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.

 

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.

From Russia, Dmitry Kulikov is a well-traveled defenceman whose shutdown skills would always find a home in the NHL.  

Drafted 14th Overall in 2009, Kulikov debuted for the Panthers while still a teenager, and found solid time at the blue line over the next few seasons, peaking with a 28-Point output in 2011-12.  Kulikov was traded to Buffalo in 2016, and he would later play for Winnipeg, New Jersey, Edmonton, Minnesota, Anaheim, and Pittsburgh before resigning in 2023 with the Panthers as a Free Agent.

It was a great move for Kulikov, who helped Florida win their first two Stanley Cups.  He is still with Florida going into 2025/26, and his veteran presence could help them three-peat.