The highly anticipated makeover for the Florida Panthers is upon us and will be unveiled June 2nd.
After the most successful regular season in franchise history, followed by multiple promotions and firings within the organization as well as trading Erik Gudbranson, a new look is coming for a team poised to make some playoff noise for years to come.
Back in January the Miami Herald's George Richards got a look at the new logo and jersey which lead to much speculation on social media about what was coming.
Then last month an image was leaked and then verified by team officials as the new logo.
A few weeks ago I was playing in a golf tournament in South Florida hosted by the Panthers play-by-play announcer, Steve Goldstein. In talking with people within the organization, everyone was very excited about the new look. While they admitted they understood many of the fan's dismay at what they considered to be a needless change, the changes themselves have been well received by those that have seen them.
The red might be a little different. The look will be completely different. "More professional" and "cleaner" were words I often heard.
One big omittance from the jersey, FOR NOW, is the extremely popular sun and the stick that was on the shoulder of the now old jerseys.
Almost every person I've spoken to was concerned this might be going away. And for now it is. However I was told there may be some flexibility to add this in the future if it is not on the jersey tomorrow.
If that is the case I can't see how this won't happen. There have been hats and other memorabilia based on this logo alone and is extremely popular with the fans. The demand for it will be overwhelming if it is not part of the unveiling.
As the Florida Panthers organization continues to reinvent itself this offseason, today's event is another monumental step as Dale Tallon and Co. prepare for the draft and free agency. Vincent Trocheck, Aaron Ekblad, Steven Kampfer, and Shawn Thornton will be modeling the new digs with a roundtable discussion between players and owners to follow.
While people hate change by nature, the word is this will be great for everyone involved moving forward.
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