SUNRISE, Fla. – The National Hockey League announced today the Florida Panthers Quarter-Century First and Second Teams as voted on by panel of South Florida media, retired players and executives. Voters were asked to determine the Panthers best players over the past quarter-century (Jan. 1, 2000 to today), with each team including three forwards, two defensemen and one goaltender.
Roberto Luongo unveiled the 12 players on the Scripps Sports pregame show prior to tonight’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Fans can watch a replay of the unveiling on Panthers Plus.
Once all franchises' teams are announced, a League-wide fan vote will take place to determine the NHL Quarter-Century Team. Voting will take place Feb. 12-26 on NHL.com and X, with results to be announced at a later date.
Florida’s teams are below:
First Team
- Forward Aleksander Barkov
- Forward Jonathan Huberdeau
- Forward Matthew Tkachuk
- Defenseman Aaron Ekblad
- Defenseman Gustav Forsling
- Goaltender Roberto Luongo
Florida’s first team is highlighted by Hockey Hall of Famer Roberto Luongo and features four current Panthers skaters in Barkov, Tkachuk, Ekblad and Forsling.
From Jan. 1, 2000 to Dec. 31, 2024, Luongo earned the second-most wins of any goaltender (486) while posting the best save percentage (.919) of any goaltender with at least 600 appearances. He was the busiest goaltender during the span, making a league-high 28,114 saves while facing 30,602 shots against, the most of any goaltender. Luongo registered at least a .900 save percentage in 648 of his 1,035 games started, the most such appearances of any netminder, and is the only player to have his number retired by the Florida Panthers. He now serves as special advisor to the general manager.
Aleksander Barkov captained the Panthers to their first Stanley Cup in franchise history last season and has won two Frank J. Selke trophies (2020-21, 2023-24) and one Lady Byng Trophy (2018-19). The longest-tenured captain in franchise history, Barkov is the franchise leader in almost every statistical category including games played (766), goals (277), assists (468) and points (745).
In 193 regular season games in a Panthers uniform, Matthew Tkachuk has averaged 1.20 points per game (79-153-232), the best mark in franchise history (min. 25 games played), while contributing a team-high 46 points (17-29-46) in 44 postseason games during back-to-back Stanley Cup Final runs in 2022-23 and 2023-24.
Jonathan Huberdeau amassed 613 points (198-415-613) in 671 regular season games with Florida, including a franchise record 115 points (30-85-115) in 2021-22 to help the Cats capture their first Presidents’ Trophy. Huberdeau won the franchise’s first Calder Memorial Trophy in 2012-13.
The longest-tenured defenseman in franchise history, Aaron Ekblad owns club records for games played (715), goals (117), assists (250) and points (367) by a defenseman. He also won the Calder Memorial Trophy following his rookie campaign in 2014-15. Claimed off waivers in January of 2021, Gustav Forsling ranks second among all skaters in plus-minus rating over the past five seasons (+151) while logging 148 points (43-105-148) in 314 regular season contests, as well as 26 points (7-19-26) in 61 postseason games in that span.
Second Team
- Forward Pavel Bure
- Forward Olli Jokinen
- Forward Sam Reinhart
- Defenseman Jay Bouwmeester
- Defenseman Robert Svehla
- Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky
Florida’s second team is highlighted by two more current Panthers in Reinhart and Bobrovsky and Hockey Hall of Famer Pavel Bure.
Sam Reinhart scored the Stanley Cup-clinching goal in Game 7 vs. Edmonton and has scored 0.51 goals per game in 281 regular season games with Florida, the second-best mark in franchise history. Since being acquired by the Panthers prior to 2021-22, Reinhart ranks eighth in the NHL in goals (143), second in power-play goals (66) and tied for fourth in shorthanded goals (9).
Sergei Bobrovsky ranks third among goaltenders with 158 wins since joining the Panthers prior to the 2019-20 campaign. Already a two-time winner of the Vezina Trophy, Bobrovsky became a finalist for the third time in his career in 2023-24 after posting a 36-17-4 record, .915 save percentage and 2.37 goals against average in addition to his six shutouts which tied for the league lead. He also led Florida to its first Stanley Cup in club history, earning a 16-8 postseason record and 2.32 goals against average over 24 games in the 2023-24 postseason, surrendering just one goal against in all four series-clinching games along the way.
Pavel Bure’s time in South Florida included consecutive Maurice “Rocket” Richard trophies leading the NHL in goals with 58 in 1999-00 and 59 in 2000-01. Olli Jokinen posted 419 points (188-231-419) in 567 regular season games with the Panthers while serving as captain from 2003-04 to 2007-08.
Jay Bouwmeester recorded 203 points (53-150-203) in 471 games as a Panther, the fourth most by a blueliner in club history, and Robert Svehla skated in the third most games among Florida blueliners (573), producing the second-most points among that group (61-229-290).
Catch your Florida Panthers in action this season! 2024-25 single game tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at SeatGeek.com or at Amerant Bank Arena Box Office (Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.). Fans can learn more about ticketing options and join the waitlist for future Florida Panthers Territory Memberships by visiting FloridaPanthers.com/tickets or by calling the PUCK line (954.835.PUCK).
