Florida Panthers Home Handshake Lines

     There was a home handshake line that occurred on Wednesday night at FLA Live Arena between the Florida Panthers and the Carolina Hurricanes at the end of the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals. It was the first time that the Panthers were the victors in a home handshake line held in Sunrise. 

     The handshake line is a National Hockey League playoff tradition that goes back to April 8, 1952 between Maurice Richard of the Montreal Canadiens and Jim Henry of the Boston Bruins at the Montreal Forum. it shows off the best qualities of sportsmanship and respect in the game of hockey at the end of a postseason series. 

     There now have been seven handshake lines that involved the Florida Panthers at a home venue in the South Florida region. The first four handshake lines happened at Miami Arena during the Panthers long playoff run in 1995-96. The Cats defeated the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, beat the Philadelphia Flyers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals and lost to the Colorado Avalanche in the Stanley Cup Finals. Florida fell to the New York Rangers in the 1996-97 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. 

     There were two occurrences at the current arena in Sunrise prior to last night. The Panthers were eliminated by the New Jersey Devils in the 1999-2000 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals and the 2011-12 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.