Why is the NHL tilted in Florida's favour? Lightning, Panthers hold six-year run on Eastern Conference dominance
Coral Gables, Fla. — It's Sunday night, and the arena parking lot is filled with people lugging hockey bags towards the main doors.
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But we're not in a small town in Canada. We're in Coral Gables, Fla., where hockey leagues are very much alive and well at the Panthers IceDen.
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There are three games going on three sheets of ice. But one stands out — the Panthers Warriors are on the wrong end of a 10-3 drubbing, but the team is notable. Its players are all veterans or people who support American vets, and the program is supported by the NHL club.
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'It's the hardest sport I've ever played in my life,' said Ryan Teems, a 32-year-old U.S. Army vet.
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Three years ago, Teems didn't even know how to properly tie up skates. But, now, he's playing regularly.
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'I got out of the Army in 2020 and somebody took me to a hockey game,' said Teems, who spent six years in the infantry. 'I'd never been to one. I watched it and fell in love. Then I bought Panthers' season tickets. And then I was going to the bathroom at one of the games, and right above the urinal, it said, $500 to learn to play, full equipment and all that. So that's when I got into it.'
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In 1998, the Panthers moved to what's now known as the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla., about a 40-minute ride on the expressway from Miami, if the traffic goes your way. It is the definition of a suburban arena, close to the freeway and surrounded by thousands of parking stalls. The team relocated its training facility to nearby Coral Gables, taking what was a two-sheet community hockey facility, adding a third rink with a dressing room, and re-christening it as the Panthers IceDen.
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But that wasn't enough. In 2023, construction was completed on a new $65-million dedicated Panthers practice facility in Fort Lauderdale. The team and municipal officials put together a plan for an arena with two ice sheets. The adjoining War Memorial Auditorium was renovated. It's got a food court, stage, and the Panthers even held their 2024 Stanley Cup ring ceremony there. It has a team shop, and Stanley Cup parties are hosted there. Most of the players live close to the IcePlex, and many ride bikes or Vespas to practice. The team also has golf carts on standby for players if they want to zip home and back.
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Panthers' general manager Bill Zito has heard the complaints. He's heard sniping from different corners of the league, that Florida teams have unfair advantages over their NHL counterparts. The 2025 Cup final between the Panthers and Oilers marks the sixth consecutive season that a Sunshine State-based team has won the Eastern Conference. The Tampa Bay Lightning took three in a row, and now its the Panthers' turn to threepeat in the East. These two are divisional rivals to the Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs, so this is what these Canadian franchises are fighting, year after year.
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