from his #5 rank.

Goalie, Sergei Bobrovsky, reached #19 from #23.

Forward, Carter Verhaeghe, is the first of two entries, coming in at #34.

Gustav Forling made it to #35 from #45.

The second of four new entries is Brandon Montour, who enters at #36.

Forward, Matthew Tkachuk, makes his first appearance at #42.

The last new entrant is Sam Bennett, who appears it at #49.

Completing the alterations is current San Jose Shark. Anthony Duclair, who was traded during last season, and fell behind newer entrants, but did enough to remain.  He is at #50.

We welcome your input and comments and as always, we thank you for your support.

Sam Bennett was a trade deadline deal from Calgary in 2021, and it was a great fit for the veteran Center who finished the year with 15 Points in 10 Games. 

Since then, Bennett has played his best hockey, putting forth four consecutive 40-plus Point years with a physical style that the Panthers needed, which proved fruitful when they won their first Stanley Cup in 2024. In the year after, Bennett was electric in the playoffs, leading everyone in Goals (15), Even Strength Goals (11), and PIM (48).  For his efforts, he was awarded the prestigious Conn Smythe Trophy.

He may not crack the top ten of this franchise, but he has already proved his worth in the state of Florida.

The Calgary Flames were informed by their top Wing, Matthew Tkachuk, that he had no interest in resigning to a long-term deal.  They found a quick suitor in Florida, who gave up a lot to get the forward.  In the brief time we are looking at Tkachuk's tenure in Florida, it seems to be a complete steal.

In his first season that Tkachuk played for the Panthers, he set a career-high in 109 Points and was a Second Team All-Star.  Tkachuk also led Florida into the Easter Conference Finals, and was the playoff leader in Penalty Minutes (74) and Game-Winning Goals (4).  Tkachuk was awarded a Second Team All-Star, was third in Hart voting, and even received Frank J. Selke votes as the best defensive forward.  Last season, he again was great with 88 Points, and he had a goal-saving dive on an empty net in the Finals (though Edmonton scored a second later), but at the end of the day, Tkachuk was hoisting the Stanley Cup.  How do you follow that up?  You do it again.

In 2024-25, Tkachuk became the U.S. star of the Four Nations Cup and had another powerful NHL campaign with 88 Points and 151 Hits.  The Panthers repeated as Stanley Cup Champions, and Tkachuk had his third straight postseason with at least 22 Points.

He might have only been a Panther for three years as of this writing, but his impact on South Beach hockey has been epic, and he has transformed himself into one of the faces of the sport.  The scary thing is how much more he has left!

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 exploded in Points with 73, much of which was due to a new role on the power play.  He returned back to the previous level in 2023-24 with 33 Points, but he provided depth on Florida's run to their first Stanley Cup.  It was a great end for Montour in Florida, as he signed with the Seattle Kraken as a Free Agent afterward.

Montour had 147 Points with a Plus/Minus of +33.

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 2019/20, where he played a small role in their Stanley Cup win.  As the Bolts were loaded at Center, they allowed him to leave for Free Agency, in a move that they might have regretted.  Verhaeghe stayed in the state, signed with Florida, and proved he could be a scorer at hockey’s elite level.

Verhaeghe’s ice time doubles with the Panthers and in his first season (the COVID-shortened 2020/21) with the club he scored 36 Points in 43 Games, and had 55 Points in 2022-22.  He took it to another level two seasons ago, lighting the lamp 42 times, which placed him ninth overall.  In 2023-24, he had his second straight 70-plus Point output and was a significant component in their first Stanley Cup win.  Last year, Verhaeghe's production dropped to 53 Points, but the depth he provided at Center was integral in Florida's second straight Cup.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity.  As such, we are very happy to present our post 2021/22 revision of our top Florida Panthers.

As for all of our top 50 players in hockey we look at the following: 

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Hockey League. 

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, the Panthers were Stanley Cup contenders, but they were eliminated in the second round.  As this is a young and loaded team, this led to three new entries on our top 50 and multiple elevations.

As always, we present our top five, which changed significantly from last year:

1. Roberto Luongo

2. Alexsander Barkov

3. Jonathan Huberdeau

4. John Vanbiesbrouck

5. Aaron Ekblad

You can find the entire list here.

Barkov, who won the Frank J. Selke in 2021 and the Lady Byng in 2019, moved to the #2 spot from #3.

Huberdeau, who was traded to the Flames in the off-season, and was a Second Team All-Star last year, also went up one rung with his new rank being #3.

Ekblad is the third mover withing the top five, with the Defenseman also edging one spot from #6. 

Defenseman, Mackenzie Weegar, reaches #19 from #33, but was also traded to Calgary along with Huberdeau.

Former Vezina Trophy winner with Columbus, Sergei Bobrovsky, enters the list at #23.

The other debuts are Defenseman, Gustav Forsling at #45 and Right Wing, Anthony Duclair at #48.

We welcome your input and comments and as always, we thank you for your support.

Gustav Forsling was drafted by the Vancouver Canucks, but the Chicago Blackhawks were the first to sign him, as his rights were traded to the Windy City.  The Swedish Defenseman played three years for Chicago before he was again traded, this time to Carolina, where he never played.  When the Hurricanes waived him in January of 2021, Forsling was picked up by the Florida Panthers.

Forsling had 17 Points for Florida that year, helping the Panthers reach the playoffs.  He had a breakout 2021-22, where he saw more ice time, scored 10 Goals with 37 Points, and was sixth in plus/Minus (+41).  He was even better in 2022/23 with 13 Goals and 41 Points, helping the Panthers reach the Eastern Conference Finals. In 2023/24, Forsling had his best year to date.  The blueliner had 39 Points, was ninth in Norris voting (his first top ten finish), and led the NHL in Plus/Minus (+56) and defensive Point Shares (8.0).  More importantly, He was a star in Florida's run to their first Stanley Cup.  Last season, Forsling was again a defensive rock and helped Florida win their second Stanley Cup.

He is a potential top ten player on this team.

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 season with the Panthers was his worst in Hockey.  He shaved that down to 2.91 the year after, but his third season was a renaissance for Bobrovsky with a solid 2.67 GAA and a league-leading 39 Wins.  Last season, Bobrovsky anchored the Panthers to their first Stanley Cup off of his best season in Florida (2.37 GAA with a third-place finish in Vezina voting).  Last season, Bobrovsky was still a top netminder, and he backstopped Florida to a second straight Cup.

He isn't done yet! 

Many say Jay Bouwmeester is one of the most gifted skaters in hockey history.  We have to agree, and would gladly add that Bouwmeester is one of the more underrated players in the game.

The Canadian Defenseman was the third overall pick in 2002 by Florida, and was an All-Rookie after making the Panthers after being drafted.  Bouwmeester was a two-time All-Star with Florida, and he twice received Norris Trophy votes.  He would be traded to Calgary in 2009, and at the 2013 Trade Deadline, Bouwmeester was dealt to St. Louis, providing a veteran presence to the team that won the Stanley Cup in 2019.

Bouwmeester’s career ended abruptly when he suffered a cardiac arrest during a game against Anaheim in February of 2020.  He never played again, thus ending one of the most sneaky good careers in hockey.  As a professional, Bouwmeester scored 424 Points in 1,240 Games.

If Bouwmeester never becomes a serious contender for the Hockey Hall of Fame, the IIHOF could look at him, as he won five Gold Medals (one Olympics, two World Cups, two Worlds) while playing 57 Games for Team Canada.  That is one hell of an international career.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity.  As such, we are very happy to present our pre-2021-22 revision of our top 50 Florida Panthers.

As for all of our top 50 players in hockey we look at the following: 

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the NHL. 

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

Please note, that this is our first revision in in the last five years, and it has resulted in numerous new entries and elevation of existing players.

As always, we present our top five immediately:

1. Roberto Luongo

2. John Vanbiesbrouck

3. Aleksander Barkov

4. Jonathan Huberdeau

5. Robert Svehla

You can find the entire list here.

The top five did change significantly.  Barkov, who won the Frank J. Selke Trophy last year and the Lady Byng two years ago, rocketed to #3 after a #32 rank from our inaugural list.  Huberdeau, who won the Calder in 2013, and was a Second Team All-Star last year shot up to #4 from #17.

Our highest debut is Keith Yandle at #12, who just signed with Philadelphia.  The Defenseman was an All-Star in 2019.

Vincent Trocheck, who is now a Carolina Hurricane, climbed from #47 to #17.  He was an All-Star in 2017.

Right Wing, Evgeni Dadonov, who is now with St. Louis, debuts at #22.

Former backup Goalie, James Reimer, who was traded to Carolina in 2019, enters at #23.

Defenseman, MacKenzie Weeger comes in at #32.

Mike Matheson, who also plays at Defense, and is now a Penguin, enters at #33.

Mike Hoffman, a Center who is now with St. Louis, makes his first entrance at #36.

Scott Clemmensen, another Goailie, who we should have looked on our first list is at #45.

The last new entry is Mark Pysyk, a Defenseman now with Dallas is at #46.

We welcome your input and comments and as always, we thank you for your support.

Mark Fitzpatrick had gone through a lot before he became a Florida Panther.  When he was playing with the Islanders, he contracted Eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome, a neurological disease that held him out of most of the 1990-91 Season and a large part of the 1991-92 campaign.  He came back and was rightfully the recipient of the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy.

Fitzpatrick, who was traded to Quebec in 1993, was promptly chosen by the Florida Panthers in the Expansion Draft, and he played for Florida for five seasons, serving as John Vanbiesbrouck’s backup.  In this period, Fitzpatrick had a respectable 43042-22 record with a 2.71 GAA, and while he only had 60 logged minutes in Florida’s shocking run to the 1996 Finals, he was part of the reason that they got there in the first place.

Due to serious issues that led to an order of protection against his fiancée, from 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 of scenery, breaking Pavel Bure’s team record for consecutive games with a Point (17).  He finished his first season (2018-19) with 70 Points, a personal best, and he followed that with a strong 59 Point season.  This would be the end of Hoffman’s stay as a Panther, as he signed with St. Louis as a Free Agent.

With Florida, Hoffman scored 129 Points, 65 of which were Goals. 

Mike Matheson was a First Round Pick (23^rd 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, he did have back-to-back 27 Point years (2017-18 & 2018-19), the former year seeing him score 10 Goals.  Traded to Pittsburgh before the 2020-21 Season, Matheson had 94 Points as a Panther.

While it can be argued that Matheson’s accomplishment as a Panther did not live up to the potential, on an expansion team with no Stanley Cups, Matheson belongs on this list.

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 the Panthers roster going into 2017, and for three seasons, he provided steady blueline work on a deep defensive pairing. In 2020-21, Weegar had a breakout year, showing full offensive skills with 30 Assists and 36 Points in only 54 Games, and was eighth in Norris voting and second in Plus/Minus.  Weegar had 44 Points in his follow-up with a fourteenth-place in Norris voting, and he was a large part of Florida's huge success in the regular season.  As good as Weegar was, the Panthers sent him, along with Jonathan Huberdeau, to the Calgary Flames in the off-season.

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 during his first two years that he was mostly effective.  In his first year with Florida, Reimer played in 43 Games with a solid 2.53 GAA and a .920 Save Percentage.  The following year wasn’t as good, but the numbers were still respectable with a 2.99 ERA and a .913 Save Percentage.  Reimer’s play dropped off in his third year in Florida, and he was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes during the offseason.

With the Panthers, Reimer had a record of 53-42-16 and a GAA of 2.85.

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 to Carolina, but he never played for the Hurricanes, just their minor league team.  He returned to Russia and played in the KHL, where his skills improved. Without any affiliation with an NHL team, he was signed back to the Panthers for the 2017-18 Season.

In his return season, Dadonov scored 65 Points, erasing the memories of his play in Florida before, that is, for those who remembered his first run.  Dadonov had an even better 2018-19, posting a career-best 70 Points and equalling his 28 Goals.  He had 25 Goals in 2019-20, though his Assists plummeted to nearly half of what he had.  

This was it for Dadonov as a Panther, as he signed with Ottawa as a Free Agent.  He would score 202 Points for Florida.