The Florida Panthers announced on Tuesday that the press box at the top of the BB&T Center would be renamed the Roger Neilson Memorial Press Box. A ceremony will take place on Monday prior to the game between the Florida Panthers and the Philadelphia Flyers.
Neilson was the first head coach in Florida Panthers history and held the position for two seasons. He had a 33-44-17 record during his first season as they came close to making the NHL playoffs finishing ninth in the Eastern Conference. The .493 winning percentage is still the highest ever for a first-year expansion franchise. The team was also in contention for a playoff spot during their second season as they went 20-22-6 and again ended up ninth in the conference standings.
He was let go by the Cats after the shortened 1994-95 season and then he joined the St. Louis Blues as an assistant coach. Neilson later was hired as the head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers in 1998 and stayed there for almost three seasons. He made the Stanley Cup playoffs on 11 occasions, coached 1,000 NHL games and had a 460-378-162 career record.
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