Wayne Huizenga and they played their first games at the Miami Arena. The team featured some star players like Rob Niedermayer, Scott Mellanby and John Vanbriesbrouck and had a very successful first season but just missed the playoffs.

Two seasons later, Roger Nielson was fired as coach and Doug MacLean was hired in his place. In the same season, there was an unusual goal celebration which was created. Just before their opening game, Mellanby saw a rat running across the locker room and killed it. Later in the game, he scored two goals. Vanbriesbrouck called it a “rat trick” in jest and soon fans started throwing rubber rats on the rink whenever a goal was scored. The Panthers made the playoffs that year and defeated the Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers and the Pittsburgh Penguins to reach the Stanley Cup Finals. They lost to the Colorado Avalanche.

The next season started well for the Florida Panthers with seventeen straight wins. They made the playoffs but they lost in the first round to the New York Rangers. The next few years were not as successful for the Panthers. Coach Doug MacLean was fired and Bryan Murray replaced him. The 1997 season was also the last for Vanbriesbrouck. The Panthers moved to the National Car Rental Center for their home games in 1998. This is now known as the BankAtlantic Center. They acquired Pavel Bure from the Vancouver Canucks in 1999. He was also known as the “Russian Rocket”. In 2000, they made the playoffs again but lost to the New Jersey Devils in the first round.

The next two seasons were the worst for the Panthers. They had their worst record in the 2001 season. The Panthers were the hosts for the All-Star Weekend in 2003 which the Western Conference won. In 2006 and 2007, the team has acquired players like Bryan Allen, Shawn Matthias, Alex Auld and Tomas Vokoun. The present team captain is Olli Jokinen.

The Current Staff

The Panthers are currently owned by Alan Cohen and Bernie Kosar. Their General Manager and Head Coach is Jacques Martin. The team is based in Sunrise, Florida and they play their home games at the Bank Atlantic Center. The team colors are Navy, Gold, Red and White. The Panthers have not yet retired any of their jersey numbers. The Hall of Fame include their first head coach Roger Neilson and their first President Bill Torrey.