1993–94 Florida Panthers season

#	Player	Drafted from	Drafted by
1.	John Vanbiesbrouck (G)	Vancouver Canucks	Florida Panthers
4.	Mark Fitzpatrick (G)	Quebec Nordiques	Florida Panthers
5.	Daren Puppa (G)	Toronto Maple Leafs	Florida Panthers
7.	Milan Tichy (D)	Chicago Blackhawks	Florida Panthers
10.	Paul Laus (D)	Pittsburgh Penguins	Florida Panthers
12.	Joe Cirella (D)	New York Rangers	Florida Panthers
13.	Alexander Godynyuk (D)	Calgary Flames	Florida Panthers
15.	Gord Murphy (D)	Dallas Stars	Florida Panthers
18.	Steve Bancroft (D)	Winnipeg Jets	Florida Panthers
20.	Stephane Richer (D)	Boston Bruins	Florida Panthers
21.	Gord Hynes (D)	Philadelphia Flyers	Florida Panthers
24.	Tom Fitzgerald (C/RW)	New York Islanders	Florida Panthers
25.	Jesse Belanger (C)	Montreal Canadiens	Florida Panthers
27.	Scott Levins (C)	Winnipeg Jets	Florida Panthers
30.	Scott Mellanby (RW)	Edmonton Oilers	Florida Panthers
32.	Brian Skrudland (C)	Calgary Flames	Florida Panthers
33.	Mike Hough (LW)	Washington Capitals	Florida Panthers
35.	Dave Lowry (LW)	St. Louis Blues	Florida Panthers
38.	Bill Lindsay (LW)	Quebec Nordiques	Florida Panthers
40.	Andrei Lomakin (RW)	Philadelphia Flyers	Florida Panthers
41.	Randy Gilhen (C)	Tampa Bay Lightning	Florida Panthers
43.	Doug Barrault (LW)	Dallas Stars	Florida Panthers
46.	Marc Labelle (LW)	Ottawa Senators	Florida Panthers
48.	Pete Stauber (LW)	Detroit Red Wings	Florida Panthers

NHL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	College/junior/club team
1.	5.	Rob Niedermayer (C)	Canada	Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)

Regular season

October

The Panthers played their first ever regular season game on October 6, as they recorded a 4-4 tie on the road against the Chicago Blackhawks. Scott Mellanby scored the first ever Panthers goal, against Ed Belfour. On October 9, in their third game, the club earned their first victory and shutout, as John Vanbiesbrouck made 36 saves in a 2-0 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. On October 12, Florida played their first home game, losing 2-1 to the Pittsburgh Penguins, as Mellanby scored the first goal on home ice. The Panthers first win at home came on October 14, as they defeated the Ottawa Senators 5-4, as Rob Niedermayer scored the winning goal midway through the third period. In a game against the Los Angeles Kings on October 19, the Panthers fired 52 shots at Kings goaltender Kelly Hrudey, however, the club had to settle for a 2-2 tie.

After a five game winless streak, in which Florida posted a 0-3-2 record, the team finished October with two consecutive wins, defeating the New York Islanders 5-2 and the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1. Florida finished the month with a 4-5-3 record, good for fifth in the Atlantic Division, and tied for eighth in the Eastern Conference.

November

Florida opened November with two consecutive losses, before heading out for a three game road trip. Florida went a perfect 3-0-0 on the road, highlighted by a 3-1 win over the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Montreal Canadiens, as John Vanbiesbrouck led the way with 37 saves. The Panthers struggled on their five game homestand, as they went 1-4-0, only earning a victory against the Washington Capitals. Florida ended the month on a quick two game road trip, losing to the Boston Bruins, then suffered their first ever shutout loss, as they were defeated 4-0 by the Hartford Whalers.

At the end of November, the Panthers had a record of 8-13-3, earning 19 points, and sat in sixth in the Atlantic Division, and 11th in the Eastern Conference.

December

Florida started December with a solid 2-1 overtime victory over the Buffalo Sabres, as Jesse Belanger scored the overtime winner, and John Vanbiesbrouck was solid with 33 saves. The Panthers then went on a five game road trip, beginning with a 2-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks on December 5. On December 7, Florida faced their expansion cousins, the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, winning the game 3-2. The next night, the Panthers defeated the Los Angeles Kings 6-5. They finished their road swing with a 5-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets and a 4-4 tie with the Dallas Stars, going 3-1-1. Florida finished the month continuing to play good hockey, going 3-1-2 in their remaining six games in December.

By the end of the month, Florida had an overall record of 15-15-6, getting 36 points, sitting in fifth place in the Atlantic Division, and 10th in the Eastern Conference, only one point out of eighth place for the final playoff position.

January

The Panthers began January where they left off in December, earning a 4-2 win over the Anaheim Mighty Ducks on New Years Day, to move over the .500 level, and into eighth place in the Eastern Conference. The club then began a six game road trip, which began with two losses, 3-2 to the New York Rangers, and 4-1 to the New Jersey Devils. Florida rebounded in the next two games, earning ties against the Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins. The team finished the road trip with two wins, defeating the Montreal Canadiens 5-2, and the New York Islanders 2-1, to earn a respectable 2-2-2 record. Florida continued winning when the returned home, beating the Washington Capitals 5-1 on January 19, followed by a 8-3 blowout victory against the Montreal Canadiens to push their record to 20-17-8. The club finished January going 1-0-2 in their last three games, as they extended their overall unbeaten streak to nine games.

At the end of January, the Panthers had a 21-17-10 record, earning 52 points, and were in third place in the Atlantic Division, and sixth in the Eastern Conference.

February

The team opened February with two games on the road, and in the first game on February 1, the Panthers unbeaten streak came to an end, as the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated Florida 2-1. The Panthers rebounded the next night, defeating the Ottawa Senators 4-1, as Rob Niedermayer had two goals, and Mark Fitzpatrick made 32 saves for the win. The team returned home for two games, as they were blown out 7-2 against the Buffalo Sabres on February 4, however, Florida won their next game, shutting out the Boston Bruins 3-0, with Mark Fitzpatrick making 19 saves. The Panthers lost their next game in overtime, 4-3 to the Philadelphia Flyers, as Eric Lindros scored the winning goal, however, the team followed up the heart breaking loss with a solid 4-3 win over the New York Islanders. On February 13, the Panthers defeated the Vancouver Canucks 2-1 to improve to 25-20-10 on the season.

The club then went on another quick two game road trip, where they lost both games, including a 7-3 blowout loss to the Detroit Red Wings. When returning home, the Red Wings defeated Florida again, this time by a 4-1 score, as the club was on a three game losing streak. Florida snapped the losing streak with a 3-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets, however, the team would lose their last three games of the month to fall back to the .500 level.

At the end of February, Florida had a 26-26-10 record, earning 62 points, which had them in fourth place in the Atlantic Division, and eighth in the Eastern Conference, tied with the Philadelphia Flyers in points, however, Florida had two games in hand.

March

Florida continued to struggle into March, losing their first two games, 3-2 to the New Jersey Devils, and 4-1 to the Hartford Whalers, to push their losing streak to four games, and seven of their last eight games. On March 7, the team began a three game road trip to Western Canada, and they put an end to their losing streak as Mark Fitzpatrick made 34 saves in a 2-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks. In their next game against the Edmonton Oilers, the Panthers won 5-3 to go back to the .500 level. The club finished the trip with a loss to the Calgary Flames by a 4-2 score.

Florida returned home for a six game home stand, in which the Panthers went unbeaten, going 3-0-3, which included wins over the New York Rangers, Calgary Flames and Philadelphia Flyers, making their overall season record at 31-29-13. On March 24, the Panthers nearly overcame a 4-0 deficit, losing 4-3 to the Philadelphia Flyers, to end their unbeaten streak. The club rebounded in their next game, defeating the New York Islanders 3-1. The team ended March with two more losses though, losing to the Dallas Stars and St. Louis Blues.

By the end of March, the Panthers had a 32-32-13 record, earning 77 points, which had the club in fourth place in the Atlantic Division, and clinging to eighth in the Eastern Conference for the final playoff position, four points of the ninth place Philadelphia Flyers, and five ahead of the 10th place New York Islanders.

April

The club opened April with a disappointing 2-2 tie against the lowly Ottawa Senators at home before heading out on a three game road trip. The Panthers continued to struggle, dropping a 3-2 decision to the New York Rangers. On April 5, the Panthers blew a 3-1 third period lead against the Quebec Nordiques, and settled for a 3-3 tie, extending their winless streak to five games. On April 7, Florida overcame a 3-1 deficit, earning a 3-3 tie against the Philadelphia Flyers. The club returned home for their final three games, and the winless streak continued, as the Panthers tied the New Jersey Devils 2-2, followed by a 5-2 loss to the Quebec Nordiques, pushing their winless streak to eight games, as Florida slipped into ninth place, behind the New York Islanders. On April 13, the Panthers were officially eliminated from the post-season, as the Islanders defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning to clinch the eighth and final playoff position. The Panthers played their final game of the season on April 14, defeating the Islanders 4-1.

The Panthers finished the 1993-94 season with a 33-34-17 record, earning 83 points, which is an NHL record for points by an expansion team. Florida finished the season in fifth place in the Atlantic Division, and ninth in the Eastern Conference, just one point of a playoff position.

Season standings

Atlantic Division
No.	CR		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	1	z-New York Rangers	84	52	24	8	299	231	112
2	3	New Jersey Devils	84	47	25	12	306	220	106
3	7	Washington Capitals	84	39	35	10	277	263	88
4	8	New York Islanders	84	36	36	12	282	264	84
5	9	Florida Panthers	84	33	34	17	233	233	83
6	10	Philadelphia Flyers	84	35	39	10	294	314	80
7	12	Tampa Bay Lightning	84	30	43	11	224	251	71

^[1] Note: No. = Division rank, CR = Conference rank, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Schedule and results

No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	T	October 6, 1993	4–4 OT	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1993–94)	0–0–1
2	L	October 7, 1993	3–5	@ St. Louis Blues (1993–94)	0–1–1
3	W	October 9, 1993	2–0	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1993–94)	1–1–1
4	L	October 12, 1993	1–2	Pittsburgh Penguins (1993–94)	1–2–1
5	W	October 14, 1993	5–4	Ottawa Senators (1993–94)	2–2–1
6	T	October 17, 1993	3–3 OT	Tampa Bay Lightning (1993–94)	2–2–2
7	T	October 19, 1993	2–2 OT	Los Angeles Kings (1993–94)	2–2–3
8	L	October 21, 1993	3–4 OT	Toronto Maple Leafs (1993–94)	2–3–3
9	L	October 23, 1993	1–2	@ New Jersey Devils (1993–94)	2–4–3
10	L	October 26, 1993	2–5	Winnipeg Jets (1993–94)	2–5–3
11	W	October 28, 1993	5–2	New York Islanders (1993–94)	3–5–3
12	W	October 30, 1993	2–1 OT	Tampa Bay Lightning (1993–94)	4–5–3
13	L	November 2, 1993	3–4	Philadelphia Flyers (1993–94)	4–6–3
14	L	November 3, 1993	3–6	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1993–94)	4–7–3
15	W	November 7, 1993	3–1	@ Quebec Nordiques (1993–94)	5–7–3
16	W	November 10, 1993	3–1	@ Montreal Canadiens (1993–94)	6–7–3
17	W	November 11, 1993	5–4	@ Ottawa Senators (1993–94)	7–7–3
18	L	November 14, 1993	2–5	Quebec Nordiques (1993–94)	7–8–3
19	L	November 16, 1993	2–4	New York Rangers (1993–94)	7–9–3
20	L	November 18, 1993	2–3	Chicago Blackhawks (1993–94)	7–10–3
21	W	November 20, 1993	4–3	Washington Capitals (1993–94)	8–10–3
22	L	November 23, 1993	1–2 OT	Hartford Whalers (1993–94)	8–11–3
23	L	November 26, 1993	2–3	@ Boston Bruins (1993–94)	8–12–3
24	L	November 27, 1993	0–4	@ Hartford Whalers (1993–94)	8–13–3
25	W	December 2, 1993	2–1 OT	Buffalo Sabres (1993–94)	9–13–3
26	L	December 5, 1993	1–2	@ San Jose Sharks (1993–94)	9–14–3
27	W	December 7, 1993	3–2	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1993–94)	10–14–3
28	W	December 8, 1993	6–5	@ Los Angeles Kings (1993–94)	11–14–3
29	W	December 10, 1993	5–2	@ Winnipeg Jets (1993–94)	12–14–3
30	T	December 12, 1993	4–4 OT	@ Dallas Stars (1993–94)	12–14–4
31	T	December 15, 1993	3–3 OT	Montreal Canadiens (1993–94)	12–14–5
32	L	December 19, 1993	1–2 OT	Boston Bruins (1993–94)	12–15–5
33	W	December 22, 1993	3–2	New York Rangers (1993–94)	13–15–5
34	W	December 26, 1993	3–1	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1993–94)	14–15–5
35	T	December 28, 1993	3–3 OT	@ Washington Capitals (1993–94)	14–15–6
36	W	December 29, 1993	5–3	@ Hartford Whalers (1993–94)	15–15–6
37	W	January 1, 1994	4–2	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1993–94)	16–15–6
38	L	January 3, 1994	2–3	@ New York Rangers (1993–94)	16–16–6
39	L	January 7, 1994	1–4	@ New Jersey Devils (1993–94)	16–17–6
40	T	January 8, 1994	2–2 OT	@ Boston Bruins (1993–94)	16–17–7
41	T	January 13, 1994	2–2 OT	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1993–94)	16–17–8
42	W	January 15, 1994	5–2	@ Montreal Canadiens (1993–94)	17–17–8
43	W	January 17, 1994	2–1	@ New York Islanders (1993–94)	18–17–8
44	W	January 19, 1994	5–1	Washington Capitals (1993–94)	19–17–8
45	W	January 24, 1994	8–3	Montreal Canadiens (1993–94)	20–17–8
46	T	January 26, 1994	1–1 OT	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1993–94)	20–17–9
47	T	January 28, 1994	3–3 OT	San Jose Sharks (1993–94)	20–17–10
48	W	January 30, 1994	3–2	@ Buffalo Sabres (1993–94)	21–17–10
49	L	February 1, 1994	1–2	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1993–94)	21–18–10
50	W	February 2, 1994	4–1	@ Ottawa Senators (1993–94)	22–18–10
51	L	February 4, 1994	2–7	Buffalo Sabres (1993–94)	22–19–10
52	W	February 6, 1994	3–0	Boston Bruins (1993–94)	23–19–10
53	L	February 10, 1994	3–4 OT	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1993–94)	23–20–10
54	W	February 12, 1994	4–3	@ New York Islanders (1993–94)	24–20–10
55	W	February 13, 1994	2–1	Vancouver Canucks (1993–94)	25–20–10
56	L	February 16, 1994	3–7	@ Detroit Red Wings (1993–94)	25–21–10
57	L	February 18, 1994	1–4	@ Buffalo Sabres (1993–94)	25–22–10
58	L	February 20, 1994	3–4 OT	Detroit Red Wings (1993–94)	25–23–10
59	W	February 22, 1994	3–2	@ Winnipeg Jets (1993–94)	26–23–10
60	L	February 24, 1994	1–2	Washington Capitals (1993–94)	26–24–10
61	L	February 26, 1994	2–4	@ Washington Capitals (1993–94)	26–25–10
62	L	February 28, 1994	3–4	Pittsburgh Penguins (1993–94)	26–26–10
63	L	March 2, 1994	2–3	New Jersey Devils (1993–94)	26–27–10
64	L	March 4, 1994	1–2	Hartford Whalers (1993–94)	26–28–10
65	W	March 7, 1994	2–1	@ Vancouver Canucks (1993–94)	27–28–10
66	W	March 9, 1994	5–3	@ Edmonton Oilers (1993–94)	28–28–10
67	L	March 11, 1994	2–4	@ Calgary Flames (1993–94)	28–29–10
68	W	March 14, 1994	2–1	New York Rangers (1993–94)	29–29–10
69	W	March 16, 1994	2–1	Calgary Flames (1993–94)	30–29–10
70	T	March 18, 1994	4–4 OT	Edmonton Oilers (1993–94)	30–29–11
71	W	March 20, 1994	5–3	Philadelphia Flyers (1993–94)	31–29–11
72	T	March 21, 1994	3–3 OT	New Jersey Devils (1993–94)	31–29–12
73	T	March 23, 1994	1–1 OT	Toronto Maple Leafs (1993–94)	31–29–13
74	L	March 24, 1994	3–4	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1993–94)	31–30–13
75	W	March 26, 1994	3–1	@ New York Islanders (1993–94)	32–30–13
76	L	March 28, 1994	4–5	Dallas Stars (1993–94)	32–31–13
77	L	March 30, 1994	1–3	St. Louis Blues (1993–94)	32–32–13
78	T	April 2, 1994	2–2 OT	Ottawa Senators (1993–94)	32–32–14
79	L	April 4, 1994	2–3	@ New York Rangers (1993–94)	32–33–14
80	T	April 5, 1994	3–3 OT	@ Quebec Nordiques (1993–94)	32–33–15
81	T	April 7, 1994	3–3 OT	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1993–94)	32–33–16
82	T	April 10, 1994	2–2 OT	New Jersey Devils (1993–94)	32–33–17
83	L	April 12, 1994	2–5	Quebec Nordiques (1993–94)	32–34–17
84	W	April 14, 1994	4–1	New York Islanders (1993–94)	33–34–17

Player statistics

Forwards

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Scott Mellanby	80	30	30	60	149
Jesse Belanger	70	17	33	50	16
Andrei Lomakin	76	19	28	47	26
Brian Skrudland	79	15	25	40	136
Stu Barnes	59	18	20	38	30
Dave Lowry	80	15	22	37	64
Tom Fitzgerald	83	18	14	32	54
Bob Kudelski	44	14	15	29	10
Mike Hough	78	6	23	29	62
Jody Hull	69	13	13	26	8
Rob Niedermayer	65	9	17	26	51
Bill Lindsay	84	6	6	12	97
Scott Levins	29	5	6	11	69
Mike Foligno	39	4	5	9	49
Randy Gilhen	20	4	4	8	16
Evgeny Davydov	21	2	6	8	8
Patrick Lebeau	4	1	1	2	4
Jamie Leach	2	1	0	1	0
Jeff Greenlaw	4	0	1	1	2
Doug Barrault	2	0	0	0	0
Len Barrie	2	0	0	0	0
Jeff Daniels	7	0	0	0	0

Defencemen

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Gord Murphy	84	14	29	43	71
Brian Benning	73	6	24	30	107
Greg Hawgood	33	2	14	16	9
Keith Brown	51	4	8	12	60
Brent Severyn	67	4	7	11	156
Alexander Godynyuk	26	0	10	10	35
Joe Cirella	63	1	9	10	99
Geoff Smith	56	1	5	6	38
Peter Andersson	8	1	1	2	0
Paul Laus	39	2	0	2	109
Stephane Richer	2	0	1	1	0
Greg Smyth	12	1	0	1	37
Dallas Eakins	1	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SV% = Save percentage ; GAA = Goals against average; SO = Shutouts

Player	GP	W	L	T	SV%	GAA	SO
John Vanbiesbrouck	57	21	25	11	.924	2.53	1
Mark Fitzpatrick	28	12	8	6	.914	2.73	1
Pokey Reddick	2	0	1	0	.822	6.00	0

Awards and records

John Vanbiesbrouck, Goaltender, NHL Second Team All-Star

Transactions

Trades listed are from June 1, 1993, to June 1, 1994.

Date	Traded	Acquired	Acquired from
June 26	1993 2nd rd. pick	1993 2nd rd. pick, 1993 3rd rd. pick	Winnipeg Jets
July 30	cash	Dave Tomlinson	Toronto Maple Leafs
Aug 3	Dave Tomlinson	Jason Cirone	Winnipeg Jets
Sept 30	Darin Kimble	Evgeny Davydov, 1994 conditional 4th rd. pick	Winnipeg Jets
Oct 3	Milan Tichy	Brent Severyn	Winnipeg Jets
Nov 5	cash	Mike Foligno	Toronto Maple Leafs
Nov 3	Anatoli Semenov	Dave Capuano, 1994 4th rd. pick	Vancouver Canucks
Nov 25	Randy Gilhen, conditional pick	Stu Barnes, 1994 6th rd. pick	Winnipeg Jets
Nov 28	cash	Greg Hawgood	Philadelphia Flyers
Dec 6	1994 3rd rd. pick, 1994 6th rd. pick	Geoff Smith, 1994 4th rd. pick	Edmonton Oilers
Dec 7	Greg Smyth	future considerations	Toronto Maple Leafs
Dec 16	Alexander Godynyuk	Jim McKenzie	Hartford Whalers
Dec 16	Jim McKenzie	1995 4th rd. pick	Dallas Stars
Jan 6	Evgeny Davydov, Scott Levins, 1994 6th rd pick. 1995 4th rd. pick	Bob Kudelski	Ottawa Senators
Mar 19	Greg Hawgood	Jeff Daniels	Pittsburgh Penguins
Mar 21	1994 9th rd. pick	Peter Andersson	New York Rangers

References

↑ Standings: NHL Public Relations Department (2008). Dave McCarthy; et al., eds. THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Official Guide & Record Book/2009. National Hockey League. p. 154. ISBN 978-1-894801-14-0.

Panthers on Hockey Database

1993–94 NHL season

Northeast	Boston Buffalo Hartford Montreal Ottawa Pittsburgh Quebec

Atlantic	Florida New Jersey NY Islanders NY Rangers Philadelphia Tampa Bay Washington

Central	Chicago Dallas Detroit St. Louis Toronto Winnipeg

Pacific	Anaheim Calgary Edmonton Los Angeles San Jose Vancouver

See also	Entry Draft Expansion Draft Supplemental Draft All-Star Game Stanley Cup playoffs Stanley Cup finals Stanley Cup riot

Florida Panthers

Founded in 1993 Based in Sunrise, Florida

Franchise	Team General Managers Coaches Players Draft picks Seasons Current season

History	Expansion Draft Records Award winners

Personnel	Owner Sunrise Sports and Entertainment (Vincent Viola, chairman) General manager Dale Tallon Head coach Gerard Gallant Team captain Willie Mitchell Current roster

Arenas	Miami Arena BB&T Center

Affiliates	AHL Portland Pirates

General Managers	Clarke Murray Torrey Fletcher Dudley Keenan Martin Sexton Tallon

Head Coaches	Neilson MacLean B. Murray T. Murray Sutter Keenan Dudley Torchetti Martin DeBoer Dineen Horachek Gallant

Media	TV FSFlorida Radio WQAM

Culture	Rat trick

Florida Panthers seasons

1990s	1990–91 . 1991–92 . 1992–93 . 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00

2000s	2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10

2010s	2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15

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