Florida Panthers Holdings, Inc.
Florida Panthers Hockey Club Certificate of Stock
Class A Common Stock

First National Bank of Boston / February 14, 1997

Blockbuster Video magnate Wayne Huizenga was awarded an NHL franchise for Miami on December 10, 1992.

On April 20, 1993, a press conference in Ft. Lauderdale announced that the team would be named Florida Panthers, with former New York Islanders general manager Bill Torrey as president and Bobby Clarke as general manager. The team is named for the Florida panther, an endangered species of large cat endemic to the nearby Everglades region.

The new franchise joined the NHL for participation in the 1993–94 season.