The Florida Panthers entered the NHL in 1993 and haven’t always been in the orbit of the Philadelphia Flyers when it comes to trades. Over the past 30 years, the two franchises have linked up only eight times for deals, with the communication going cold for nearly 11 years before the ice was re-broken at the 2022 trade deadline, resetting the clock for what could be another multi-year stretch before the Panthers and Flyers sit down to negotiate another deal.
11/30/93 – cash for Greg Hawgood
The first trade between the two franchises took play just over a month into the Panthers inaugural season. The Flyers sent journeyman defenseman Greg Hawgood, who had only been a Flyer for 11 months, to Florida for cash considerations. After just 33 games with the Panthers, On March 19, Hawgood was once again traded, this time to the Penguins in exchange for forward Jeff Daniels.
6/15/94 – Bobby Clarke for 1994 second round pick (Ryan Johnson) as compensation
Bobby Clarke held multiple roles within the Flyers’ front office after his playing career came to an end. He spent the 1992-93 season as Philly’s Senior VP and joined the Florida Panthers for their 1993-94 season as their GM. In 1994-95 he returned to the Flyers to serve as their GM for a second time.
The Flyers were forced to compensate the Florida Panthers for the hiring with cash and a 1994 second round pick. The Panthers drafted forward Ryan Johnson 36th overall in 1994. He had two stints with the Panthers during his career sandwiching a brief appearance with the Lightning, amassing 164 games over five seasons total.
6/23/01 – Jiri Dopita for 2001 second round pick (Andrei Medvedev)
The Flyers acquired Jiri Dopita’s rights at the 2001 NHL draft. He was considered the best prospect outside North America at the time, but expressed little interest in making the jump to the NHL. On the advice of fellow Czech player and Flyer Roman Cechmanek, Dopita made the trek during the 2001-02 season and was used sparingly before a knee injury limited him to just 52 games. His rights were traded to the Edmonton Oilers during the 2002 offseason.
The Panthers would trade the 2001 second round pick to Calgary in exchange for Valeri Bure later the same day.
6/22/03 – 2004 sixth round pick (Ladislav Scurko) for 2003 seventh round pick (Dany Roussin)
This was the Panthers trading into the sixth round of the 2003 draft after dealing their own pick to the San Jose Sharks.
The Flyers drafted forward Ladislav Scurko 170th overall in 2004. He’d never leave his native Slovakia during his career.
The Panthers drafted forward Dany Roussin 223rd overall in 2003. He would not sign with them and was re-drafted by the Kings, 50th overall, in 2005.
7/30/05 – 2005 first round pick (Steve Downie) and 2006 second round pick (Cory Emmerton)(trade to ARZ) for 2005 first round pick (Kenndal McArdle)
This trade was the Panthers moving up nine spots during the first round of the 2005 draft from 29th to 20th. They took forward Kendall McArdle 20th overall. He spent four seasons in the Panthers’ organization, mainly in the AHL.
The Flyers drafted forward Steve Downie 29th overall. He spent parts of two seasons with the Flyers before being traded to Tampa Bay in 2008.
The Flyers would trade the 2006 second round pick to the Coyotes in exchange for veteran defenseman Denis Gauthier.
1/23/06 – 2007 sixth round pick (Patrick Maroon) for Jon Sim
Jon Sim played just half a season with the Flyers during the 2005-06 season before this trade. He finished out the season with the Panthers and left in free agency during the summer.
The Flyers drafted forward Patrick Maroon 161st overall in 2007. He battled conditioning issues during his time in the AHL and was ultimately traded to the Ducks in 2010.
6/1/11- 2012 third round pick (Shayne Gostisbehere) for Kris Versteeg
The Flyers had paid a premium to acquire Versteeg from the Maple Leafs in the form of a first and third round picks. He played just 27 games for the Flyers before being flipped to Florida in this trade after the team signed Jaromir Jagr during the 2011 offseason. Versteeg played three injury riddled seasons with the Panthers before being shipped to Chicago where he’d win a second Stanley Cup in 2015.
The Flyers would draft defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere 78th overall in 2012. His early career was electric, breaking multiple rookie records and won the Barry Ashebee Trophy as the team’s top defenseman as well as being a runner up to the Calder Trophy in 2016. After, various injuries and underwhelming performances partnered with a big contract forced a trade out of Philly in 2021.
3/19/22- Owen Tippett, 2024 first round pick (traded to EDM), 2023 third round pick (Egor Zavregin) for Claude Giroux, Connor Bunnaman, German Rubtsov and a 2024 fifth round pick (traded to SEA)
In what was the easily the biggest trade between the two teams and one of the biggest trades in modern Flyers history, they dealt star forward and longtime captain Claude Giroux to the Panthers at the 2022 trade deadline.
Giroux concluded the 2021-22 season with the Panthers and scored 23 points in 18 games and followed that up with eight points in 10 playoff games but the Panthers were eliminated in the second round by the Lightning. Giroux was not re-signed by the Panthers during the offseason.
Connor Bunnaman and German Rubtsov were underwhelming prospects. Rubtsov returned to Russia during the 2022 offseason. Bunnaman played the 2022-23 season with the Panthers’ AHL affiliate and headed to Europe afterwards.
Owen Tippett had a career year with the Flyers in 2022-23, posting 49 points in 77 games.
The Flyers drafted Russian goaltender Egor Zavregin 87th overall in 2023.
The Flyers traded the 2024 first round pick (Sam O’Reilly), which ended up being 32nd overall after the Panthers won the Stanley Cup, to Edmonton in exchange for a 2025 first round pick.
The Panthers traded the 2024 fifth round pick to Seattle in exchange for a 2024 sixth (Stepan Gorbunov) and 2024 seventh round pick (Denis Gabdrakhmanov).
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
brotherlypuck.com 