Alan Greenberg, FHN Sr. Writer
With hockey taking its summer break, my thoughts turn to reminiscing about the past 18 seasons during which I have had the privilege of observing the Florida Panthers from the pressbox.
While the Panthers’ players are out golfing, the front office has been hard at work.
The start of free agency and the Panthers’ annual development camp, where young talent as showcased and evaluated, overlapped.
With both Sergei Bobrovsky and Daniil Tarasov unsigned going into free agency and a host of players with expiring contracts, Bill Zito and staff had a very active few weeks.
If history is an indicator, they may not be done yet despite a seemingly set roster.
Back to my reminiscing.
My best estimate is that I’ve seen 299 players in a Panthers’ uniform during my 18 seasons covering them.
Since their inception, 485 players wore the uniform.
Of that group, Sasha Barkov and Aaron Ekblad are tied for the most regular season games played at 804.
A total of six played just one game during my time following the team. Of the players who played a single game in the Panthers full history, the shortest time on ice record goes to Paul Brousseau who played one game against Columbus in 2001 — and accumulated 1:39 of ice time.
The shortest goalie career goes to Brian Foster, who was called up from the AHL to back up Scott Clemmenson when No. 1 goalie Jose Theodore was injured.
Foster’s NHL career lasted 4:52 with the Panthers. He made one save and has an unblemished GAA of 0.00.
At 15:08 of the second period in Tampa on Feb. 4, 2012, Foster relieved Clemmenson, who was slightly shaken up.
Clemmenson returned for the third period and Foster’s NHL career was over.
Ironically, over this time frame the goalies (who played more than 20 games) with the lowest goals-against averages were backups.
Anthony Stolarz was at 2.03 in his one season and Chris Driedger was 2.07 in his two partial seasons. By comparison, Bobrovsky, who brought two Stanley Cups to Florida, had an average of 2.80 while in a Panthers’ uniform.
Overall, Roberto Luongo leads all goalies in games played at 572 while Bobrovsky is at 349.
The NHL did not begin tracking time on ice until the 2005-06 season.
During the 18 seasons under review, Barkov had the most goals at 286 and the most points at 782. Matthew Tkachuk had the best points per game average at 1.19.
The honor of most penalty minutes goes to Ekblad at 560 with Sam Bennett second at 433 in fewer than half as many games.
Barkov’s 84 power play goals in 804 games leads the group but Sam Reinhart has 83 in 385 games.
During my tenure the Panthers had as few as 36 points in the lockout shortened 2012-13 season, which put them in position to draft Barkov. They recorded the most points (122) when they won the Presidents’ Trophy in 2021-22.
The most crushing home defeat was the 2012 double-OT loss to New Jersey in Game 7.
Prior to that season, the Panthers had gone 10 seasons without qualifying for the playoffs.
The toughest road loss was the double-OT loss in Brooklyn to the Islanders in Game 6, ending a brief stay in the 2016 playoffs.
Naturally, the top moments were the two Cup wins at home.
There were celebrations for personal achievements, such as Keith Yandle and Roberto Luongo’s 1,000th NHL game; Jaromir Jagr’s 1,888th point, passing Mark Messier for second place behind Wayne Gretzky; and more recently, Jeff Petry and Dmitry Kulikov celebrated 1,000 games.
Brad Marchand got his 1,000th point.
There were some oddities in Sunrise. The record-setting 20 round shootout against Washington in 2014 was one.
In 2015, both Florida goalies — Luongo and Al Montoya — were injured.
Montoya stayed in the game in obvious pain until Luongo, who was in street clothes after having a CT scan, put the gear back on to return to action.
During the delay, Luongo had left the arena for a CT scan at a hospital in Weston, both goaltending coach Robb Tallas, who was ineligible, and forward Derek MacKenzie were ready to take over in net.
This dilemma led to the NHL passing the “EBUG” rule whereby every team had to have a designated emergency backup goaltender available for either team to utilize in the event two goalies were unable to play.
The rule, which led to some interesting situations and brief moments of fame for a few, was changed prior to this coming season. Teams must now employ a designated travelling emergency backup goaltender.
The NHL draft was held in Florida in 2015. That is the draft which produced Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel. Some of us were a bit aghast when McDavid was asked how he spent the day prior to the evening event. He said he went jet skiing.
In 2023, the NHL All-Star weekend was here in South Florida after covid caused a two-year postponement. That was purely fun stuff showcasing the best of the NHL.
During the 2023-24 season, the Panthers moved into their new state-of-the-art training facility. The IcePlex in Ft. Lauderdale includes two sheets of ice, a restaurant and a large team store.
With the success of the team in recent years merchandise sales have skyrocketed.
Nobody knows what tomorrow will bring, but for me, it has been a great ride.
ON DECK: FLORIDA PANTHERS OFFSEASON
- NHL Free Agency: Opened July 1
- Panthers Rookie Camp/Tournament: Late August/Early Sept.; Site TBA
- Panthers Training Camp: Early/Mid September; Fort Lauderdale
- Panthers Preseason (Four Games): Starts Sept. 20 vs. Carolina Hurricanes
- 2026-27 NHL Season Opens: Late September; Site, Opponent TBA