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Florida Panthers (NHL, 1993-94)

1993-94 Regular Season
     NHL hockey arrived in Miami, Florida, in the spring of 1993, the second NHL franchise to call Florida home. Wayne Huizenga, founder of Waste Management, Inc. and co-owner of Blockbuster Video, purchased the expansion franchise, naming it "Florida Panthers" in honor of the endangered panther population in the state. The team played it's home games at the 14,703-seat Miami Arena, sharing the building with the NBA's Miami Heat.
     Huizenga hired wisely for his new franchise, bringing in former Islanders GM Bill Torrey as President and Bobby Clarke as GM. Clarke, in turn, hired former Rangers head coach Roger Nielsen to lead the new franchise behind the bench. The Panthers selected defenseman Rob Niedermayer with their first pick in the NHL Draft, a smart move, as Niedermayer would play for the Panthers for the next eight seasons. In the expansion draft, Florida built a tough, defensive-minded team that was strong in net. Their first two picks were used on netminders, and they selected former Rangers starter John Vanbiesbrouck and former Islanders backup Mark Fitzpatrick.
     Expansion teams are usually bottom feeders. For every Vegas Golden Knights, there's a 1975 Washington Capitals (8-67-5) or 1993 Ottawa Senators (10-70-4). However, the Panthers were surprisingly competitive in their first season. Thanks to strong goaltending and the "neutral zone trap" defense system, the Panthers finished the 1993-94 season with a 33-34-17 record, good enough for fifth place in the Atlantic Division. Their 83 points were a record for an expansion franchise, and just one point behind the New York Islanders for the final playoff spot.
     The Panthers were weak on offense, scoring the fifth-fewest goals in the NHL, with just 233. The team had one 30-goal scorer, as former Oiler Scott Mellanby had 30 goals and 60 points. In fact, the Panthers didn't have any 20-goal scorers either, as the next closest was Andrei Lomakin, with 19.
     It was on defense where the Panthers shined. As one of the first teams to utilize the neutral zone trap, the Panthers ended up allowing the fifth fewest goals in the league, with just 233. Vanbiesbrouck was the starter that season, as the veteran played in 57 games. "Beezer" went 21-25-11 with a 2.53 GAA and 1 shutout. His backup, Mark Fitzpatrick, was 12-8-6 in 28 games with a 2.73 GAA and 1 shutout. Eldon "Pokey" Reddick, assigned to the Panther's farm team in Cincinnati, played in two games.
     This is a 72-page program/yearbook, all in color. All the players from the first season have their own full-page bio, while the players "In the System" have a brief paragraph on pages 58-61. The front office and coaching staff are profiled in the first few pages. Florida's minor league affiliates, the IHL's Cincinnati Cyclones and ECHL's Birmingham Bulls, are found on page 61 as well. Articles include a brief history of the franchise, the arena, and the Panthers' community involvement.
     Local advertisements include The Miami Herald, Blockbuster Video, Alamo Rent-a-Car, and Manchester Equipment Company. Marlboro had one of their "Marlboro Man" ads on the back of this yearbook, an ad that wouldn't be around much longer.

Aftermath: The Panthers made the playoffs for the first time in 1995-96, and would make that trip a memorable one. Led by strong goaltending from John Vanbiesbrouck and a tough, disciplined lineup (along with a barrage of plastic rats whenever the team scored), the Panthers would reach the Stanley Cup Finals before being swept by the Colorado Avalanche.
References:
National Hockey League Statistics, 1993-94, from hockeydb.com
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