The Florida Panthers are currently one of the best teams in the National Hockey League. Whether fans love or hate them, what cannot be debated is the great success the franchise has experienced over the last four years. Ever since team President and CEO Matt Caldwell hired Bill Zito as the team's general manager, Florida has experienced their best run in franchise history, which is saying a lot.
A President's Trophy, a couple of Atlantic Division crowns, three Eastern Conference titles, and back-to-back Stanley Cup championships have forever changed the outlook on a once dormant franchise. That's what makes this recent run of success exhilarating and shocking. For those who are either too young to remember or new to the sport, the Cats have not always been this great.
From 1993 to 2016, Florida made the Stanley Cup Playoffs just five times. Four of those five appearances resulted in opening round exits. Florida was once a perennial doormat, a place where careers went to die. While the weather was always sunny and bright in South Florida, the hockey seasons were as dark and cold as a winter in Buffalo.
Why was that the case? Well, the Panthers were under a cloud of consistently underwhelming management. From the owners to the front office and coaching staff, the Cats never had the right leadership in place. This is a franchise that once had former NFL quarterback Bernie Kosar as part of an ownership group, led by him and Alan Cohen.
As a result of incompetent management, the Florida Panthers failed to build a competent hockey club for many years. The biggest singular reason as to why the Cats were irrelevant for so long was because of their terrible drafting. Some of the most notable names in team history were original draft picks, whether you look at Rob Niedermayer (1993), Ed Jovanovski(1994), Aaron Ekblad(2014), or Aleksander Barkov(2013).
However, if you look at this franchise's drafting history, your eyes might bleed out. Florida and the NHL Entry Draft haven't been the best of friends. More specifically, the franchise swung and whiffed on 16 first-round draft selections from 1996 to 2012, which covers the darkest period the organization has ever seen.
With the 2025 NHL Draft coming up, let's go back in time and see how the Panthers sabotaged their future for decades.
Florida's draft blunders began just 12 days after the Panthers got swept by the Colorado Avalanche in the 1996 Stanley Cup Final. To be specific, on June 22, the front office took a flyer on winger Marcus Nilson. Nilson was the 20th pick of the first round. The Swedish winger played three seasons in the SHL for Djurgardens IF.
He was drafted at 18 years old. Nilson was one of the more intriguing skaters in the draft because of his ability to play all forward positions. He made his NHL debut in January of 1999. At the start of the disastrous 2000-01 campaign, head coach Terry Murray brought him up as a full-time NHL skater. Unfortunately, Marcus never amounted to anything more than a bottom-six checking winger.
The heralded prospect who was born in Balsta, Sweden, wasn't a complete failure. His performance was okay, as in three full seasons with Florida, Nilson racked up 126 points(48 G, 78 A) in 327 career games in Sunrise. However, he wasn't good enough for the team to keep, and at the 2004 trade deadline, he was dealt to Calgary for a second-round pick who would turn out to be David Booth, a steal in the 2004 Draft.
After the trade, Nilson would play just three full seasons in Calgary before hanging up the skates following the 2007-08 season. While his performance was decent value for a late first-round pick, the Panthers could've had something better. With the very next selection, San Jose would select fellow left winger Marco Sturm, who would go on to play 938 games across 14 seasons. The Coyotes also selected Daniel Briere with the 24th pick. Briere would play 17 years and collect 696 career points.
Due to the Panthers making the postseason for the second consecutive year, they once again had their pick late in the first round. With the 20th pick, the Panthers took another left winger, Mike Brown, from the Red Deer Rebels of the WHL. This was worse than Nilson. At least the aforementioned Swede became an NHL regular for several years. That can't be said of Brown.
The British Columbia native slowly grew into one of the better players in the WHL. In the 1997-98 season, Brown scored 23 goals for the Kamloops Blazers. He continued to grow as a player as he continued his stardom in the WHL. Then, on January 17, 1999, he was a part of the blockbuster trade that brought Pavel Bure to Florida. He never played a game in Panthers colors, and that's a good thing.
The winger would make the move to the AHL the following year. In 2000-01, he mostly spent time in the IHL before making his pro debut for the Canucks. He never would come close to being a regular in the NHL. Brown tried to prove himself as an enforcer, but it wasn't enough. The once promising forward would eventually have more penalty minutes(130) than career games played(34). He was out of pro hockey by the fall of 2006 and was a career minor-leaguer.
Five picks after Brown, the Dallas Stars would select the next winger to come off the board, Brendan Morrow. Morrow would play 13 of his 15 years in Dallas, becoming a fan favorite while playing 991 career games and accumulating 575 points. Florida also could've taken defenseman Scott Hannan, who went 23rd overall and would play in 1,055 NHL games.
For the second time in franchise history, the Panthers owned the top pick in an NHL Draft, until they didn't. How did they lose this pick? Well, on November 13, 1997, general manager Bryan Murray dealt it along with 1996 playoff hero Dave Lowry to the Sharks. In exchange, the Cats got a conditional fifth-round draft choice and Russian center Viktor Kozlov.
A few months later, on March 24, 1998, San Jose dealt away the choice in the form of a pick swap, along with Andrei Nazarov, to Tampa Bay. The Sharks received Bryan Marchment and David Shaw. This pick would be drawn at the very top of the lottery, and the Lightning enforced the pick swap, which landed them Vincent Lecavalier.
Longtime Panthers fans should know Lecavalier, and this probably makes them cringe. The former Rimouski star would be a stalemate for Tampa Bay, as he would blossom into one of the greatest players in Lightning history. 14 of his 17 seasons would be spent in Tampa, and he would rack up 949 career points and be one of the major faces of Tampa's first Stanley Cup title in 2004.
On the other hand, Viktor Kozlov wasn't close to being worth a first overall pick. Kozlov would be a good player for the Panthers, spending seven seasons in Sunrise. He was a good offensive playmaker and was one of the few solid point producers on the 1999-00 team that made the playoffs. However, everyone would take Lecavalier over Kozlov in a heartbeat.
In 1999, Bryan Murray, still the general manager, used the 12th overall pick on Russian and Ukrainian winger Denis Shvidki. Shvidki played major junior hockey for the Barrie Colts of the OHL during his draft year and was hyped as one of the best offensive players in the draft. In the 1998-99 season, Shvidki put up ungodly numbers, scoring 35 goals and adding 59 assists for a total of 94 points.
The next year, he would continue to generate excitement as Shvidki scored 41 goals and accumulated 106 points. In 2000-01, Denis would make his NHL debut on opening night, as management felt he had done enough. His NHL Career started very promisingly, as in 43 games, the then 20-year-old scored six goals and added 10 assists. That season also saw him get AHL time for the Louisville Panthers.
Unfortunately, the next season was when the wheels began to fall off, as Shvidki only played a combined 16 games in the NHL and AHL. It seems that the 2001-02 season stunted his growth as he would never come close to his rookie year performance or OHL production. In 2003-04, he would play well with the San Antonio Rampage of the AHL, but would never get another crack with the Panthers.
Due to the 2004-05 NHL lockout, which canceled the season, he moved back to play overseas in Russia and never returned to North America. His NHL career lasted only 76 games across four years. It's disappointing given that Florida could've drafted Martin Havlat, who played the same position and would rack up 594 points in 790 career games. Florida also could've taken Barret Jackman and Nick Boynton.
Fun Fact: Shvidki scored a goal in Roberto Luongo's first win as a Panthers goalie.
As was the case with the 1998 first-round pick, Florida also traded their 2000 first-rounder as a part of the deal that brought Pavel Bure to the Panthers on January 17, 1999. Fortunately, they made the playoffs the next year, meaning this was going to be towards the end of the first round. Vancouver didn't select anyone of note. The Canucks took Nathan Smith, a center.
Smith played in the WHL for the Swift Current Broncos. His peak came in the form of a 90-point season in 2000-01. Smith signed his first pro contract in May of 2002. That was the height of his career, as his Vancouver tenure was hampered by repeated injuries. He nearly lost his career with a knee ailment in 2006. He would play just 26 career games.
If Florida kept the pick, they would've had the opportunity to draft Justin Williams or Niklas Kronwall. Kronwall would become one of the most feared and physical defensemen in the league and played with Detroit during his entire 15-year career. Williams became known as 'Mr. Game Seven.' He would win three Stanley Cups with Carolina and Los Angeles and won the 2014 Conn Smythe Trophy.
Also, the Panthers could've taken Steve Ott or Brad Boyes as well. Boyes became known for his slick shootout skills and great hands. He played 822 games and had a solid career. Same for Ott, who was mostly a bottom-six center who became a fan favorite for the Dallas Stars. He played in 848 games and was known for his physicality as well.
The 2001 NHL Draft was held in Florida for the first time at the then-named National Car Rental Center(now Amerant Bank Arena). The Cats had two picks in the first round. They used the fourth overall pick on Stephen Weiss, who would go on to have a productive 13-year career. He played 11 of those years in Florida. The Panthers also had the 24th pick by way of a trade with the Devils.
Florida decided to take defenseman Lukas Krajicek. The native of the Czech Republic played OHL hockey for the Peterborough Petes. He posted 35 points in his draft year and would stay in Peterborough for the next two years. Along the way, he would increase his production to 53 points in 52 games in his last season. Krajicek then moved over to the pros.
He split the 2003-04 season between Florida and their AHL affiliates in San Antonio. In the 2005-06 season, he earned a full-time spot with the Cats but didn't show much production. His first full season only saw Krajicek post 16 points, very underwhelming for a player who had extra time in the minors due to the 2004-05 lockout.
The blueliner never came close to living up to the flashes he showed as a premier offensive-defenseman in the OHL. Before the 2006-07 season, he was a part of the deal that sent Roberto Luongo to Vancouver, one of the worst trades in team history. He would play just four more years and was out of the NHL by 2011.
While there wasn't much elite talent taken after, Florida could've selected Fedor Tyutin, who played 872 games in the NHL. His best years were spent with the Columbus Blue Jackets, where he was consistently durable, gave decent point production, and was a physical player.
Once again, the Panthers had two picks in the first round. Their first choice was Jay Bouwmeester, who was selected third overall and became a solid defenseman in the NHL. He played with Florida for the first six seasons of his career before moving on with Calgary and eventually St.Louis. Florida used their second choice on Czech center Petr Tatíček.
If you were to make up a list of the biggest busts in franchise history, Tatíček might be at the top. Before getting drafted, he had a couple of amazing seasons with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in the OHL. He combined for 120 points across the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons. Upon his arrival in the pros, Petr would spend time in the AHL over the next three seasons.
In the 2005-06 season, Florida called him up. Do you want to know how long his NHL career lasted? Three games. You read that right. Tatíček would play just three NHL games, all in that year. He went unnoticed, didn't register a point, and became obscure across hockey circles quickly. In March of 2006, he was traded to Pittsburgh and spent his remaining days in the AHL.
By 2007, he was out of the NHL and spent the remainder of his pro career overseas. The Panthers could have taken players like Keith Ballard, Alexander Semin, Chris Higgins, Daniel Paille, Sean Bergenheim, Alex Steen, or goalie Cam Ward. Every other player selected in the top 10 of this draft would go on to have long careers.
For the third consecutive year, the Panthers had two picks in the opening round of the draft. As was the case with the two other instances, the first selection was good while the latter was a disappointment. In 2003, the Cats took Nathan Horton with the third pick. While it can be said that there were better players available, Horton wasn't a scrub.
He became one of the Panthers' best players of the decade, serving as a high-energy, feisty, and physical forward who can generate tons of offensive production. Think of Sam Bennett now, and that's what Horton was. With the 25th pick, a selection acquired in a trade with the Bolts, Florida took Anthony Stewart.
Stewart was a right winger who played for the Kingston Frontenacs of the OHL. In Kingston, from 2001 to 2005, Stewart was one of the top skaters in the league. What made him appealing was that he had the potential to be a dynamic two-way skater who happened to have a large frame. Stewart was 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds.
When moving over to the pros, he would play just four games for the Rochester Americans before the team called him up. In his debut against the Devils, Stewart would record an assist. Unfortunately, his rookie season was over after 10 games after he hurt his wrist when he was crashed into the boards by Carolina's Mike Commodore. It seems as if that moment stunted his growth as a player.
The 2006-07 season was spent mostly in the minors. Stewart wouldn't become a regular in the lineup until the 2008-09 season. In 59 games, he recorded just two goals and only seven points. After the year concluded, he signed a deal with the Atlanta Thrashers as a free agent. After the 2011-12 season, he was done.
In 105 games where he wore a Florida sweater, Anthony Stewart only recorded 12 points. The 2003 Draft is considered by many to be the best in NHL history, and the depth was insane. Just three picks after the Panthers selected Stewart, the Anaheim Ducks selected a winger of their own, Corey Perry.
In the 2004 Draft, the Cats took another winger. We guess Florida loved to take them throughout the 2000s. Unfortunately, they always missed out on the best ones. Rostislav Olesz was the Panthers' choice at the seventh overall spot. To be fair, Olesz wasn't a complete disappointment. He spent years as a member of HC Vitkovice in his country of the Czech Republic.
He began his NHL career in the 2005-06 campaign and recorded 21 points in 59 games. Over his first three seasons, Olesz was a solid contributor. He didn't put up amazing numbers, but was a consistent third-line player who would get around 25 to 30 points. However, you don't draft a forward with the seventh pick just for him to do that. You want more, and Olesz never took his game to the next level.
Injuries would keep him out of the lineup throughout his six-year tenure in South Florida. He had good speed and an all-around game, but couldn't live up to his lofty draft perch. After 2011, Olesz would play just 16 more NHL games across 2012 with Chicago and 2014 with New Jersey.
Instead of an okay but injury-riddled forward, Florida could've had several better players. Ladislav Smid went to the Ducks and was a phenomenal defensive-defenseman and a longtime Oiler. Also, Drew Stafford, Devan Dubnyk, Alexander Radulov, Travis Zajac, Cory Schneider, and Mike Green were all on the board.
The next flop came in the form of Kenndal McArdle. Again, the Panthers took another winger. McArdle played major junior hockey for the Moose Jaw Warriors, where he was pure dynamite for two years. In 2004-05, he would post 37 goals and 37 assists. In the following season, the Toronto native would score 28 goals and add 43 assists for 71 points. He was selected 20th overall.
His intrigue as a prospect would only grow as in December of 2006, he would be named to Team Canada for the 2007 World Junior Championships. He would also win the 2007 Memorial Cup with the Vancouver Giants of the WHL. After spending his first pro season in the minors, McArdle would get some action with the Panthers in the 2007-08 season.
Unfortunately, he could never become a full-time NHL player. He only played in 42 NHL games and spent lots of his time in the AHL. Florida gave up on him quickly, as in the summer of 2011, he was dealt to the Winnipeg Jets and would only play nine games for them. After that, he was done and spent the rest of his career in the AHL and ECHL.
During this period, Florida was struggling to find a replacement for Roberto Luongo. That's imperative to mention because Tuukka Rask would be taken with the very next pick. T.J. Oshie and Andrew Cogliano went off the board a few picks later as well.
In 2006, after another mediocre season, the Cats used the 10th pick on Michael Frolik. For the seventh time in 11 years, the front office used their highest selection on a winger. Just like many of the others, Frolik didn't amount to much. Once again, it is necessary to give a fair judgment here. Frolik wasn't a complete bust.
After having an amazing junior career, both in Kladno, Czech Republic, and for Rimouski in the QMJHL, Frolik was a decent fringe second-line winger for three years in Florida. His connection to Kladno gave Frolik the nickname of "Baby Jagr." During his two years in the QMJHL, Frolik accumulated a total of 138 points and was one of the top scorers in the 2006 Draft.
Frolik didn't spend any time in the minors. As soon as he wrapped up his major junior career, he came over to the Panthers and had an impact. In his rookie season, Frolik scored 21 goals and was 10th in Calder Trophy voting. The next year, he had another 21-goal season and added 22 assists. Things were good, but the reason he's mentioned here is because of his long-term career trajectory.
He never proved he was worthy of being a top 10 selection. He was productive, sure. However, similar to Rostislav Olesz, a team is looking for more than a couple of 40+ point seasons when they draft a player 10th. The 2010-11 season marked a turning point. Frolik's production dropped in his third year. In 52 games for the Panthers, he only lit the lamp eight times.
In early February of that season, he was traded to Chicago. After, Frolik would be a journeyman, having stops with the Blackhawks, Jets, and Flames. He also had a few short-term stays with Buffalo and Montreal. He was a respectable player, retiring from the NHL after the 2020-21 season. However, he never became an all-star caliber player at the very least.
If you look at that year's draft order, you will notice that the Panthers could've had someone better. The next two picks were Jonathan Bernier and Bryan Little. Even worse, Claude Giroux was taken by the Flyers with the 22nd pick, and Nick Foligno went 28th to Ottawa. Little, Giroux, and Foligno would all go on to have great careers as wingers in the league.
In 2007, Florida finally decided to change their draft strategy a bit. With the 10th pick, the Panthers selected defenseman Keaton Ellerby from the WHL. Ellerby had limited offensive upside coming out of junior hockey. In his five seasons with the Kamloops Blazers and Moose Jaw Warriors, the blueliner would only get 60 points in 266 career games.
However, he was still highly touted due to his physical playing style and large frame, as Ellerby stood at 6-foot-5 and 216 pounds. Also, another aspect that made Keaton an intriguing prospect was the fact that he was a good skater, despite being huge. He was slated to be one of the elite, defensive-minded defensemen in the game, who could be effective on the penalty kill.
After spending the entire 2008-09 campaign with the Rochester Americans in the AHL, Ellerby would be given a chance to play at the NHL level. Unfortunately, Ellerby would never show he was capable of being a full-time NHL skater. In 2009-10, he played only 22 games, going pointless. The next year would see him get an increase in ice time.
He would show flashes of being good at his role. The 22-year-old would block 68 shots and dish out 74 hits in 54 games, but once again, he would be sent down to the minors. That would continue to be the theme for the remainder of his tenure in South Florida. The next year would see him play only 40 games in Florida while being a scratch on many nights. He was in and out of the lineup constantly.
In February of 2013, he would be dealt to the L.A. Kings, and he would play in only 96 more games before hanging up the skates in 2015. When reflecting, the front office did the right thing by trying to add to their blueline. However, they picked the wrong defenseman. Just two picks after Ellerby, Ryan McDonagh would get taken by Montreal.
Florida also could've taken Brandon Sutter, Lars Eller, Kevin Shattenkirk, Ian Cole, Max Pacioretty, Mikael Backlund, or David Perron. This was a big miss for the Panthers, and the players who got taken afterwards certainly didn't help their cause.
In 2008, the Florida Panthers didn't have a first-round draft pick. Why? Well, the team had originally traded it to the Nashville Predators to fix their long-term goaltending problem. The deal did make sense, and the Cats got good value out of it, considering that they acquired Tomas Vokoun, who had a good career as a starter.
However, the goalie situation could've been addressed earlier if they had taken some of the prospects mentioned in earlier years. Regardless, Vokoun was good in Florida, but what could've been? If Florida had secured an elite goalie in previous drafts, they would've had the ninth pick. Nashville dealt this selection to the Islanders, who took Josh Bailey ninth overall.
Bailey would become a career-long Islander, racking up 580 points in 1,057 career games. Other than Bailey, there were plenty of other great players who got selected in the first round. Tyler Myers would be taken by Buffalo at pick 12. Erik Karlsson would go to Ottawa three picks after Myers. Jake Gardiner, Michael Del Zotto, Jordan Eberle, Tyler Ennis, and John Carlson would also get selected in the opening round.
Unfortunately, while Vokoun was great for the Panthers, his most memorable moment in South Florida was when he got hit by teammate Keith Ballard incidentally in 2009. Needless to say, Ballard was frustrated and missed badly. This play sums up the franchise's existence throughout the 2000s.
We'll skip 2009, as for once in forever, Florida took a good player, Dmitry Kulikov. Kulikov would blossom into once of the better defensive-minded defensemen in the NHL and is still around. He is now a back-to-back Stanley Cup champion with Florida.
Moving on, the 2010 NHL Entry Draft is a pivotal moment in the franchise's history. This was the first draft that general manager Dale Tallon would orchestrate. The Panthers, for the first time, had not one, not two, but three picks in the first round. How did it go? It was an absolute disaster. First, Florida selected bruising defenseman Erik Gudbransson with the third overall pick.
Gudbransson would play 805 games in the NHL beginning in 2011-12 and is still in the league, barely. However, that doesn't mean he was good. Gudbransson had his moments and gave Panthers fans some entertainment because of his bone-jarring hits as well as his fights. However, he was never a major contributor and failed mostly because of his skating.
He would throw the body, block shots, and be on the penalty kill. However, he wasn't the smartest player, struggled with skating, and didn't produce much of anything else. He would play 309 games for Florida, dealing with injuries each year. After 2016, he left as a free agent and became a journeyman, playing for Vancouver, Pittsburgh, Anaheim, Ottawa, Nashville, Calgary, and Columbus.
Ryan Johansen, Nino Niederreiter, Jeff Skinner, Mikael Granlund, Cam Fowler, Jaden Schwartz, and Vladimir Tarasenko at the time Florida took Gudbransson.
Tallon's next pick was used on center Nick Bjugstad at the 19th overall spot. Out of the three picks in this draft, Bjugstad would turn out to be the best one. Nick would be another injury-plagued skater for the Panthers, as he would play only one full season during his five and a half years in South Florida.
However, he was still a decent contributor when on the ice. Bjugstad would mostly see time on the second line and was one of the few point producers on a Florida team that lacked depth down the middle. When healthy, he would accumulate anywhere from 30 to 40-plus points. His best year would ultimately be his last.
During the 2017-18 campaign, he would score 19 goals and 30 assists for a total of 49 points while playing in all 82 games. That year was the season in which the Panthers started slow, got off the mat, and rallied to nearly make the playoffs. Florida missed the postseason by one point. The next year, he was traded to Pittsburgh after 32 games.
Soon after, Nick Bjugstad would bounce around the league. He would play for the Penguins briefly before going back to his hometown team in the Minnesota Wild. After a couple of years there, he would have a cup of coffee with Edmonton before being dealt to the Arizona Coyotes, where he is still today. Arizona relocated to become the Utah Mammoth.
While there weren't many great players that got selected in between this pick and Florida's next selection, they did miss out on a chance to draft winger Kevin Hayes, who went to Chicago at pick 24. Hayes would become a good player, mostly with the Flyers. He would play in the 2023 All-Star Game.
The last of this 'little 3' is Quinton Howden, the 25th pick. Howden is by far the worst of the three selections Tallon had in the first round of 2010. Why is he the worst of the bunch? He only appeared in 97 career games. He would score just 10 goals and add only seven assists for 17 career points. Howden would never find his way to becoming a regular in the Panthers' lineup.
He was never close. The Canadian would make his NHL debut by playing 18 games in the 2012-13 season. He would go pointless and post a -11 rating. He would play in 16 games the next year, scoring two goals and adding four assists. Then, two years later, he would play 56 games in 2015-16 and lit the lamp six times.
However, his career trajectory was clear. After being a non-contributor, the Panthers would let him walk in 2016 free agency. He would sign a contract with the Winnipeg Jets but would only play in five games. After that, his career was over. The Panthers missed the mark here as well. Three of the next five picks would become Evgeny Kuznetsov, Charlie Coyle, and Brock Nelson. Ouch.
We conclude with 2012's first-rounder, defenseman Michael Matheson. Matheson came out of the NCAA ranks, as he played for the Boston College Eagles. It was in Chestnut Hill where the young blueliner would show skills that could translate into a great two-way defenseman. With the Eagles, Matheson would experience success.
He would play in three NCAA Tournaments and make the Frozen Four in 2013-14. After his collegiate career concluded, he would be taken 23rd overall by Florida. After playing in eight combined contests between the regular season and playoffs, he would become a regular starting in the disma 2016-17 season. He was good in his rookie year, accumulating 17 points and 118 blocks in 81 games.
Then, Dale Tallon had the brilliant idea to treat Matheson as if he were Drew Doughty. At the start of the 2017-18 season, the second-year pro would sign an eight-year, $39 million contract extension. After that, he regressed. While mostly healthy, Mike would regress as a player. He had consistent problems with being lackadaisical, especially turning the puck over in his zone.
He had the habit of being too aggressive on finishing his checks, resulting in lots of dumb penalties. He was also known for having a few dirty moments on the ice, which gave him a bad reputation. He was a stalemate in Florida from 2016 to 2020, but it would've been better to have a traffic cone on the blueline instead. He has a -24 rating in 2018-19.
After 2020, he was jolted out of Florida, as Bill Zito was hired as the general manager, replacing Tallon. In his first move in charge, Zito dealt Matheson and Colton Sceviour to Pittsburgh for Patric Hörnqvist, beginning a new era in South Florida. If Tallon used this pick correctly, he could've had Brady Skjei or Tanner Pearson instead.
Final Words
What can we learn about these draft failures? Well, as said earlier, the Panthers were stuck in the basement for over two decades. Even after the arrival of Jonathan Huberdeau in 2011, Aleksander Barkov in 2013, and Aaron Ekblad in 2014, the Panthers continue to struggle for several years. It was only until Bill Zito arrived that things fully changed for the better.
Drafting is important. It's one of the biggest ways for a franchise to improve itself. That is especially the case for a small market franchise that can't get big-name free agents in their prime. That was the case with the Panthers for a long time. Many of the game's best players during this dismal era never looked at Florida as a prime destination since the franchise was stuck in limbo.
The only way Florida had a chance to legitimately improve itself was through the NHL's selection meeting. Missed picks mean missed opportunities. Missed opportunities never give you a chance to improve, and that's the case for the Cats in their entire history. The benefits of striking gold and the negatives of striking out with high draft picks can make or break a franchise for future years and decades. Luckily, striking out isn't the case for Panthers fans anymore.
More Draft Failures:
- 2015: Lawson Crouse-11th Overall
- 2016: Henrik Borgstrom- 23rd Overall
- 2018: Grigori Denisenko- 15th Overall