The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Panthers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference, and initially played their home games at Miami Arena before moving to the Amerant Bank Arena in 1998. Located in Sunrise, Florida, the franchise is the southernmost team in the NHL. The team's local broadcasting rights have been held by Bally Sports Florida since 1996. The Panthers are primarily affiliated with two minor league teams: the Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League (AHL) and the Florida Everblades of the ECHL.
The Panthers acquired Brian Campbell during the 2011 off-season. Campbell played with the Panthers from 2011 to 2016.
Aleksander Barkov, drafted 2nd overall by the Panthers in 2013, would emerge as the franchise's captain and star during the late-2010s.
Panthers and Capitals skaters warming up prior to a game during the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs.
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). As of the 2023–24 AHL season, 31 of the 32 AHL teams had an official affiliation with an NHL team; immediately following season's end, the Chicago Wolves and Carolina Hurricanes finalized an affiliation agreement, resulting in all AHL teams having an NHL affiliation for the upcoming 2024–25 season. Historically, when an NHL team does not have an AHL affiliate, its players are assigned to AHL teams affiliated with other NHL franchises.
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms host the Hartford Wolf Pack at PPL Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania, December 2019
An AHL record crowd of 45,653 watched the Adirondack Phantoms defeat the Hershey Bears, 4–3 in overtime at the 2012 AHL Winter Classic at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia