It’s Time for a Florida Panthers ‘Den of Honor.’ Here’s Who Should Start It

The Florida Panthers are about two months out from starting their 32nd NHL season so perhaps it is time to start talking about how the franchise can begin to honor some of the top players in their history.

Right now, the only player in Florida Panthers history who has his number retired is Roberto Luongo and his No. 1.

The franchise has also retired No. 93 for original team president and Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Bill Torrey, and No. 37 for founder and original owner H. Wayne Huizenga.

Now, after the run of success the Florida Panthers have had, plenty more numbers will be retired — that, you can be sure of.

Aside from captain Sasha Barkov and No. 16, it is probably safe to say that no one will ever wear No. 5 (Aaron Ekblad) or No. 72 (Sergei Bobrovsky) with the Panthers again.

Others could join them in the Sunrise rafters someday as well.

The Panthers, after all, might just be getting started on their road to a dynasty.

Bill Zito and Paul Maurice will likely be honored in the same way Torrey and Huizenga are.

But what about for the other standouts in franchise history who probably do not rise to the level of getting a number retired?

A number of teams, including the Vancouver Canucks, have come up with a way to honor players who played a huge role in their franchise and need to be recognized in some way.

The Canucks have a ‘Ring of Honor.’

The Panthers could go with a ‘Den of Honor,’ where big names from their past can be honored.

Think Pavel Bure.

Bure was perhaps the most electric player to even don a Florida Panthers jersey, but he was only here for a short time.

Should the No. 10 be retired for Bure?

Probably not.

But with a ‘Den of Honor,’ the Panthers could certainly recognize players of his ilk while reserving the jersey retirement for players such as Barkov.

With the Panthers celebrating — OK, we don’t know if they’re doing anything specific, but they should — the 30th anniversary of the 1996 Panthers team that put hockey on the map in South Florida, we present the inaugural Florida Panthers ‘Den of Honor.’

This is the Florida Hockey Now class, with six former Panthers (five players, one builder) getting in first, with more to come through the years.

Who would you like to see in a Florida Panthers ‘Den of Honor?’

Leave your suggestions in the comment section.

INAUGURAL FLORIDA PANTHERS

‘DEN OF HONOR’

FHN CLASS OF 2026

PLAYERS

Pavel Bure

1998-99 / 2001-02

The ‘Russian Rocket’ put a jolt into the Panthers from the moment he arrived in a blockbuster, midseason trade with the Vancouver Canucks in 1999.