11 Best Florida Panthers Players of All Time

Part of the NHL’s expansion into the Sun Belt in the 1990s, the Florida Panthers have a unique history. 

The Cats defied the NHL odds by making it to the 1996 Stanley Cup Final in their third season, but they didn’t win another playoff round until 2021-2022.

That long drought caused plenty of financial strife and attendance issues, but things are looking up these days for the Panthers.

Not only did the Panthers win the 2024 Stanley Cup, but they’ve turned into one of the model franchises in the NHL thanks to some savvy roster management and smart ownership.

But the biggest reason that the Cats have developed into one of the elite teams in the league is because they’ve drafted and acquired some of the game’s best players like Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, and Gustav Forsling.

11 Best Florida Panthers Players of All Time

11 Greatest Florida Panthers of All Time

1. Aleksander Barkov

There is no question about who belongs at the top of this list.

Drafted second overall at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, Aleksander “Sascha” Barkov has established himself as one of the best players in the NHL.

The hulking Finn has incredible offensive skill and is well on his way to the 1,000-point plateau, but his best attribute is his ability to smother his opponents. Barkov has won two Selke Trophies and his defensive prowess was on full display in Florida’s championship season in 2023-2024. 

Barkov is the franchise leader in games played, goals, assists, and points. He became the first Florida Panther to lift Lord Stanley’s Cup in 2024. 

2. Matthew Tkachuk

Florida’s acquisition of Matthew Tkachuk will go down as one of the most important trades in the Salary Cap Era.

After winning the Presidents’ Trophy in 2021-2022, the Panthers sputtered out of the playoffs in Round 2. Desperate to add some more edge to their lineup, the Cats pulled a blockbuster with the Calgary Flames and acquired Tkachuk for Jonathan Huberdeau and Mackenzie Weegar. 

Tkachuk proved to be the perfect complement to Barkov and played an integral role in pushing the Panthers to back-to-back appearances in the Stanley Cup Final in 2023 and 2024. 

Tkachuk scored 66 goals and 197 points in his first two seasons in Sunrise and then added 66 more points in Florida’s playoff runs in 2023 and 2024.

3. Jonathan Huberdeau

Huberdeau will be remembered as the player who was traded for Tkachuk, but don’t overlook what the creative winger did in his 10 seasons with Florida.

Huberdeau ranks second in franchise history in goals, assists, and points, and his 671 games played are third most. He is one of two Panthers to win the Calder Trophy, along with Aaron Ekblad.

Huberdeau holds the Panthers’ record for most points in a single season (115 in 2021-22). 

4. Roberto Luongo

The face of the Panthers during both of his stints with the club, Roberto Luongo was a stabilizing force during some dark years in Sunrise.

Luongo would eventually be moved to Vancouver in 2006, but he returned in 2014 and led the Cats to an Atlantic Division title in 2015-2016.

Luongo owns the franchise record for games played, wins, and shutouts among goaltenders. He also set an NHL record by making 2,303 saves in the 2003-2004 campaign. 

5. Aaron Ekblad

Drafted first overall in 2014, Ekblad has been a warrior on Florida’s blue line ever since.

The two-way defenceman won the Calder Trophy in 2014-15 and continued to grow into a top-pair rearguard in the next decade.

Ekblad is the only Panthers’ defenceman with over 100 career goals, and he ranks second in franchise history with 719 games played.

Ekblad played a crucial role in helping the Panthers win the 2024 Stanley Cup. 

6. Sam Reinhart

Like Tkachuk, Sam Reinhart joined the Panthers via trade and has fit like a glove.

Reinhart scored 57 goals in the 2023-24 season and added 10 more – including the clincher in Game 7 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers – in the postseason. 

7. Carter Verhaeghe

Known as one of the most clutch players in today’s NHL, Carter Verhaeghe is one of the best stories in the league.

After spending years bouncing around the minors, Verhaeghe turned himself into a star with the Panthers. He scored the overtime goal in Game 6 of Round 1 against the Washington Capitals in 2022 to give the Cats their first playoff series win since 1996 and scored another overtime clincher against the top-seeded Boston Bruins the following spring. 

Verhaeghe added 11 more goals in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

8. Sergei Bobrovsky

Sergei Bobrovsky had a lot to live up to after he signed a massive contract with the Florida Panthers in 2019.

The first few seasons in Sunrise were not kind to “Bob,” but he eventually found his form in 2021-2022 and backstopped the Cats to a Presidents’ Trophy.

Bobrovsky is 32-20 as a Panther in the playoffs and is so highly regarded by his teammates that he was the first to receive the Cup from Barkov during the traditional handoff.

9. Olli Jokinen

One of Florida’s first franchise icons, Olli Jokinen put up terrific numbers on some poor teams.

The Finnish centre’s 419 points and 188 goals are third-most in franchise history.

10. Gustav Forsling

One of the greatest waiver acquisitions in NHL history, Gustav Forsling went from journeyman to elite defencemen in just a matter of years.

Forsling notched 13 points while playing against the opposition’s best players during the Panthers championship run in 2024. 

With a core of Forsling, Barkov, Tkachuk, Reinhart, and Bobrovsky, the Panthers continue to sit at the top of the hockey odds to win the Stanley Cup.

11. Pavel Bure

One of the most exciting players of his generation, Pavel Bure brought some star power to Sunrise in the late 1990s.

The “Russian Rocket” set a franchise record when he scored 58 goals in 1999-2000 and broke it when he potted 59 more the next season. Nobody has topped it since.