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 of Paul Laus’ 530 Games in the NHL were played with Florida.

The winner of the Calder Trophy in 2013, Jonathan Huberdeau, would not only become the prime offensive weapon for the Florida Panthers, but also one of the premier Left Wingers in Hockey.

Huberdeau, who was a former Third Overall Pick (2011), had back-to-back 50 Point seasons (2014-15 & 2015-16) and likely would have had a third had he not been held to only 31 Games the year after. Since that time, his scoring touch has continued to evolve, peaking with 115 Points in 2021-22.  A Second Team All-Star in 2020-21 and 2021-22, Huberdeau has averaged over a Point per Game in his last five seasons, as a Panther, but depsite his 2021-22 year (where he also led the NHL in Assists with 85, and finished fifth in Hart voting), the Panthers were frustrated by their inabilty to get past the second round.

Florida made a blockbuster trade, trading Huberdeau to the Calgary Flames for Matthew Tkachuk.   He left the Sunshine State with 613 Points in 671 Games.

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 exemplary two-way hockey and a healthy Plus/Minus on a team that for the most part has not been usually on the winning side of the ledger.  

Entering his ninth season of professional hockey, Ekblad is slightly over a .5 Point per Game player, an excellent number for a blueliner in the modern era.  Ekblad has now gone to two All-Star Games and is certainly capable of a third, as he showed by his 2021-22 career-high of 57 Points with a sixth-place Norris vote.  Since then, Ekblad proved valuable on Florida's back-to-back Stanley Cup-winning teams, 

Ekblad has more accolades in him, and it does not hurt that the Panthers are an elite and loaded squad.  He has a phenomenal chance to crack the top three on this list.

The 10th overall draft pick from 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 in both of his Florida runs.

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 leader with the Panthers.  He is one of the few players to log over 500 games for the South Florida franchise.

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.

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 Assists.  The playmaker was also known for his clean play, never exceeding 30 PIM in a aseason over his Panthers run.  Of the 537 Points that the Soviet-born player had, 291 were as a Panther.

Arriving from the Philadelphia Flyers via the Expansion Draft, Gord Murphy brought a steady blue line presence to the Florida Panthers.  Murphy was never an All-Star, but he was the type of player who elevated the game of those around him and was a big part of the Panthers' first Stanley Cup appearance.

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 postseason game.  He would score over 60 points in two seasons for Florida, and over his career, he would receive a sprinkling of votes for both the Lady Byng and the Frank J. Selke Awards.

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 returned to Chicago as a Free Agent in 2016, which is where he finished his career.

The very respected Scott Mellanby has an essential 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 scored a goal later that night.  It made for a good story.  That season, Florida went to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time, and the fan-favorite would see plastic rats litter the rink when the Panthers scored a goal.  Mellanby’s only two 60 Point Seasons were as a Panther.  If this list ever gets based solely on popularity, Mellanby would always be in the top five.

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, who meant to slash the goal post in frustration (but hit Vokoun instead).

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 Points three times with Florida and was an All-Star twice.  With the Panthers, Bouwmeester scored 203 Points.

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?

Playing for the Florida Panthers for 8 of his 9 NHL seasons, blueliner Robert Svehla is, as of this writing, without question one of the greatest Defenseman in Panthers history.  The Slovakian star represented Florida in the 1997 All-Star Game and had four seasons where he exceeded 40 Points.  He was also a significant reason why Florida would make the Stanley Cup Finals in the 1995/96 Season.  With the Panthers, Svehla had 290 Points.

Can it be argued that the first pick of the Florida Panthers' Expansion draft could not have gone any better?

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. During his first two seasons in South Beach, he wasn’t helping the team much in any capacity and was largely viewed as a bust.

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 Florida, gradually, acclimating to the faster-paced game and he would ascend to the upper-echelon of NHL netminders.

During the entirety of Luongo's run in Florida, the Panthers were not serious contenders, and much of the success that they did have was thanks to Luongo.  We will argue that his breakout season was in 2003-04, where even though he did not receive any Vezina votes, he led the NHL in Goalie Point Shares (14.4).  Luongo was not to be denied in terms of recognition the season after, as he led the NHL in Saves (2,303) and Goalie Point Shares with a whopping (20.9).  He was awarded a Second Team All-Star and was third in Vezina voting with a sixth-place finish for the Hart.  The year after was almost as good, again leading the NHL in Saves (2,275) and for the third year in a row, GPS (18.5).  Not many Goalies can say that. 

Due to contract issues, the Panthers traded Luongo to Vancouver, and as a Canuck, he was still one of the best Goalies in the game and would take them to a Stanley Cup Final.  Seven years later, Luongo was traded back to Florida, and while he was older, he was still competent.  Luongo would have two more seasons with the Panthers where he finished in the top ten in Vezina voting.

Luongo retired after the 2018-19 season, and while he had a losing record as a Panther, Luongo was by far the best Goalie that the Panthers ever had, and one of the best ever.  The Panthers retired his number 1 in 2022, and he received the call from the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2022 in his first year of eligibility.

John Vanbiesbrouck’s career may be best described as one of “missing out.” He achieved great success as a New York Ranger, but was outplayed by Mike Richter, who won the starting job, and “Beezer” was shipped out before he could see the Rangers win that elusive Cup. His best work was with the Florida Panthers, where he gave that team “legitimacy” and actually took that team to a Stanley Cup berth, where he again “missed out” on winning. John Vanbiesbrouck seemingly had many very good seasons, but not exactly a great one, or a career-defining moment. His total of 374 career NHL wins is impressive, but he just lacked that intangible that makes it possible for the Hall to keep him out.

From the Czech Republic, Tomas Vokoun had a fantastic career in the NHL, most notably with the Nashville Predators, where he had three straight seasons where he finished in the top ten in Vezina Trophy voting with a 10th, 8th, and 4th place finish in the 2003/04, 04/05, and 06/07 respectively.  The year after, the two-time NHL All-Star would play for the Florida Panthers and would lead the league in Goalie Point Shares.