Florida Panthers set team attendance record, fueled by another Stanley Cup playoff run

SUNRISE, Fla. — The on-ice success story for the Florida Panthers is easy to see: They’re one win away from a second consecutive trip to the Stanley Cup Final.

The off-ice success isn’t hard to figure out, either.

With a 26th sellout of the season expected for Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final on Saturday night, when the Panthers play host to the New York Rangers, Florida has already lured more fans to its rink this year than in any other in the team’s 30-season history. And the team’s ticket revenue has climbed 50% from where it was just two years ago, according to data shared with The Associated Press

“If you win and you build a good program, you create an expanded fan base that isn’t necessarily then going to fluctuate with wins and losses all the time,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “You have to, over time, play an exciting game of hockey. But I’d like to feel that we’re part of something with deep enough roots that we would be considered a model franchise.”

That phrase – “model franchise” – was not one that anyone in hockey would tag the Panthers with a few years ago. Relocation rumors, despite the team steadfastly saying they were totally untrue, were constant. The home rink was half-empty, at best, much of the time.

Those days are long gone.