Panthers at 25: 'We're just hitting our stride'

FORT LAUDERDALE -The Florida Panthers are just getting started.
With the unveiling of their 25th anniversary logo on a balmy Friday morning at Esplanade Park in downtown Fort Lauderdale, the Panthers kicked off a year-long silver celebration that will honor the franchise's past while also looking ahead towards a very bright future.

After reaching the Stanley Cup Final in just their third year of existence in 1996, the Panthers fell on hard times before Vinnie Viola and Doug Cifu purchased the team in 2013. Under this new ownership, Florida has posted two of its best three point totals in franchise history.
This past season, the Panthers fell one point short of the postseason despite being one of the best teams in the league during the second half. After the All-Star break, Florida went 25-8-2 to finish with 96 points - the third-best season in franchise history.
"Twenty-five years sounds a like a lot, but we're still one of the youngest franchises in the NHL," Panthers President & CEO Matt Caldwell said. "We're actively building our tradition now… This brings back memories of the team from the first couple years, especially the third year. There was a really tough period between original owner Wayne Huizenga and Vinnie Viola, but now we're going to renew that excitement and bring back that winning spirit."
In designing their anniversary logo, the Panthers incorporated familiar symbols from the club's past and present. The circular exterior of the logo pays tribute to the club's third jersey crest, worn from 2009-12, and the team's original "Florida Panthers Hockey Club" emblem. Inside the circle, a silver "25" rests on top of Florida's state flag, a nod to the team's "One Territory" message.
The most intriguing part of the logo, however, sits directly in its center.
Back by popular demand, a modernized rendition of the organization's original secondary logo, which featured a crossed palm tree and hockey stick within the sun, sits on top of the silver "25."
"I always wanted to work it back into our look," said John Viola, who represented ownership at the event. "I know how much our fans love it, and I love it. It was something in 1993 that screamed South Florida hockey. I'm really happy that we were able to bring it back in."
In addition to the new logo, which will be stitched onto the upper-right chest of player's jerseys for all home and road games during the 2018-19 regular season, Caldwell said the Panthers will also celebrate their silver anniversary through a wide variety of different initiatives and events.
"You'll see it throughout the whole season," Caldwell said. "We have a number of tributes and special nights that we haven't announced yet. I'd say almost every month we'll have some sort of celebration."
For lifelong Panthers fan Shawn Hawkins, the team's 25th anniversary is almost surreal.
"I can't believe that it's been 25 years," said Hawkins, a fan since the team's inaugural season in 1993-94. "I'm happy that I've been able to experience 25 years of NHL hockey. They're paying the right tribute to the past 25 years. It's a good reflection how fast 25 years can fly by.
"Looking ahead, we're extremely close… The main thing is that the core is going to be with us for a long time now, which is the number one priority from a fan perspective. The ownership locked those guys in, which was the right thing to do. I have all faith and confidence that this team is going to get better and that this upcoming season we're definitely making the playoffs."
With a new logo and the unwavering support of their fans, the Panthers are ready to make some noise during the upcoming campaign, as the team's young core of Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau, Vincent Trocheck and Aaron Ekblad look to lead the team back to the playoffs.
After 25 years, the Panthers are ready to recapture the spotlight.
"It's a collective effort going forward," said Viola. "We've got great talent that loves one another and cares for one another, which means the world to us. They're men of character. We've also got a community that's continuing to just boom and grow.
"Every time I open a newspaper and somebody's talking about how this is one of the top-10 places to be in the country and how much it's growing. We're in the heart of it all and we're growing, too. Twenty-five is young in a sport where a lot of teams go back to the '20s and '40s. We're just hitting our stride."