SUNRISE, Fla. — Last season, the Florida Panthers celebrated their 25th anniversary.
Following their New Year’s Eve game in Columbus, the team will ring in 2020 — and celebrate entering the fourth decade in franchise history.
During last season, The Athletic polled 19 media members who covered the team over the years for the Florida Panthers’ 25th anniversary team.
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Now, we break the Panthers down through the decades.
Some decades are better than others.
Unfortunately for the Panthers, the most success they had on the ice came in their early years.
From their first game in 1993 until the end of 1999, the Panthers were, for the most part, a model franchise.
Bill Torrey, the architect of the four-time Stanley Cup champion Islanders, was brought to South Florida by businessman and sports mogul H. Wayne Huizenga soon after he won the rights to bring the NHL to Miami in 1992.
Torrey and general manager Bobby Clarke built that first Florida squad from the sand up, hired Roger Neilson as coach, acquired goalie John Vanbiesbrouck in the expansion draft and put players such as Scott Mellanby and Brian Skrudland around him.
When that first season was over, the Panthers were the most successful expansion team in NHL history (at the time), winning 33 games with 83 points.
Florida missed the playoffs by a point after a rough ending in which it went 2-5-6.
Introducing the inaugural 1993-94 Florida Panthers.
Welcome Home. pic.twitter.com/guJAzt1mZq
— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) October 12, 2018
The Panthers missed the playoffs in Year 2 as well and fired Nielson after the lockout-shortened season.
The third year of the Panthers, as many in South Florida still recall, is simply known as the “Year of the Rat” as the little expansion team took the area by storm by not only making the playoffs but also going all the way to the Stanley Cup finals.
During this first decade, the Panthers made the playoffs in consecutive seasons, built a huge new arena in suburban Broward County and, in 1999, pulled off the first blockbuster trade in franchise history by bringing Pavel Bure to the Sunshine State.
And, as good as he was, Bure is not part of this team because he only played in 39 games during the 1999 calendar year — but boy were those 39 fantastic games.
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Bure, who spent parts of four seasons in Florida, was acquired in a trade with Vancouver on Jan. 17, 1999, and gave the Panthers a dynamic forward they never had before. They struggled to replace him after trading him to the Rangers in 2002.
After the trade to Florida, Bure played in only 11 games as he was limited because of a knee injury. But in those games, he had 13 goals and 16 points — with three hat tricks.
In Bure’s first five games with the Panthers, he scored seven goals.
During the first few months of the 1999-2000 season, Bure lit up the scoreboard again by scoring 21 goals with 16 assists — giving him 34 goals and 53 points in his first 39 games with the Panthers.
In Bure’s first full season with the Panthers, he was named to the NHL All-Star team and won the first of two Rocket Richard trophies for leading the NHL in goals (58).
Bure also finished third in voting for the Hart Trophy, which goes to the league MVP. (Coincidentally, Chris Pronger — now in the Panthers front office — won the Hart that year with future Panthers forward Jaromir Jagr placing second.)
Enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2012, Bure was traded to the Rangers in 2002 and ended up only playing 51 games in New York after the trade from Florida because of knee issues.
For The Athletic’s 25th anniversary Panthers team, Bure got 18 of 19 votes.
Bure will be on the Panthers’ All-Decade team for the 2000s.
The Panthers made it back to the playoffs in 2000 but were swept out of the first round by the Devils and did not return to the playoffs until winning the Southeast Division title in 2012.
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The Panthers had their share of ups-and-downs during their first decade but were mostly competitive and a big part of the South Florida sports landscape.
The losing that followed saw the Panthers lose their status among the Dolphins, Heat, Marlins and Hurricanes, but they hope a revamped team with a strong core of talented players will bring them back into the forefront of the region’s consciousness.
Winning put the Panthers on the radar in South Florida and could bring them back there again.
Just hold onto those rubber rats until the final horn sounds.
The Florida Panthers All-Decade team 1993-99
FORWARDS
Scott Mellanby (1993-2001)
The stats: 552 games; 157 goals, 197 assists, 354 points
The legacy: A second-round pick by the Flyers in 1984, Mellanby was the fourth forward taken by the Panthers in the 1993 expansion draft after he was left unprotected by Edmonton.
The fresh start seemed to invigorate Mellanby as he led Florida in scoring during the expansion season with his first 30-goal campaign. Mellanby had his second in 1995-96 when he scored 32.
Mellanby, named the second team captain in franchise history in 1997, is probably best known for triggering the rat craze, which saw fans toss rubber rodents onto the ice following goals during the 1995-96 season.
In the home opener at Miami Arena in 1995, a wayward rat wandered into the Florida locker room before the game. Mellanby grabbed his stick and slammed the rodent into a wall. Mellanby then scored two goals in the victory over Calgary, and goalie John Vanbiesbrouck relayed the rat story to reporters in the postgame locker room.
And the ‘Rat Trick’ was born.
The Panthers traded Mellanby to St. Louis in 2001 but his 157 goals remain second all-time in team history.
Mellanby, who also scored the franchise’s first goal at Chicago Stadium in 1993, has moved into the front office and is currently the assistant GM of the Montreal Canadiens.
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Rob Niedermayer (1993-2001)
The stats: 518 games; 101 goals, 165 assists, 266 points
The legacy: The first-ever draft pick of the Panthers, Niedermayer was the fifth overall selection of the 1993 draft.
Niedermayer was 18 when he made his debut with the Panthers in that expansion season and he scored nine goals with 26 points in 65 games as a rookie.
His biggest offensive output came in his third season as he was second on the 1995-96 team with 26 goals and 61 points.
At the 2001 draft held in Sunrise, Niedermayer was part of a trade with Calgary that brought Valeri Bure. Niedermayer played until 2011, and he won the Stanley Cup along with brother Scott with Anaheim in 2007.
Brian Skrudland (1993-97)
The stats: 256 games; 32 goals, 67 assists, 99 points
The legacy: The first captain in franchise history, Skrudland came to the Panthers in the expansion draft after playing in more than 500 games for Montreal and Calgary.
After scoring 15 goals in Florida’s first season, Skrudland was limited to 17 in his final three seasons with the Panthers, but he meant much more to the team than just his scoring.
Skrudland returned to the Panthers organization as director of player development in 2010 and also served as an assistant coach during the 2013-14 season after Kevin Dineen was fired as head coach.
DEFENSEMEN
Paul Laus (1993-2002)
The stats: 530 games; 14 goals, 58 assists, 72 points
The legacy: Named to the Panthers’ official 20th anniversary team, Laus was a big and physical defenseman who helped give the hard-nosed Panthers an identity.
Laus spent all nine of his NHL seasons with the Panthers after being drafted by Pittsburgh and being the second defenseman claimed by Florida in the 1993 expansion draft.
According to hockeyfights.com, Laus was credited with 169 fights during his nine seasons with the Panthers and he ended with 1,702 penalty minutes — an average of 189 per season.
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Laus is the franchise leader in PIM, with Peter Worrell (1,375) joining him as the only Florida players with more than 1,000. In 2001-02, Laus shared co-captain honors with Pavel Bure.
Robert Svehla (1994-2002)
The stats: 573 games; 61 goals, 229 assists, 290 points
The legacy: Svehla only played in five games for the Panthers in the lockout-shortened 1995 season — but he got plenty of ice time in Florida later on.
In 1995-96, Svehla missed one game, and he played in all 82 games of a season four times with the Panthers. In fact, taking away his first season in Florida, Svehla played in 79 games or more in each of his seasons.
Coming into this past season, Svehla ranked third in franchise history with 573 games played — most among all defensemen. He was also third all-time in assists (229) and his 290 points ranked sixth.
Like Pavel Bure, Svehla received 18 of 19 votes in The Athletic’s 25th anniversary team poll.
GOALIE
John Vanbiesbrouck (1993-98)
The stats: 268 games; 106-108-43 record; .912 save percentage/2.58 GAA
The legacy: “The Beezer” became the first hockey star in South Florida as he gave the expansion team immediate legitimacy in net, winning 21 games in that first season.
Vanbiesbrouck led the league in goals above average (55.62) and finished second in voting for the Vezina Trophy and third for the Hart.
The Panthers were able to grab Vanbiesbrouck with the first pick of the expansion draft after he was traded to Vancouver after 11 seasons with the Rangers.
Although his first season in Florida was his best statistically, his third was incredible. He had 26 wins in the regular season and 12 more in the playoffs, helping lead the Panthers to the Stanley Cup finals.
Vanbiesbrouck spent five seasons with the Panthers and his 268 games played and 106 wins are second all-time in franchise history behind Roberto Luongo. His 13 shutouts rank third behind Luongo and Tomas Vokoun.
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Inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2007, Vanbiesbrouck is now the assistant executive director of hockey operations for USA Hockey.
GENERAL MANAGER
Bryan Murray (1994-2000)
When Bobby Clarke left the Panthers after their first season to return home to Philadelphia, Bill Torrey and the Panthers turned to Murray, the former Detroit coach and GM, to take the helm.
Although the Panthers of this first decade were mostly built early on, Murray oversaw three playoff teams and drafted players such as Ed Jovanovski, Radek Dvorak and Rhett Warrener.
Murray, who was fired by the Panthers on Dec. 28, 2000, made quite a few trades in his time running the Panthers, including making the Pavel Bure deal in 1999 as well as acquiring Olli Jokinen and Luongo at the 2000 draft.
One of Murray’s more controversial trades came in 1996 when he broke up part of the original team by sending fan favorites Stu Barnes and Jason Woolley to Pittsburgh in exchange for Chris Wells. Murray’s thought at the time was that the Panthers needed to get “bigger and stronger.”
Both Barnes and Woolley continued to find success in the NHL after leaving the Panthers while Wells struggled in his four seasons (seven goals, 141 games) in Florida.
After being fired by the Panthers, Murray became coach of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and was Anaheim’s GM when they made it to the Cup finals in 2003. Murray also coached Ottawa to the finals in 2007 (losing to the Ducks) and was GM of the Senators from 2007-16.
On Aug. 12, 2017, Murray died at age 74 after a long but inspiring battle with cancer.
COACH
Doug MacLean (1995-97)
The Panthers replaced popular coach Roger Neilson with MacLean in 1995, and his first year as an NHL head coach was a memorable one as the Panthers went all the way to the Stanley Cup finals.
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MacLean signed a three-year contract extension with the Panthers after that run, and Florida had another strong season in 1996-97 as MacLean coached in the All-Star Game and the Panthers made it back to the playoffs.
But after winning Game 1 of their opening-round series against the Rangers in 1997, Florida lost the next four and was booted from the postseason.
The following year, the Panthers won just seven of their first 23 games and were in last place when Murray fired MacLean and took his place — for a short time — behind the bench.
MacLean moved on in a hurry as he became the first GM and team president of the expansion Columbus Blue Jackets in 1998 (they wouldn’t start play until 2000).
MacLean remained with Columbus until 2007 — he coached the team for parts of two seasons and hired Gerard Gallant to coach the Jackets in 2004 — before going into broadcasting.
MacLean still maintains a residence in South Florida and could be in attendance at more Panthers games this winter after announcing Wednesday that he was leaving Rogers Sportsnet.
After covering the greatest game in the world for the past 10 years I won’t be returning to Sportsnet . Thanks to all hockey fans for your great support . To my colleagues, especially @RealKyper thanks for the help and friendships. #pei#florida#golf#book
— Doug Maclean (@DougMaclean) August 28, 2019
THE ARENAS
Miami Arena (1993-98)
The Panthers had a nice home-ice advantage in their early years, playing to sellout crowds of an announced 14,703 almost on a nightly basis in their final three seasons in Overtown.
Of the five seasons the Panthers played in Miami, Florida went to the playoffs twice, won their only postseason series (three, actually) in franchise history and won 51 percent of their regular-season games there when ties are taken out of the equation.
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Playing in Miami Arena, which was undersized and built for the expansion Miami Heat in the late 1980s, was always a temporary solution until owner H. Wayne Huizenga could find a new home for the team.
After the Panthers’ run to the Cup finals in 1996, Huizenga found a partner in Broward County and ground broke on the new $185 million arena off the Sawgrass Expressway in November of that year.
The Panthers played their final game at Miami Arena on April 16, 1998, losing 7-3 to the Flyers.
The 1997-98 Panthers were a major disappointment. MacLean was fired in November after a 7-12-4 start, and the Panthers finished with just 63 points that season — second-worst in the league.
Florida lost three of its final four played at Miami Arena. During the two playoff seasons there (1995-97), the Panthers were 46-24-12 at home and 8-6 in 14 postseason games.
National Car Rental (later Office Depot, BankAtlantic and BB&T) Center, Sunrise (1998-present)
The Panthers officially christened their new palatial digs on the edge of the Everglades with a 4-1 victory over Tampa Bay on Oct. 9, 1998.
In the opener, Florida played in front of the first of 13 sellouts during the 1998-99 season as the Panthers averaged 18,493 fans in that first Sunrise season — fourth-best in the NHL.
The Panthers missed the playoffs for the second consecutive season but went 17-7-7 on home ice and made big news on Jan. 19, 1999, when they traded for Pavel Bure.
The following year, the Panthers — with Bure for a full season — recorded a then-record 98 points by going 26-9-4-2 on their new home ice. They returned to the playoffs for the third time in their seven seasons.
(Top photo of John Vanbiesbrouck: Steve Mitchell / USA Today)
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