The Panthers have seen their fair share of success and young talent run through Sunrise in the past eight years. In fact, Florida even won their division twice, coming in 2011-12 and 2015-16. So Panthers fans had their cut of success during the regular season.
But, there’s been little success in the playoffs for the Panthers since the days of goalie John Vanbiesbrouck and superstar winger Pavel Bure. Vanbiesbrouck brought the Panthers to their only Stanley Cup Finals appearance, in 1996.
Ultimately, the Panthers wound up losing to another team making its first Stanley Cup Finals appearance, in the Colorado Avalanche. Most of the team’s fortunes have gone downhill since then. The rotating success of teams in the Southeast Division, and now the Atlantic Division, put some additional stress on the Panthers.
The biggest thing that likely stresses out the fans of both the Panthers and Yotes is the constant threat of relocation. That’s something that Florida and Arizona share with the Canes. Smaller fan bases and struggling times of few successes puts strain on the franchises’ relations with the rest of the league.