Florida Panthers Trivia
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100 free Florida Panthers trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This Florida Panthers trivia quiz follows the NHL's southernmost team from Wayne Huizenga's $50 million expansion fee and the 'Block Busters' name the league rejected, through Roger Neilson's trap, Scott Mellanby's rat, the 1996 run to the Final and Uwe Krupp's triple-overtime goal, Pavel Bure, the Luongo trade, the Bouwmeester draft-day gamble, the record playoff drought, Dale Tallon's blueprint, the Vegas expansion-draft blunder, Sergei Bobrovsky's contract, the Presidents' Trophy, the Tkachuk-Huberdeau swap and Paul Maurice's three straight Finals with two Stanley Cups. The arena, mascots and colours get their own round: Miami Arena and Sunrise, Stanley C. Panther and Viktor E. Ratt, the leaping panther and the shield, and the first retired number. Easy questions suit any Cats fan; the hard ones are for people who remember the Thunderdome crowd of 27,227. Every answer has been checked against an encyclopaedic source and each question shows its citation once you have answered.
30 of 100 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which Blockbuster Video magnate was awarded the Panthers franchise in December 1992?
Wayne Huizenga
He already owned the Marlins and part of the Dolphins; the entry fee was $50 million.
Q 02What name did the owner originally want for the team, before the NHL rejected it?
Block Busters
The uniforms would have been in the video chain's blue and gold.
Q 03The Panthers were awarded on the same day as which other 1993 expansion team?
Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
Disney got the rights to Anaheim that morning; the two clubs entered the league together in 1993-94.
Q 04The team is named for an endangered big cat native to which region?
The Everglades
The club pledged money to panther preservation when the logo was unveiled.
Q 05Which former Islanders general manager was named the Panthers' first president in 1993?
Bill Torrey
Bobby Clarke was the first GM but left for Philadelphia after one season.
Q 06The Panthers' first coach, Roger Neilson, drew criticism for a conservative system known as what?
The trap
Rivals said the expansion club was ruining the game, but it finished two points under .500 in year one.
Q 07The Panthers' first win at the Thunderdome drew a then-record NHL crowd of how many?
27,227
John Vanbiesbrouck was the goaltender; the team then averaged 94% capacity at the 14,500-seat Miami Arena.
Q 08Which Panther killed a dressing-room rat in 1995 and scored twice, starting the rubber-rat tradition?
Scott Mellanby
John Vanbiesbrouck dubbed it a 'rat trick'; more than 2,000 toy rats were flying by playoff time.
Q 09The Panthers were swept in the 1996 Stanley Cup Final by which team?
Colorado Avalanche
Uwe Krupp's goal after 44 minutes of overtime ended Game 4 1-0 and the series.
Q 10Who finally scored for Colorado in Game 4 of the 1996 Final, the longest scoreless Cup Final game?
Uwe Krupp
The unassisted goal came at 4:31 of the third overtime.
Q 11The Panthers moved in 1998 to a new arena in which Broward County city?
Sunrise
The $185 million building was almost entirely publicly financed and has carried half a dozen names.
Q 12The Panthers' arena originally took its name from which company, bought by Huizenga in 1997?
National Car Rental
It has since been BankAtlantic Center, BB&T Center, FLA Live Arena and Amerant Bank Arena.
Q 13Which 'Russian Rocket' did the Panthers acquire from Vancouver in 1998-99?
Pavel Bure
He was briefly reunited with his brother Valeri before being traded to the Rangers in 2002.
Q 21The Panthers' 96-point 2017-18 season tied an NHL mark for what?
Most points while missing the playoffs
A 25-8-2 finish left them one point short.
Q 22Which two-time Vezina winner signed a much-questioned seven-year deal with Florida in 2019?
Sergei Bobrovsky
He backstopped both Cup runs and left in free agency in the 2026 off-season.
Q 23Which player became the first to have his number retired by the Panthers, in March 2020?
Roberto Luongo
He had two stints in Florida, was reacquired from Vancouver in 2014 and retired in 2019.
Q 14The Panthers traded away the 2002 first overall pick, which Columbus used on whom?
Rick Nash
Florida then paid Atlanta two picks to make sure Bouwmeester lasted to No. 3; coach Mike Keenan called it a mistake.
Q 15The Panthers' notorious 2006 trade of their star goaltender to Vancouver brought back which forward?
Todd Bertuzzi
He played only a handful of games before being flipped to Detroit; the deal is ranked among the worst in sports.
Q 16The Panthers missed the playoffs how many consecutive seasons through 2009-10, an NHL first for one city?
9
The drought ended with the franchise's first division title in 2012.
Q 17Which general manager, hired in 2010, rebuilt the Panthers under a plan he called 'the Blueprint'?
Dale Tallon
His teams made the playoffs three times but never won a round.
Q 18In 2012 the Panthers lost Game 7 at home in double overtime to which team?
New Jersey Devils
The Devils went on to the Stanley Cup Final that spring.
Q 19With the first overall pick in 2014 the Panthers selected which defenceman?
Aaron Ekblad
He was later suspended 20 games in 2025 for a performance-enhancing substance violation, then won a second Cup.
Q 20In the 2017 expansion draft the Panthers left which two 30-goal scorers unprotected for Vegas?
Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith
Both haunted them in the 2023 Final: Marchessault won the Conn Smythe and Smith scored the clincher.
Q 24Which coach resigned in October 2021 amid fallout from the 2010 Blackhawks scandal despite a 7-0-0 start?
Joel Quenneville
Interim coach Andrew Brunette took the team to its first Presidents' Trophy.
Q 25The Panthers won their first Presidents' Trophy in 2021-22 with how many points?
122
It was the best record in the league since Tampa Bay's 2018-19 team, but they were swept by the Lightning in round two.
Q 26The Panthers' 2022 series win over Washington was their first playoff series victory since which year?
1996
That 26-year gap ended with a 4-3 overtime win in Game 6.
Q 27The 2022 sign-and-trade for Matthew Tkachuk sent which 100-point forward to Calgary?
Jonathan Huberdeau
It was the first swap of two 100-point scorers since Gretzky for Jimmy Carson in 1988.
Q 28Who was hired as the Panthers' 18th head coach in June 2022?
Paul Maurice
He had coached Hartford, Carolina, Toronto and Winnipeg and was the youngest coach ever to reach 1,000 games.
Q 29In the 2023 first round the Panthers upset which 135-point team after trailing 3-1?
Boston Bruins
Brandon Montour tied Game 7 with under a minute left and Carter Verhaeghe won it in overtime.
Q 30Matthew Tkachuk's 2023 quadruple-overtime goal beat which team in the longest game in Panthers history?
Carolina Hurricanes
Florida went on to sweep the series, its first ever playoff sweep, before losing the Final to Vegas.