| − | The '''Florida Panthers''' are a [[hockey]] team based in [[Fort Lauderdale]] and [[Miami]], [[Florida]]. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League ([[NHL]]). They were founded in the 1993 NHL expansion, a part of an effort to attact Hockey to the southern United States. The Panthers play at the BankAtlantic Center. | + | The '''Florida Panthers''' are a [[hockey]] team based in [[Fort Lauderdale]] and [[Miami]], [[Florida]]. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League ([[NHL]]). They were founded in the 1993 NHL expansion, a part of an effort to attact Hockey to the southern United States, and the name is taken from the Florida panther, a species of large cat native to the nearby Everglades (and critically endangered). The Panthers play at the BankAtlantic Center. |