Florida Panthers’ 1990s All-Decade Team

It is also the second-highest single-season goal total in franchise history, only behind his own total in the 2000–01 season. He also finished the season with a plus-25 during his 74-game run. In the 1999–00 playoff run, he appeared in four games and recorded one goal and three assists.

Ed Jovanovski

The left-handed defenseman pool of the 1990s Panthers isn’t exactly rich in offensive production; there are a handful of directions to go, but ultimately the selection landed on the 1995–96 rookie season of first-overall pick Ed Jovanovski. In that campaign, beyond being a key member of a team that made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final, he appeared in 70 games and had 10 goals and 11 assists for a total of 21 points.

It is the 22nd-highest goal total in franchise history among defensemen, the third-highest from the decade, and the highest of anyone who is left-handed. With his offensive contributions, that isn’t the brightest spot of his play style; it’s about his defensive ability and physicality he brings as a player, and his rookie form brought physicality at a tremendous level. He also had 137 penalty minutes and was a minus-3 on the season. He followed that up with a successful playoff run of 22 games, recording one goal and eight assists.

Robert Svehla

The final skater slot for right-handed defensemen goes to someone who is scattered throughout the Panthers’ record book, especially for his work and role as an offensive defenseman. The spot goes to Robert Svehla, particularly for his 1995–96 season in which he played 81 games, putting up eight goals and 49 assists for a total of 57 points. This is the fourth-highest point total for a defenseman in Panthers history and the highest of the decade.

This performance also gives him the third-highest assist total among all-time Panthers defensemen. During this season, he had 94 penalty minutes and finished with a minus-3 rating over 81 games. He also appeared in 22 playoff games and finished with zero goals and six assists for six playoff points.

John Vanbiesbrouck

The goalie selection for this team is a fixture and stalwart of the organization, and a look back at the decade would not be complete without a discussion of this goaltender. John Vanbiesbrouck came to define the first era of Panthers hockey, backstopping them on several occasions, including the run all the way to the eventual loss in the Stanley Cup Final.

His best single season on this list came in 1993–94 when he had an incredible season, finishing second in Vezina Trophy voting and third in Hart Trophy voting. He also finished with a 2.53 goals-against average (GAA) and a .924 save percentage (SV%) across 57 games.

Honourable Mentions

There are a variety of worthy players who could stake a claim to their spot on this list, and some of the honorable mentions include Ray Whitney, Jason Woolley, and Gord Murphy. However, all the players selected have their claim to the spot, and it begs the question of which all-decade roster would be the most prolific and which one would be the most intimidating to the rest of the league.

The exploration will continue further in examining the 2000s, 2010s and 2020s all-decade rosters to compare the production to the others. The 1990s all-decade roster of the players on this list produced 125 goals and 187 assists in their best seasons for a total of 312 points; it remains to be seen how that compares to the other Panthers all-decade teams.