The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Panthers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team initially played its home games at Miami Arena before moving to the Amerant Bank Arena in 1998. Located in Sunrise, Florida, the franchise is the southernmost team in the NHL. The team's local broadcasting rights were held by Bally Sports Florida from 1996 to 2024 when they made a new broadcast deal with Scripps Sports. The Panthers are primarily affiliated with two minor league teams: the Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League (AHL) and the Savannah Ghost Pirates of the ECHL.
Filip Kuba is a Czech former professional ice hockey defenseman. Kuba most recently played for the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously played for the Minnesota Wild, Tampa Bay Lightning, and the Ottawa Senators of the NHL.
Stuart Douglas Barnes is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward. He played 16 seasons at centre in the NHL with the Winnipeg Jets, Florida Panthers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Buffalo Sabres, and Dallas Stars. He currently has an arena named after him in the city of Spruce Grove, where he was born. Barnes was an assistant coach with the Dallas Stars. As of 2021, he is the head coach and co-owner of the Tri-City Americans in the Western Hockey League.
Andrew D. Brunette is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player who is the head coach for the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League (NHL). As a player, Brunette played over 1,100 career games in the NHL with the Washington Capitals, Nashville Predators, Atlanta Thrashers, Minnesota Wild, Colorado Avalanche, and Chicago Blackhawks between 1996 and 2012. He previously served as interim head coach for the Florida Panthers, as an assistant coach for the Minnesota Wild and New Jersey Devils, and as the Wild's assistant general manager.
Valeri Vladimirovich "Val" Bure is a Russian–American former professional ice hockey right winger. He played 10 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Montreal Canadiens, Calgary Flames, Florida Panthers, St. Louis Blues, and Dallas Stars from 1995 to 2004. A second round selection of the Canadiens, 33rd overall, at the 1992 NHL entry draft, Bure appeared in one NHL All-Star Game, in 2000. He led the Flames in scoring with 35 goals and 75 points in 1999–2000, a season in which he and brother Pavel combined to set an NHL record for goals by a pair of siblings with 93.
Radek Dvořák is a Czech former professional ice hockey right winger. Dvořák was drafted in the first round of the 1995 NHL Entry Draft, tenth overall, by the Florida Panthers. A veteran of 1,260 NHL games, Radek has played for the Panthers, New York Rangers, Edmonton Oilers, St. Louis Blues, Atlanta Thrashers, Dallas Stars, Anaheim Ducks and the Carolina Hurricanes.
The 1993–94 NHL season was the 77th regular season of the National Hockey League. The league expanded to 26 teams with the addition of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the Florida Panthers. The Minnesota North Stars relocated to become the Dallas Stars. And the league was realigned to geographically-named conferences and divisions. The New York Rangers defeated the Vancouver Canucks in seven games to become the Stanley Cup champions. It was the Rangers' fourth championship overall, and their first in 54 seasons, since 1939–40.
Mikhail Alekseyevich Shtalenkov is a Russian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played extensively in his native USSR and Russia for HC Dynamo Moscow before moving to North America, where he played with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Edmonton Oilers, Phoenix Coyotes and Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He had been previously selected in the fifth round of the 1993 NHL Entry Draft, 108th overall, by the Mighty Ducks. Internationally he played in the 1992 and 1998 Winter Olympics, as well as several World Championships, representing successfully the Soviet Union, Unified Team, and Russia.
Scott Edgar Mellanby is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, coach, and executive. He primarily played right wing throughout his NHL career, on occasion shifting over to the left side. He is the son of former Hockey Night in Canada producer Ralph Mellanby.
The National Hockey League's Central Division was formed in 1993 as part of the Western Conference in a league realignment. Its predecessor was the Norris Division and its also one of two successors to the Northwest Division. The Chicago Blackhawks have been a member of the Central Division in all of its seasons since the original 1993 realignment. The Arizona Coyotes, Dallas Stars and St. Louis Blues were also original members of the division, but were realigned to a different division for a while before returning; both the Coyotes and Stars were moved to the Pacific Division in 1998, while the Blues were moved to the West Division during the temporary 2020–21 realignment. Three of its teams—the Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, and Winnipeg Jets —joined the NHL during a league expansion phase between 1998 and 2000. The fourth team in that three-year expansion period, the Columbus Blue Jackets, was once a member of the Central Division, but moved to the Metropolitan Division after the 2013 realignment.
Trevor Rodney Kidd is a Canadian former Ice hockey goaltender who last played for the Hannover Scorpions in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. Throughout his 12-year National Hockey League career, Kidd played for the Calgary Flames, Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, and Toronto Maple Leafs. A first-round draft pick, Kidd was selected 11th overall by the Flames in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft.
Denis Aleksandrovich Shvidki is a Ukrainian-born Russian former professional ice hockey right wing who played 76 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Florida Panthers. He was drafted in the first round, 12th overall, by the Panthers in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft.
Shane Churla is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He was drafted in the sixth round, 110th overall, by the Hartford Whalers in the 1985 NHL Entry Draft. He is currently the director of amateur scouting for the Florida Panthers.
The 1993 NHL expansion draft was an expansion draft held by the National Hockey League (NHL) to fill the rosters of the league's two expansion teams for the 1993–94 season, the Florida Panthers and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. The draft took place on June 24, 1993, in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada.
Robert Richard Kudelski is an American former professional ice hockey player. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the 1986 NHL Supplemental Draft.
Gordon J. Murphy is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Philadelphia Flyers, Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers and Atlanta Thrashers. He is currently an assistant coach for the New York Rangers.
Joseph Jesse Dave Bélanger is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre, who played in the National Hockey League from 1991 to 2001.
Aaron Ekblad is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and alternate captain for the Florida Panthers in the National Hockey League (NHL). Ekblad was selected first overall in the 2011 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) draft, and he was selected first overall by the Panthers in the 2014 NHL entry draft and made his NHL debut that year. In his first NHL season, Ekblad was selected for the 2015 NHL All-Star Game and earned the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league's best rookie in the 2014–15. Ekblad won the Stanley Cup with the Panthers in 2024.
Alexander Petrovic is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently playing for the Texas Stars in the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL). Petrovic was selected by the Florida Panthers in the second round, 36th overall, of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft from the Red Deer Rebels in the Western Hockey League (WHL).
The 2012–13 Dallas Stars season was the 46th season for the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise that was established on June 5, 1967, and 20th season since the franchise relocated to Dallas to start the 1993–94 season. The regular season was reduced from its usual 82 games to 48 due to the 2012–13 NHL lockout.
United States 