SUNRISE, Fla. – When the Florida Panthers officially joined the National Hockey League prior to the start of the 1993-94 season, the organization chose a man behind a mask to serve as the face of the fledgling franchise.
With their first pick in the 1993 NHL Expansion draft, the Panthers selected goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck from the New York Rangers, bringing immediate legitimacy the upstart organization and breathing new life into the veteran netminder’s career.
“I think that team, when we started, had such a great group of guys, and [Vanbiesbrouck] was the leader,” said Panthers radio color analyst Billy Lindsay, a teammate of Vanbiesbrouck’s from 1993-1998.