Hockey ; PANTHERS HIRE DOUG MACLEAN, 1995

After missing the playoffs by a single point in each of their first two NHL seasons, the Panthers made a coaching change behind the bench. After dismissing the club’s inaugural coach, Roger Neilson, the team named Doug MacLean as his replacement on July 24, 1995. While Neilson was an NHL pioneer, he had drawn the ire of the organization for the conservative style of play he dictated and his reliance on veteran players. In his last season as coach, the Panthers finished with the fewest goals in the league. Although MacLean was stepping into his first NHL coaching role, general manager Bryan Murray believed he could turn things around. Before joining the Panthers organization as the director of player development, MacLean had served as an assistant coach under Murray in Detroit. Following two years on the Red Wings’ bench, MacLean became the general manager of the club’s American Hockey League affiliate in the Adirondacks, where he was chiefly responsible for acquiring Kris Draper from the Winnipeg Jets for $1 — one of the best deals in hockey history.

With the Panthers, the plan was that MacLean would infuse a more aggressive brand of hockey into the organization. At his introductory press conference, he acknowledged as much. “I think as you move into your third and fourth year, it’s time to take another step,” he said. With MacLean at the helm, the Panthers did just that. Relying on a mix of veteran players and youngsters such as defenceman Ed Jovanovski, whom the club had drafted first overall two years earlier, MacLean guided the team to its best finish and first playoff appearance in franchise history. In the post-season, the Panthers went on an improbable run to the Stanley Cup Final, captivating the hockey world with their play on the ice and the quirky rat-throwing tradition of the Florida faithful. Although they were swept by the Avalanche, it was an incredible story. MacLean would lead the Panthers to the post-season again the following season but was fired in 1997 after the club got off to a sluggish start.