1993–94 Florida Panthers season

The 1993–94 Florida Panthers season was the Panthers' first season. Blockbuster Video magnate H. Wayne Huizenga was awarded an NHL franchise for his native Miami in 1992. The team played at the Miami Arena, and its first major stars were New York Rangers goaltender castoff John Vanbiesbrouck, rookie Rob Niedermayer, and Scott Mellanby, who scored 30 goals during the regular season. 
==Offseason==
===Expansion Draft===
# 	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)	 	Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)
==Regular season==
The Panthers had one of the most successful first seasons of any expansion team, finishing one point below .500 and narrowly missing out on the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
===Season standings===
===Game log===
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 stats==
===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
==References==
* Panthers on Hockey Database
Category:Florida Panthers seasons
Category:1993 in hockey
Category:1994 in hockey