What NHL Teams Are In Florida?
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Wondering what NHL teams are in Florida? The Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers, and Miami Red Wings are all NHL teams in Florida.
NHL Teams in Florida
The NHL currently has two teams in Florida: the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Florida Panthers.
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The Lightning play their home games in Amalie Arena.
The Lightning were established in 1992 as an expansion team, and then won the Stanley Cup championship in 2004. The team is owned by Jeffrey Vinik, while Julien BriseBois serves as its general manager.
Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The team’s local broadcasting rights are held by Fox Sports Florida.
The Panthers were established as an expansion team in 1993, and began play in the 1993–94 NHL season. They are the second major professional sports franchise in South Florida, after MLB’s Miami Marlins.
The Panthers play their home games at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida. The team has made one appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals, in 1996, and won seven Southeast Division titles: 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2016.
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Lightning were founded in 1992 as an expansion team, and played their home games at the Expo Hall at the Florida State Fairgrounds until 1996, when they moved to ThunderDome at St. Petersburg’s Tropicana Field. Since sharing the arena with the Tampa Bay Rays baseball franchise, both teams have been commonly referred to as the Tampa Bay Times Forum.
NHL Teams in Central Florida
The NHL has two teams in Florida, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Florida Panthers. Both teams play their home games in the Sunshine State. Central Florida is home to the Lightning, while the Panthers play in South Florida.
Orlando Solar Bears
The Orlando Solar Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Orlando, Florida. They are members of the South Division of the ECHL’s Eastern Conference. The Solar Bears play their home games at the Amway Center. The team’s primary logo features a solar bear.
The franchise was announced as relocating from Chicago, Illinois on October 28, 2011. On June 21, 2012, the team announced its intention of being known as the Orlando Solar Bears, reviving a previous franchise name from when Orlando was home to an International Hockey League (IHL) team from 1995 to 2001.
Inaugural head coach Vince Williams was replaced by John Vehicle during the 2013 offseason. After only one season with the Solar Bears, Varone was replaced by former NHL player Anthony Noreen on May 28, 2014.
Noreen would last two seasons with Orlando, which included a controversial playoff series against in-state rivals, the Tampa Bay Lightning’s affiliate Tampa Bay Rowdies which saw five players suspended due to an on-ice brawl that spilled into the stands at Amway Center.
Jacksonville Icemen
The Jacksonville Icemen are a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL that began play in the 2017–18 season. The team is based in Jacksonville, Florida, and plays its home games at Veterans Memorial Arena.
The Icemen replaced the former ECHL franchise, the Jacksonville Bullets/Barons, who played in Jacksonville from 1995 until 2000.
Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic are a professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was established in 1989 as an expansion franchise, and such notable NBA stars as Shaquille O’Neal, Penny Hardaway, Patrick Ewing,Grant Hill, Tracy McGrady, Steve Francis, Dwight Howard, Vince Carter have played for the club throughout its young history. As of 2017, the franchise has played in the NBA playoffs for exactly half of its existence (14 out of 28 seasons), and twice went to the NBA Finals, in 1995 and 2009. Orlando has been home to the Magic since their founding.
NHL Teams in South Florida
The National Hockey League (NHL) is a professional ice hockey league. It is composed of 30 member clubs: 23 in the United States and seven in Canada. As of the 2019–20 season, 31 teams are competing in the league: 24 in the U.S. and seven in Canada. The league’s Board of Governors approved the addition of a 32nd team in Seattle on December 4, 2018, which will begin play as the Seattle Kraken in the 2021–22 season.
Miami Heat
The Miami Heat are a professional ice hockey team based in Miami, Florida. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The team plays its home games at the American Airlines Arena in downtown Miami.
The Heat were founded in June 26, 1992, and began play as an expansion franchise as part of the 1993–94 NHL season. The franchise is owned by Brent Hopkins and Robert Barksdale, and coached by John Stevens. The team has made one appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals, losing to the Dallas Stars in six games in 2000.
Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays are a professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team’s home venue has been Tropicana Field.
Florida Marlins
The Florida Marlins are a professional ice hockey team based in Miami, Florida. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Marlins were founded in 1992 as an expansion team and played their home games at the Miami Arena from 1992 to 1998.
