Panthers Snubbed With Opening Night Time Slot

All they did was win the Stanley Cup. Twice.

The powers that be at ESPN have decided the Florida Panthers should raise their second Stanley Cup banner on opening night at 5 p.m before a nationally-televised audience. At least, those that are not stuck in rush hour traffic coming home from work or school.

When the Panthers raised their banner in 2024 it was done on prime time television with a 7 p.m. puck drop. There was a big television audience and a packed arena. The Panthers defeated the Boston Bruins that night and the atmosphere was electric.

Now, the Panthers will leadoff a triple-header on ESPN and the puck will drop when people are either in traffic or working. Many of the fans wishing to watch the game, in person or on television, will have to leave work early or take the day or afternoon off.

It's just not right.

Whether the rest of the country likes it or not, the Panthers are two-time defending Stanley Cup Champions and should get their flowers. That starts with giving them the prime time game slot. This is blatant disrespect by the National Hockey League and ESPN.

The Panthers will face off against the Chicago Blackhawks on Oct. 7. They will be followed by two more games. The New York Rangers play the Pittsburgh Penguins in the prime time game. Two teams celebrated for missing the playoffs last season. The nightcap will be the Colorado Avalanche vs. the Los Angeles Kings.

The opening night ESPN slate was released Monday morning. The balance of the schedule will be released on Wednesday by the NHL.

The Panthers kick off the defense of their titles and look to become the NHL's first three-peat champion in almost 50 years, since the New York Islanders did it in the early 1980's.

The Panthers bring back nearly the whole team from the team that defeated the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup Final 4-to-2. Aleksander Barkov, Sergei Bobrovsky, Sam Reinhart and Matthew Tkachuk were already under contract for the season. Then the team re-signed three unrestricted free agents to be in Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad and Brad Marchand.