# 2000–01 Florida Panthers season

The 2000–01 Florida Panthers season was their eighth season in the National Hockey League. After making the playoffs in 2000, the Panthers failed to qualify for the playoffs in 2001.

## Regular season

After an 6–18–7–5 start, general manager Bryan Murray and head coach Terry Murray were fired on December 28. Duane Sutter was named the team’s new head coach.

### Final standings

Southeast Division :
| No. | CR | | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 3 | Washington Capitals | 82 | 41 | 27 | 10 | 4 | 233 | 211 | 96 |
| 2 | 8 | Carolina Hurricanes | 82 | 38 | 32 | 9 | 3 | 212 | 225 | 88 |
| 3 | 12 | Florida Panthers | 82 | 22 | 38 | 13 | 9 | 200 | 246 | 66 |
| 4 | 13 | Atlanta Thrashers | 82 | 23 | 45 | 12 | 2 | 211 | 289 | 60 |
| 5 | 14 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 82 | 24 | 47 | 6 | 5 | 201 | 280 | 59 |
Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime loss; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.
Eastern Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | Z- New Jersey Devils | AT | 82 | 48 | 19 | 12 | 3 | 295 | 195 | 111 |
| 2 | Y- Ottawa Senators | NE | 82 | 48 | 21 | 9 | 4 | 274 | 205 | 109 |
| 3 | Y- Washington Capitals | SE | 82 | 41 | 27 | 10 | 4 | 233 | 211 | 96 |
| 4 | X- Philadelphia Flyers | AT | 82 | 43 | 25 | 11 | 3 | 240 | 207 | 100 |
| 5 | X- Buffalo Sabres | NE | 82 | 46 | 30 | 5 | 1 | 218 | 184 | 98 |
| 6 | X- Pittsburgh Penguins | AT | 82 | 42 | 28 | 9 | 3 | 281 | 256 | 96 |
| 7 | X- Toronto Maple Leafs | NE | 82 | 37 | 29 | 11 | 5 | 232 | 207 | 90 |
| 8 | X- Carolina Hurricanes | SE | 82 | 38 | 32 | 9 | 3 | 212 | 225 | 88 |
| 8.5 |||||||||||
| 9 | Boston Bruins | NE | 82 | 36 | 30 | 8 | 8 | 227 | 249 | 88 |
| 10 | New York Rangers | AT | 82 | 33 | 43 | 5 | 1 | 250 | 290 | 72 |
| 11 | Montreal Canadiens | NE | 82 | 28 | 40 | 8 | 6 | 206 | 232 | 70 |
| 12 | Florida Panthers | SE | 82 | 22 | 38 | 13 | 9 | 200 | 246 | 66 |
| 13 | Atlanta Thrashers | SE | 82 | 23 | 45 | 12 | 2 | 211 | 289 | 60 |
| 14 | Tampa Bay Lightning | SE | 82 | 24 | 47 | 6 | 5 | 201 | 280 | 59 |
| 15 | New York Islanders | AT | 82 | 21 | 51 | 7 | 3 | 185 | 268 | 52 |
Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast, SE – Southeast
Z – Clinched Conference; Y – Clinched Division; X – Clinched Playoff spot

## Schedule and results

2000–01 regular season :
October: 1–3–3–3 (home: 1–1–1–1; road: 0–2–2–2)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1OTLOctober 6, 20003–4 OTVancouver Canucks (2000–01)0–0–0–1Recap
2LOctober 9, 20002–4@ Boston Bruins (2000–01)0–1–0–1Recap
3TOctober 13, 20002–2 OTCarolina Hurricanes (2000–01)0–1–1–1Recap
4OTLOctober 18, 20001–2 OT@ Phoenix Coyotes (2000–01)0–1–1–2Recap
5LOctober 20, 20001–5@ Colorado Avalanche (2000–01)0–2–1–2Recap
6TOctober 22, 20000–0 OT@ Minnesota Wild (2000–01)0–2–2–2Recap
7LOctober 25, 20001–2New Jersey Devils (2000–01)0–3–2–2Recap
8TOctober 27, 20003–3 OT@ Nashville Predators (2000–01)0–3–3–2Recap
9WOctober 28, 20003–1Ottawa Senators (2000–01)1–3–3–2Recap
10OTLOctober 30, 20005–6 OT@ New Jersey Devils (2000–01)1–3–3–3Recap :
November: 4–6–1–1 (home: 1–4–1–1; road: 3–2–0–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
11LNovember 1, 20000–3New York Islanders (2000–01)1–4–3–3Recap
12LNovember 4, 20002–3Washington Capitals (2000–01)1–5–3–3Recap
13LNovember 8, 20002–4Montreal Canadiens (2000–01)1–6–3–3Recap
14TNovember 10, 20003–3 OTCalgary Flames (2000–01)1–6–4–3Recap
15LNovember 13, 20001–4Atlanta Thrashers (2000–01)1–7–4–3Recap
16WNovember 15, 20004–1@ Carolina Hurricanes (2000–01)2–7–4–3Recap
17WNovember 17, 20003–0@ Columbus Blue Jackets (2000–01)3–7–4–3Recap
18LNovember 18, 20002–5@ Ottawa Senators (2000–01)3–8–4–3Recap
19WNovember 21, 20004–1@ Montreal Canadiens (2000–01)4–8–4–3Recap
20LNovember 24, 20001–2@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2000–01)4–9–4–3Recap
21WNovember 25, 20002–1 OTTampa Bay Lightning (2000–01)5–9–4–3Recap
22OTLNovember 29, 20001–2 OTCarolina Hurricanes (2000–01)5–9–4–4Recap :
December: 2–10–3–1 (home: 1–6–1–0; road: 1–4–2–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
23LDecember 1, 20001–3Detroit Red Wings (2000–01)5–10–4–4Recap
24LDecember 2, 20002–5@ St. Louis Blues (2000–01)5–11–4–4Recap
25TDecember 4, 20004–4 OT@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2000–01)5–11–5–4Recap
26LDecember 6, 20001–4New York Islanders (2000–01)5–12–5–4Recap
27OTLDecember 8, 20003–4 OT@ Atlanta Thrashers (2000–01)5–12–5–5Recap
28LDecember 9, 20002–4Colorado Avalanche (2000–01)5–13–5–5Recap
29TDecember 13, 20003–3 OT@ Detroit Red Wings (2000–01)5–13–6–5Recap
30WDecember 15, 20004–1@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2000–01)6–13–6–5Recap
31LDecember 16, 20002–3@ Buffalo Sabres (2000–01)6–14–6–5Recap
32LDecember 18, 20003–6@ New York Rangers (2000–01)6–15–6–5Recap
33TDecember 20, 20002–2 OTPittsburgh Penguins (2000–01)6–15–7–5Recap
34LDecember 22, 20000–2New Jersey Devils (2000–01)6–16–7–5Recap
35LDecember 23, 20003–5@ Washington Capitals (2000–01)6–17–7–5Recap
36LDecember 27, 20002–5Philadelphia Flyers (2000–01)6–18–7–5Recap
37WDecember 29, 20003–0Boston Bruins (2000–01)7–18–7–5Recap
38LDecember 30, 20001–4Toronto Maple Leafs (2000–01)7–19–7–5Recap :
January: 5–8–1–2 (home: 3–1–1–1; road: 2–7–0–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
39OTLJanuary 3, 20012–3 OT@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2000–01)7–19–7–6Recap
40WJanuary 4, 20014–3@ Los Angeles Kings (2000–01)8–19–7–6Recap
41LJanuary 6, 20011–3@ San Jose Sharks (2000–01)8–20–7–6Recap
42LJanuary 9, 20013–7@ Carolina Hurricanes (2000–01)8–21–7–6Recap
43TJanuary 12, 20012–2 OTCarolina Hurricanes (2000–01)8–21–8–6Recap
44LJanuary 13, 20011–4Philadelphia Flyers (2000–01)8–22–8–6Recap
45WJanuary 15, 20012–0Dallas Stars (2000–01)9–22–8–6Recap
46LJanuary 17, 20010–5@ Chicago Blackhawks (2000–01)9–23–8–6Recap
47LJanuary 19, 20010–1@ Buffalo Sabres (2000–01)9–24–8–6Recap
48LJanuary 20, 20013–5@ Philadelphia Flyers (2000–01)9–25–8–6Recap
49WJanuary 22, 20013–2@ Boston Bruins (2000–01)10–25–8–6Recap
50LJanuary 24, 20011–2@ Washington Capitals (2000–01)10–26–8–6Recap
51OTLJanuary 26, 20014–5 OTOttawa Senators (2000–01)10–26–8–7Recap
52WJanuary 27, 20013–2 OTTampa Bay Lightning (2000–01)11–26–8–7Recap
53LJanuary 30, 20013–4@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2000–01)11–27–8–7Recap
54WJanuary 31, 20015–2Buffalo Sabres (2000–01)12–27–8–7Recap :
February: 5–5–0–1 (home: 4–1–0–0; road: 1–4–0–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
55WFebruary 7, 20012–1Minnesota Wild (2000–01)13–27–8–7Recap
56LFebruary 9, 20012–4New York Rangers (2000–01)13–28–8–7Recap
57WFebruary 10, 20017–3@ Atlanta Thrashers (2000–01)14–28–8–7Recap
58WFebruary 14, 20014–3Phoenix Coyotes (2000–01)15–28–8–7Recap
59WFebruary 16, 20012–1Boston Bruins (2000–01)16–28–8–7Recap
60WFebruary 19, 20013–0St. Louis Blues (2000–01)17–28–8–7Recap
61OTLFebruary 21, 20012–3 OT@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2000–01)17–28–8–8Recap
62LFebruary 22, 20012–4@ Ottawa Senators (2000–01)17–29–8–8Recap
63LFebruary 24, 20014–5@ New York Islanders (2000–01)17–30–8–8Recap
64LFebruary 26, 20013–5@ New Jersey Devils (2000–01)17–31–8–8Recap
65LFebruary 28, 20012–4@ New York Rangers (2000–01)17–32–8–8Recap :
March: 3–4–5–1 (home: 1–4–3–1; road: 2–0–2–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
66LMarch 2, 20013–4Atlanta Thrashers (2000–01)17–33–8–8Recap
67TMarch 3, 20012–2 OT@ Atlanta Thrashers (2000–01)17–33–9–8Recap
68TMarch 7, 20013–3 OTSan Jose Sharks (2000–01)17–33–10–8Recap
69OTLMarch 9, 20016–7 OTColumbus Blue Jackets (2000–01)17–33–10–9Recap
70WMarch 11, 20014–1@ New York Islanders (2000–01)18–33–10–9Recap
71TMarch 14, 20012–2 OTEdmonton Oilers (2000–01)18–33–11–9Recap
72LMarch 16, 20013–6Pittsburgh Penguins (2000–01)18–34–11–9Recap
73LMarch 17, 20013–5Toronto Maple Leafs (2000–01)18–35–11–9Recap
74TMarch 20, 20013–3 OT@ Montreal Canadiens (2000–01)18–35–12–9Recap
75WMarch 21, 20013–1@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2000–01)19–35–12–9Recap
76WMarch 23, 20014–1Washington Capitals (2000–01)20–35–12–9Recap
77TMarch 28, 20012–2 OTMontreal Canadiens (2000–01)20–35–13–9Recap
78LMarch 30, 20012–4Tampa Bay Lightning (2000–01)20–36–13–9Recap :
April: 2–2–0–0 (home: 1–1–0–0; road: 1–1–0–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
79LApril 2, 20013–5Buffalo Sabres (2000–01)20–37–13–9Recap
80WApril 3, 20012–1@ Philadelphia Flyers (2000–01)21–37–13–9Recap
81LApril 5, 20010–3@ Washington Capitals (2000–01)21–38–13–9Recap
82WApril 7, 20013–0New York Rangers (2000–01)22–38–13–9Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point)
  Overtime loss (1 point) :

## Player statistics
### Scoring

* Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left Wing; RW = Right Wing
* † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Panthers only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Panthers only.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 10 | Pavel Bure | RW | 82 | 59 | 33 | 92 | −2 | 58 |
| 25 | Viktor Kozlov | C | 51 | 14 | 23 | 37 | −4 | 10 |
| 18 | Marcus Nilson | LW | 78 | 12 | 24 | 36 | −3 | 74 |
| 16 | Mike Sillinger‡ | C | 55 | 13 | 21 | 34 | −12 | 44 |
| 44 | Rob Niedermayer | C | 67 | 12 | 20 | 32 | −12 | 50 |
| 14 | Ray Whitney‡ | LW | 43 | 10 | 21 | 31 | −16 | 28 |
| 24 | Robert Svehla | D | 82 | 6 | 22 | 28 | −8 | 76 |
| 17 | Greg Adams† | LW | 60 | 11 | 12 | 23 | −3 | 10 |
| 9 | Len Barrie | C | 60 | 5 | 18 | 23 | 4 | 135 |
| 26 | Dan Boyle | D | 69 | 4 | 18 | 22 | −14 | 28 |
| 29 | Anders Eriksson† | D | 60 | 0 | 21 | 21 | 2 | 28 |
| 4 | Bret Hedican | D | 70 | 5 | 15 | 20 | −7 | 72 |
| 12 | Olli Jokinen | C | 78 | 6 | 10 | 16 | −22 | 106 |
| 21 | Denis Shvidki | RW | 43 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 6 | 16 |
| 13 | Vaclav Prospal† | C | 34 | 4 | 12 | 16 | −2 | 10 |
| 27 | Scott Mellanby‡ | RW | 40 | 4 | 9 | 13 | −13 | 46 |
| 9 | Igor Larionov‡ | C | 26 | 5 | 6 | 11 | −11 | 10 |
| 8 | Peter Worrell | LW | 71 | 3 | 7 | 10 | −10 | 248 |
| 11 | Kevyn Adams† | C | 12 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 2 |
| 39 | Ivan Novoseltsev | RW | 38 | 3 | 6 | 9 | −5 | 16 |
| 19 | Serge Payer | C | 43 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 21 |
| 36 | Joey Tetarenko | RW | 29 | 3 | 1 | 4 | −1 | 44 |
| 22 | Todd Simpson‡ | D | 25 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 74 |
| 28 | Jaroslav Spacek‡ | D | 12 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −4 | 8 |
| 15 | John Jakopin | D | 60 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −4 | 62 |
| 3 | Paul Laus | D | 25 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 66 |
| 2 | Lance Pitlick | D | 68 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −5 | 42 |
| 5 | Yan Golubovsky† | D | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| 49 | Lance Ward | D | 30 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −3 | 45 |
| 41 | Andrej Podkonicky† | C | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 45 | Brad Ference | D | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −10 | 14 |
| 37 | Trevor Kidd | G | 42 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 6 |
| 7 | Mike Wilson | D | 19 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −7 | 25 |
| 43 | Paul Brousseau | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 43 | David Emma‡ | C | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| 1 | Roberto Luongo | G | 47 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 2 |
| 35 | Peter Ratchuk | D | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| 23 | Rocky Thompson | D | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 |

### Goaltending

| No. | Player | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | GP | W | L | T | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
| 1 | Roberto Luongo | 47 | 12 | 24 | 7 | 1333 | 107 | 2.44 | .920 | 5 | 2628 |
| 37 | Trevor Kidd | 42 | 10 | 23 | 6 | 1217 | 130 | 3.31 | .893 | 1 | 2354 |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (annual) | Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy | Pavel Bure |
| League (annual) | NHL Second All-Star Team | Pavel Bure (Right wing) |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Pavel Bure |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Denis Shvidki | October 6, 2000 |
| First game | Joey Tetarenko | October 27, 2000 |
| First game | Serge Payer | November 13, 2000 |
| First game | Lance Ward | November 15, 2000 |
| First game | Andrej Podkonicky | March 14, 2001 |
| 1,000th game played | Greg Adams | November 15, 2000 |

## Transactions

The Panthers were involved in the following transactions from June 11, 2000, the day after the deciding game of the 2000 Stanley Cup Finals, through June 9, 2001, the day of the deciding game of the 2001 Stanley Cup Finals.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| June 24, 2000 (2000-06-24) | To Florida Panthers Olli JokinenRoberto Luongo | To New York Islanders Oleg KvashaMark Parrish |
| June 25, 2000 (2000-06-25) | To Florida Panthers 9th-round pick in 2001 | To Columbus Blue Jackets 9th-round pick in 2000 |
| November 7, 2000 (2000-11-07) | To Florida Panthers Anders Eriksson | To Chicago Blackhawks Jaroslav Spacek |
| December 17, 2000 (2000-12-17) | To Florida Panthers Andrej Podkonicky | To St. Louis Blues Eric Boguniecki |
| December 28, 2000 (2000-12-28) | To Florida Panthers Yan Golubovsky | To Detroit Red Wings Igor Larionov |
| January 20, 2001 (2001-01-20) | To Florida Panthers Vaclav Prospal | To Ottawa Senators Choice of a 3rd or 4th-round pick |
| February 9, 2001 (2001-02-09) | To Florida Panthers Rights to David Morisset5th-round pick in 2002 | To St. Louis Blues Scott Mellanby |
| March 3, 2001 (2001-03-03) | To Florida Panthers Future considerations | To Colorado Avalanche Brent Thompson |
| March 3, 2001 (2001-03-03) | To Florida Panthers Remi Royer | To Washington Capitals David Emma |
| March 13, 2001 (2001-03-13) | To Florida Panthers Kevyn AdamsConditional draft pick | To Columbus Blue Jackets Ray Whitney |
| March 13, 2001 (2001-03-13) | To Florida Panthers Returned draft options | To Ottawa Senators Mike Sillinger |
| March 13, 2001 (2001-03-13) | To Florida Panthers 2nd-round pick in 2001 | To Phoenix Coyotes Todd Simpson |
| May 31, 2001 (2001-05-31) | To Florida Panthers Conditional draft pick in 20013rd-round pick in 2002 | To Vancouver Canucks Rights to Alex Auld |

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Term | Via |
| July 1, 2000 (2000-07-01) | Igor Larionov | Detroit Red Wings | 1-year | Free agency |
| August 1, 2000 (2000-08-01) | David Emma | EC KAC (Austria) | | Free agency |
| August 1, 2000 (2000-08-01) | Michel Periard | Rimouski Oceanic (QMJHL) | | Free agency |
| October 7, 2000 (2000-10-07) | Maxim Galanov | Atlanta Thrashers | | Free agency |
| November 7, 2000 (2000-11-07) | Greg Adams | Phoenix Coyotes | 1-year | Free agency |
| December 16, 2000 (2000-12-16) | Travis Brigley | Cardiff Devils (BISL) | | Free agency |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Via |
| N/A | Craig Reichert | Dusseldorf EG (DEL) | Free agency (VI) |
| June 23, 2000 (2000-06-23) | Cam Stewart | Minnesota Wild | Expansion draft |
| June 23, 2000 (2000-06-23) | Mike Vernon | Minnesota Wild | Expansion draft |
| June 30, 2000 (2000-06-30) | Craig Ferguson | HC Fribourg-Gotteron (NLA) | Release |
| August 28, 2000 (2000-08-28) | Alex Hicks | Eisbaren Berlin (DEL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| September 5, 2000 (2000-09-05) | Mikhail Shtalenkov | HC Dynamo Moscow (RSL) | Free agency (III) |
| N/A | Andrew Long | Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| October 5, 2000 (2000-10-05) | Jeff Ware | Syracuse Crunch (AHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| October 7, 2000 (2000-10-07) | Chad Cabana | Providence Bruins (AHL) | Free agency (VI) |
| November 3, 2000 (2000-11-03) | Maxim Galanov | Tampa Bay Lightning | Waivers |
| December 21, 2000 (2000-12-21) | Ray Sheppard | SCL Tigers (NLA) | Free agency (III) |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term | Contract type |
| June 14, 2000 (2000-06-14) | Denis Shvidki | | Entry-level |
| July 28, 2000 (2000-07-28) | Rob Niedermayer | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 3, 2000 (2000-08-03) | Eric Boguniecki | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 3, 2000 (2000-08-03) | Dan Boyle | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 3, 2000 (2000-08-03) | Paul Brousseau | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 3, 2000 (2000-08-03) | Dave Duerden | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 3, 2000 (2000-08-03) | Joey Tetarenko | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 3, 2000 (2000-08-03) | Rocky Thompson | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 9, 2000 (2000-08-09) | Ray Whitney | 3-year | Re-signing |
| September 21, 2000 (2000-09-21) | Peter Worrell | 3-year | Re-signing |
| October 16, 2000 (2000-10-16) | Paul Laus | 3-year | Extension |
| April 18, 2001 (2001-04-18) | Sean O'Connor | | Entry-level |

## Draft picks

Florida's draft picks at the 2000 NHL entry draft held at the Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 2 | 58 | Vladimir Sapozhnikov | Russia | Metallurg Novokuznetsk (Russia) |
| 3 | 77 | Robert Fried | United States | Deerfield Academy (USHS-MA) |
| 3 | 82 | Sean O'Connor | Canada | Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL) |
| 4 | 115 | Chris Eade | Canada | North Bay Centennials (OHL) |
| 4 | 120 | Davis Parley | Canada | Kamloops Blazers (WHL) |
| 6 | 190 | Josh Olson | United States | Omaha Lancers (USHL) |
| 8 | 234 | Janis Sprukts | Latvia | Lukko Jr. (Finland) |
| 8 | 253 | Matthew Sommerfeld | Canada | Swift Current Broncos (WHL) |