# 2006–07 Florida Panthers season

The 2006–07 Florida Panthers season began on October 6 with a game at the BankAtlantic Center against the Boston Bruins. It was the Panthers' 13th season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Panthers failed to qualify for the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season.

## Off-season

General manager Mike Keenan resigned on September 3 and was replaced by head coach Jacques Martin.

## Regular season

The Panthers finished the regular season with the fewest power-play opportunities for with 337.

### Season standings

Southeast Division :
| No. | CR | | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 3 | Atlanta Thrashers | 82 | 43 | 28 | 11 | 246 | 245 | 97 |
| 2 | 7 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 82 | 44 | 33 | 5 | 253 | 261 | 93 |
| 3 | 11 | Carolina Hurricanes | 82 | 40 | 34 | 8 | 241 | 253 | 88 |
| 4 | 12 | Florida Panthers | 82 | 35 | 31 | 16 | 247 | 257 | 86 |
| 5 | 14 | Washington Capitals | 82 | 28 | 40 | 14 | 235 | 286 | 70 |
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.
Eastern Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | P - Buffalo Sabres | NE | 82 | 53 | 22 | 7 | 308 | 242 | 113 |
| 2 | Y - New Jersey Devils | AT | 82 | 49 | 24 | 9 | 216 | 201 | 107 |
| 3 | Y - Atlanta Thrashers | SE | 82 | 43 | 28 | 11 | 246 | 245 | 97 |
| 4 | X - Ottawa Senators | NE | 82 | 48 | 25 | 9 | 288 | 222 | 105 |
| 5 | X - Pittsburgh Penguins | AT | 82 | 47 | 24 | 11 | 277 | 246 | 105 |
| 6 | X - New York Rangers | AT | 82 | 42 | 30 | 10 | 242 | 216 | 94 |
| 7 | X - Tampa Bay Lightning | SE | 82 | 44 | 33 | 5 | 253 | 261 | 93 |
| 8 | X - New York Islanders | AT | 82 | 40 | 30 | 12 | 248 | 240 | 92 |
| 8.5 ||||||||||
| 9 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NE | 82 | 40 | 31 | 11 | 258 | 269 | 91 |
| 10 | Montreal Canadiens | NE | 82 | 42 | 34 | 6 | 245 | 256 | 90 |
| 11 | Carolina Hurricanes | SE | 82 | 40 | 34 | 8 | 241 | 253 | 88 |
| 12 | Florida Panthers | SE | 82 | 35 | 31 | 16 | 247 | 257 | 86 |
| 13 | Boston Bruins | NE | 82 | 35 | 41 | 6 | 219 | 289 | 76 |
| 14 | Washington Capitals | SE | 82 | 28 | 40 | 14 | 235 | 286 | 70 |
| 15 | Philadelphia Flyers | AT | 82 | 22 | 48 | 12 | 214 | 303 | 56 |
* Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast, SE – Southeast
P – Clinched Presidents Trophy; Y – Clinched Division; X – Clinched Playoff spot

## Schedule and results

2006–07 regular season :
October: 5–7–2 (home: 4–2–0; road: 1–5–2)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
1October 6Boston3–8FloridaAuld19,2501–0–02Recap
2October 7Florida0–6AtlantaBelfour14,2391–1–02Recap
3October 9Florida1–2TorontoSOAuld19,1021–1–13Recap
4October 11Carolina3–6FloridaAuld14,3122–1–15Recap
5October 13Tampa Bay2–3FloridaAuld15,2083–1–17Recap
6October 14Florida1–4Tampa BayBelfour19,9263–2–17Recap
7October 18Florida2–5WashingtonAuld10,1253–3–17Recap
8October 20Philadelphia2–3FloridaBelfour17,1944–3–19Recap
9October 21Florida2–4AtlantaAuld16,1784–4–19Recap
10October 23Atlanta6–3FloridaAuld13,1024–5–19Recap
11October 25Florida4–2NY RangersBelfour18,2005–5–111Recap
12October 26Florida0–2New JerseyAuld11,5945–6–111Recap
13October 28Florida3–4NY IslandersSOBelfour10,4555–6–212Recap
14October 31San Jose2–1FloridaAuld10,0815–7–212Recap :
November: 3–7–3 (home: 2–4–1; road: 1–3–2)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
15November 2Toronto2–4FloridaBelfour13,2336–7–214Recap
16November 8NY Rangers4–3FloridaSOBelfour16,8936–7–315Recap
17November 10Florida4–5BuffaloOTAuld18,6906–7–416Recap
18November 11Florida2–4New JerseyBelfour14,1126–8–416Recap
19November 13Washington4–1FloridaAuld12,1086–9–416Recap
20November 16Montreal1–5FloridaBelfour13,5067–9–418Recap
21November 18NY Islanders4–1FloridaBelfour16,8337–10–418Recap
22November 20Florida3–2BostonAuld11,7428–10–420Recap
23November 22Tampa Bay6–4FloridaAuld14,5168–11–420Recap
24November 24Ottawa6–4FloridaBelfour16,5448–12–420Recap
25November 25Florida0–1AtlantaAuld17,0538–13–420Recap
26November 28Florida0–1MontrealSOAuld21,2738–13–521Recap
27November 30Florida0–6OttawaAuld17,8148–14–521Recap :
December: 7–5–2 (home: 4–2–1; road: 3–3–1)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
28December 2Atlanta3–1FloridaBelfour13,3338–15–521Recap
29December 5Florida3–2PittsburghAuld12,5119–15–523Recap
30December 7Buffalo1–3FloridaAuld15,38510–15–525Recap
31December 9Florida4–5NY IslandersSOAuld12,82510–15–626Recap
32December 10Florida1–2NY RangersBelfour18,20010–16–626Recap
33December 12Anaheim5–4FloridaAuld13,14010–17–626Recap
34December 14Florida1–2BuffaloBelfour18,69010–18–626Recap
35December 16Florida6–3BostonBelfour10,96511–18–628Recap
36December 19Florida7–3TorontoBelfour19,44412–18–630Recap
37December 21NY Rangers2–3FloridaBelfour17,55613–18–632Recap
38December 23Carolina3–2FloridaOTBelfour16,14713–18–733Recap
39December 26Florida2–4CarolinaAuld18,63913–19–733Recap
40December 27Philadelphia1–3FloridaBelfour17,77114–19–735Recap
41December 29Montreal1–3FloridaBelfour19,77215–19–737Recap :
January: 4–4–3 (home: 3–1–1; road: 1–3–2)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
42January 2Florida1–4EdmontonBelfour16,83915–20–737Recap
43January 4Florida4–5CalgaryOTAuld19,28915–20–838Recap
44January 7Florida3–4VancouverSOBelfour18,63015–20–939Recap
45January 10Pittsburgh2–5FloridaAuld16,09816–20–941Recap
46January 11Florida4–6CarolinaAuld13,55216–21–941Recap
47January 13Washington3–7FloridaBelfour15,06117–21–943Recap
48January 16Carolina3–2FloridaOTBelfour10,31717–21–1044Recap
49January 18Toronto3–2FloridaAuld12,24217–22–1044Recap
50January 20Florida4–1WashingtonBelfour13,87718–22–1046Recap
51January 27New Jersey2–4FloridaBelfour18,13619–22–1048Recap
52January 30Florida0–3PittsburghBelfour15,40519–23–1048Recap :
February: 6–3–3 (home: 4–1–1; road: 2–2–2)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
53February 1Washington3–6FloridaBelfour11,30020–23–1050Recap
54February 3Los Angeles7–0FloridaBelfour15,10820–24–1050Recap
55February 6Florida4–5ColoradoOTBelfour17,06520–24–1151Recap
56February 8Florida2–4MinnesotaBelfour18,56820–25–1151Recap
57February 10Phoenix2–5FloridaBelfour15,31221–25–1153Recap
58February 13Florida1–0MontrealBelfour21,27322–25–1155Recap
59February 14Florida0–4OttawaBelfour18,56122–26–1155Recap
60February 17Tampa Bay4–5FloridaOTBelfour17,81323–26–1157Recap
61February 20Florida2–3Tampa BaySOBelfour19,31923–26–1258Recap
62February 22Pittsburgh2–1FloridaOTBelfour17,10223–26–1359Recap
63February 24Boston2–7FloridaBelfour16,81624–26–1361Recap
64February 27Florida6–5WashingtonSOBelfour10,97925–26–1363Recap :
March: 9–4–1 (home: 6–2–1; road: 3–2–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
65March 1Dallas1–2FloridaOTBelfour11,82226–26–1365Recap
66March 3Tampa Bay2–6FloridaBelfour17,29927–26–1367Recap
67March 6Florida2–4AtlantaBelfour12,56627–27–1367Recap
68March 8Florida2–1PhiladelphiaBelfour19,48928–27–1369Recap
69March 10Atlanta2–3FloridaBelfour17,92729–27–1371Recap
70March 13Florida1–3CarolinaBelfour18,63929–28–1371Recap
71March 15Buffalo5–3FloridaBelfour18,11129–29–1371Recap
72March 17NY Islanders5–8FloridaBelfour17,07830–29–1373Recap
73March 20Florida4–1PhiladelphiaBelfour18,72131–29–1375Recap
74March 22Ottawa4–2FloridaBelfour14,20231–30–1375Recap
75March 24New Jersey4–3FloridaSOBelfour16,10131–30–1476Recap
76March 27Florida5–2Tampa BayBelfour18,85632–30–1478Recap
77March 28Atlanta2–3FloridaSOAnderson12,86433–30–1480Recap
78March 30Washington2–3FloridaOTBelfour15,71234–30–1482Recap :
April: 1–1–2 (home: 0–0–1; road: 1–1–1)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
79April 1Carolina4–3FloridaSOBelfour17,87834–30–1583Recap
80April 3Florida0–1WashingtonAnderson16,31134–31–1583Recap
81April 6Florida7–2Tampa BayBelfour21,00235–31–1585Recap
82April 7Florida2–4CarolinaOTAnderson18,63935–31–1686Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Overtime/shootout 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 |
| 12 | Olli Jokinen | C | 82 | 39 | 52 | 91 | 18 | 78 |
| 16 | Nathan Horton | C | 82 | 31 | 31 | 62 | 15 | 61 |
| 15 | Jozef Stumpel | C | 73 | 23 | 34 | 57 | 2 | 22 |
| 9 | Stephen Weiss | C | 74 | 20 | 28 | 48 | −1 | 28 |
| 23 | Martin Gelinas | LW | 82 | 14 | 30 | 44 | 7 | 36 |
| 4 | Jay Bouwmeester | D | 82 | 12 | 30 | 42 | 23 | 66 |
| 18 | Ville Peltonen | LW | 72 | 17 | 20 | 37 | 7 | 28 |
| 77 | Chris Gratton | C | 81 | 13 | 22 | 35 | 1 | 94 |
| 24 | Ruslan Salei | D | 82 | 6 | 26 | 32 | −13 | 102 |
| 85 | Rostislav Olesz | C | 75 | 11 | 19 | 30 | 2 | 28 |
| 10 | Gary Roberts‡ | LW | 50 | 13 | 16 | 29 | 5 | 71 |
| 26 | Mike Van Ryn | D | 78 | 4 | 25 | 29 | −5 | 64 |
| 13 | Juraj Kolnik | RW | 64 | 11 | 14 | 25 | 2 | 18 |
| 5 | Bryan Allen | D | 82 | 4 | 21 | 25 | 7 | 112 |
| 8 | Joel Kwiatkowski‡ | D | 41 | 5 | 5 | 10 | −5 | 20 |
| 46 | David Booth | LW | 48 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 12 |
| 11 | Gregory Campbell | LW | 79 | 6 | 3 | 9 | −10 | 66 |
| 7 | Steve Montador | D | 72 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 1 | 119 |
| 25 | Joe Nieuwendyk‡ | C | 15 | 5 | 3 | 8 | −4 | 4 |
| 44 | Todd Bertuzzi‡ | RW | 7 | 1 | 6 | 7 | −4 | 13 |
| 21 | Alexei Semenov | D | 23 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 28 |
| 38 | Janis Sprukts | C | 13 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| 2 | Branislav Mezei | D | 45 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 55 |
| 50 | Drew Larman | C | 16 | 2 | 0 | 2 | −3 | 2 |
| 54 | Kamil Kreps | C | 14 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 6 |
| 20 | Ed Belfour | G | 58 | 0 | 2 | 2 | | 10 |
| 55 | Ric Jackman‡ | D | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −3 | 10 |
| 6 | Noah Welch† | D | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| 35 | Alex Auld | G | 27 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 2 |
| 51 | Rob Globke | C | 19 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −3 | 0 |
| 47 | Martin Lojek | D | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 57 | Anthony Stewart | C | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 31 | Craig Anderson | G | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 40 | Greg Jacina | LW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 2 |

### 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 | OT | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
| 20 | Ed Belfour | 58 | 27 | 17 | 10 | 1550 | 152 | 2.77 | .902 | 1 | 3289 |
| 35 | Alex Auld | 27 | 7 | 13 | 5 | 729 | 82 | 3.35 | .888 | 1 | 1471 |
| 31 | Craig Anderson | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 116 | 8 | 2.21 | .931 | 0 | 217 |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Jay Bouwmeester |
| League (in-season) | NHL Second Star of the Week | Olli Jokinen (March 4) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Second Star of the Week | Olli Jokinen (April 1) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Third Star of the Week | Olli Jokinen (January 14) |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Janis Sprukts | October 20, 2006 |
| First game | Drew Larman | November 13, 2006 |
| First game | David Booth | November 20, 2006 |
| First game | Kamil Kreps | January 7, 2007 |
| First game | Martin Lojek | February 3, 2007 |
| 1,000th game played | Chris Gratton | March 22, 2007 |

## Transactions

The Panthers were involved in the following transactions from June 20, 2006, the day after the deciding game of the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals, through June 6, 2007, the day of the deciding game of the 2007 Stanley Cup Finals.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| June 23, 2006 (2006-06-23) | To Florida PanthersBryan AllenAlex AuldTodd Bertuzzi | To Vancouver CanucksLukas KrajicekRoberto Luongo6th-round pick in 2006 |
| June 24, 2006 (2006-06-24) | To Florida PanthersCraig Anderson | To Chicago Blackhawks6th-round pick in 2008 |
| June 24, 2006 (2006-06-24) | To Florida Panthers Nashville's 4th-round pick in 2006 | To Pittsburgh Penguins 4th-round pick in 2007 |
| January 3, 2007 (2007-01-03) | To Florida PanthersConditional draft pick in 2007 | To Anaheim DucksRic Jackman |
| February 26, 2007 (2007-02-26) | To Florida PanthersNoah Welch | To Pittsburgh PenguinsGary Roberts |
| February 27, 2007 (2007-02-27) | To Florida PanthersRights to Shawn MatthiasConditional draft picks | To Detroit Red WingsTodd Bertuzzi |
| February 27, 2007 (2007-02-27) | To Florida Panthers 4th-round pick in 2007 | To Pittsburgh Penguins Joel Kwiatkowski |

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Term | Via |
| July 2, 2006 (2006-07-02) | Ruslan Salei | Anaheim Ducks | 4-year | Free agency |
| July 6, 2006 (2006-07-06) | Ari Vallin | Oulun Karpat (Liiga) | | Free agency |
| July 25, 2006 (2006-07-25) | Ed Belfour | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1-year | Free agency |
| September 14, 2006 (2006-09-14) | David Brine | Manitoba Moose (AHL) | | Free agency |
| September 14, 2006 (2006-09-14) | Franklin MacDonald | Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL) | | Free agency |
| September 14, 2006 (2006-09-14) | Adam Taylor | Victoria Salmon Kings (ECHL) | | Free agency |
| March 26, 2007 (2007-03-26) | Cory Murphy | HIFK (Liiga) | 2-year | Free agency |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Via |
| N/A | Alexander Karpovtsev | HC Sibir Novosibirsk (RSL) | Free agency (III) |
| July 1, 2006 (2006-07-01) | Dan Focht | | Contract expiration (UFA) |
| July 1, 2006 (2006-07-01) | Sean Hill | New York Islanders | Buyout |
| July 5, 2006 (2006-07-05) | Jamie McLennan | Calgary Flames | Free agency (III) |
| July 10, 2006 (2006-07-10) | Phil Osaer | Cardiff Devils (EIHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| July 13, 2006 (2006-07-13) | Jon Sim | Atlanta Thrashers | Free agency (UFA) |
| July 26, 2006 (2006-07-26) | Jamie Allison | Ottawa Senators | Free agency (III) |
| August 2, 2006 (2006-08-02) | Serge Payer | Ottawa Senators | Free agency (UFA) |
| October 2006 (2006-10) | Victor Uchevatov | Milwaukee Admirals (AHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| October 5, 2006 (2006-10-05) | Grant McNeill | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| December 6, 2006 (2006-12-06) | Joe Nieuwendyk | | Retirement |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term | Contract type |
| July 5, 2006 (2006-07-05) | Bryan Allen | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 5, 2006 (2006-07-05) | Branislav Mezei | 2-year | Re-signing |
| July 11, 2006 (2006-07-11) | Nathan Horton | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 12, 2006 (2006-07-12) | Steve Montador | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 13, 2006 (2006-07-13) | Gregory Campbell | 2-year | Re-signing |
| July 14, 2006 (2006-07-14) | Alex Auld | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 14, 2006 (2006-07-14) | Alexei Semenov | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 14, 2006 (2006-07-14) | Stephen Weiss | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 17, 2006 (2006-07-17) | Craig Anderson | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 18, 2006 (2006-07-18) | Juraj Kolnik | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 20, 2006 (2006-07-20) | David Booth | | Entry-level |
| July 26, 2006 (2006-07-26) | Jay Bouwmeester | 2-year | Arbitration award |
| July 28, 2006 (2006-07-28) | Ric Jackman | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 28, 2006 (2006-07-28) | Mike Van Ryn | 4-year | Re-signing |
| April 25, 2007 (2007-04-25) | Ville Peltonen | 2-year | Extension |
| June 1, 2007 (2007-06-01) | Dan Collins | | Entry-level |
| June 1, 2007 (2007-06-01) | Kenndal McArdle | | Entry-level |
| June 1, 2007 (2007-06-01) | Tyler Plante | | Entry-level |

## Draft picks

Florida's picks at the 2006 NHL entry draft in Vancouver, British Columbia.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | NHL team | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 10 | Michael Frolik (RW) | Czech Republic | Florida Panthers | Rabat Kladno (Czech Extraliga) |
| 3 | 73 | Brady Calla (RW) | Canada | Florida Panthers | Everett Silvertips (WHL) |
| 4 | 103 | Michael Caruso (D) | Canada | Florida Panthers | Guelph Storm (OHL) |
| 4 | 116 | Derrick LaPoint (D) | United States | Florida Panthers (from Nashville) | Eau Claire North (USHS-WI) |
| 6 | 155 | Peter Aston (D) | Canada | Florida Panthers (from Pittsburgh) | Windsor Spitfires (OHL) |
| 7 | 193 | Marc Cheverie (G) | Canada | Florida Panthers | Nanaimo Clippers (BCHL) |