Vaulted: Campbell Wins Lady Byng, Makes Playoffs in 1st Season with Cats

Welcome to "Vaulted," a new series in which we take a look back a moments that are worthy of being enshrined within the Florida Panthers Virtual Vault, which is presented by Baptist Health.

Brian Campbell led the NHL with 2,205:31 of ice time during the 2011-12 season.

A big reason for that?

He only spent six minutes in the penalty box the entire year.

Making headlines in his first season with the Florida Panthers, Campbell became just the third defenseman in NHL history to win the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, which is awarded annually to the skater adjudged to have exhibited the best combination of both skill and sportsmanship.

Prior to Campbell's win, a blueliner hadn't captured the award since Detroit's Red Kelly in 1954.

"It's obviously an honor to be the first defenseman since 1954 to win this award," Campbell said during his acceptance speech at the NHL Awards in Las Vegas. "I take a lot of pride in that."

Acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks in a trade for forward Rostislav Olesz on June 24, 2011, Campbell went on to piece together five incredible seasons in South Florida. Never sitting out a single game, he tallied 28 goals and 147 assists while playing a top-pairing role in 376 contests.

Still, of those five campaigns, his first is by far the most memorable.

In addition to bringing home the Lady Byng, Campbell ranked second among NHL defenseman in scoring with a career-high 53 points (four goals, 49 assists). He also represented the Cats at the 2012 NHL All-Star Game - his fourth and final appearance of his career at the annual event.

[The Vault: Campbell shows off his skills at the 2012 NHL All-Star Game]

With Campbell leading the charge from the blue line and quarterbacking the team's seventh-ranked power play, the Panthers also claimed their first division title in franchise history that season, winning the now-defunct 2012 Southeast Division crown with a record of 38-26-18.

Entering the playoffs as the third seed in the Eastern Conference, they went on to lose their opening round matchup with the sixth-seeded New Jersey Devils in seven games. Campbell skated more than 25 minutes in six of those games, including a whopping 39:31 in Game 7.

Campbell's biggest moment of the series came in Game 3, when his power-play tally in the second period helped the Panthers claw back from a three-goal deficit to claim a 4-3 victory.

[The Vault: Campbell scores in Game 3 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals]

A veteran of 17 seasons in the NHL, Campbell officially hung up his skates and retired on July 17, 2017. Originally selected in the sixth round (156th overall) by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1997 NHL Draft, the Strathroy, Ontario native posted 87 goals and 417 assists in 1,082 career games.

"I'm grateful to the countless number of teammates, coaches, team staff and fans that I have crossed paths with throughout my playing career in Chicago, Buffalo, Florida and San Jose," said Campbell, who ranks fifth all-time among Florida's defensemen in scoring with 175 points.

Want to explore the Panthers Virtual Vault? Click HERE to visit!