Florida Panthers should become the Fort Lauderdale Panthers

Not so much a relocation, but a rebranding for the Florida Panthers to be the “Fort Lauderdale Panthers” might be just what the franchise needs. After all, they haven’t had much success being called the Florida Panthers, have they?

On a recent trip to Miami, I found myself flying in Fort Lauderdale airport. While waiting for my flight to board, and in between deciding if I should buy an $8 or a $10 Bud Light at 6:00 in the morning, I heard a very interesting announcement come over the airport intercom system: “Welcome to Fort Lauderdale, Florida! If you’re a sports fan, why not root for our Florida Panthers?”

Yes, the team has fallen so desperate for fan support that they’re begging the poor vacationers of South Florida to buy tickets. Where you see a plane full of retirees heading south for the winter, the Panthers see a potential fan base.

More from Puck Prose

On my flight back while I was enjoying the agonizing lack of leg room on my flight, it hit me, and maybe Fort Lauderdale was onto something. Maybe the Panthers should move to Fort Lauderdale?

Now, I don’t mean uproot from BBC Center in Sunrise and build a new arena in the heart of Fort Lauderdale. But more from a branding perspective. Since their inception the Panthers have been the “Florida” Panthers, claiming no allegiance to any specific city in South Florida. While Central Florida cities, namely Tampa and Orlando, can bask in the glory and success of the Tampa Bay Lightning, the cats seemed confused with no real home.

Ask the NHL and they’ll tell you that the Panthers are their team for the Miami Metropolitan area. Although they pale in comparison to the other major league sports teams. Even the dreadful at the box office and on the field Miami Marlins pledge their allegiance to South Beach, while the Panthers play 30 minutes away from the sand and surf of South Beach.

Here’s where the NHL and Panthers can use some creative marketing to drum up fan support. Fort Lauderdale is more or less part of the Miami Metropolitan area. Instead of christening their NHL team under a generic “Florida” banner, why not reinvent themselves as the Fort Lauderdale Panthers? That way the smaller city of the two, which may or may not have always had an inferiority complex to Miami, can have an emotional attachment to the team they most likely forgot existed.

Now I know what you’re thinking – what about the Panthers fans in Miami? Won’t those few and proud who strut down Ocean Drive in their old style cat and palm trees Roberto Luongo jerseys feel alienated by the move?

Most likely not. San Francisco hockey fans aren’t upset they’re called the San Jose Sharks. Cincinnati and Cleveland Hockey fans aren’t upset their team is called is Columbus Blue Jackets? And last, but not least, I don’t think any Phoenix hockey fans were upset when they’re team became the Arizona Coyotes. Honestly, they were probably more upset their arena is a short Oregon Trail esque voyage away in Glendale.

The way I see it, it’s a low risk, high reward scenario for the Panthers. A simple name change, while keeping your team identity intact, and you have immediately roped in a whole community of sports fans who will be glad to see their own city’s name on a jersey crest for once.

Must Read. Quenneville Hire Begins Summer Of Changes. light

At the same time, considering they play the same distance away in the same arena they always have, you’re not pushing away your current fan base. The influx of new fans and gate receipts would be great for the perennially money-losing franchise.

By no means do I expect this to have any effect on how the Panthers fare on the ice, but with the Joel Quenneville era ready to be ushered in, maybe its time to rebrand themselves with changes on and off the ice. They have a lot of work to do on their own roster and coaching staff, so I’m not expecting “Fort Lauderdale” to be engraved in Stanley Cup silver anytime soon. This is merely a way to build the fan base and fill the seats in what has been a depressingly empty arena in the last few years.

Next. Each NHL Team's Greatest Player Of All-Time. dark

Worst case scenario, not that it can really get worse for them, for the Panthers, it doesn’t work and they go back to “Florida”. It’s an out of the box idea, but then again, in the box ideas have never worked for the Panthers.

Home/Florida Panthers