1998–99 Florida Panthers season

1998–99 Florida Panthers
Division	2nd Southeast
Conference	9th Eastern
1998–99 record	30–34–18
Home record	17–17–7
Road record	13–17–11
Goals for	210
Goals against	228
Team information
General manager	Bryan Murray
Coach	Terry Murray
Captain	Scott Mellanby
Arena	National Car Rental Center
Average attendance	18,493
Minor league affiliate(s)	Beast of New Haven Kentucky Thoroughblades Miami Matadors Port Huron Border Cats
Team leaders
Goals	Ray Whitney (26)
Assists	Ray Whitney (38)
Points	Ray Whitney (64)
Penalty minutes	Peter Worrell (258)
Plus/minus	Jaroslav Spacek (+15)
Wins	Sean Burke (21)
Goals against average	Sean Burke (2.66)

The 1998–99 Florida Panthers season was their sixth season in the National Hockey League. Though they made a major move in acquiring star forward Pavel Bure during the season, the Panthers failed to qualify for the playoffs for the second consecutive season.

Regular season

Final standings

Southeast Division

R	CR		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PIM	Pts
1	3	Carolina Hurricanes	82	34	30	18	210	202	1158	86
2	9	Florida Panthers	82	30	34	18	210	228	1522	78
3	12	Washington Capitals	82	31	45	6	200	218	1381	68
4	14	Tampa Bay Lightning	82	19	54	9	179	292	1316	47

Eastern Conference

R		Div	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	y – New Jersey Devils	ATL	82	47	24	11	248	196	105
2	y – Ottawa Senators	NE	82	44	23	15	239	179	103
3	y – Carolina Hurricanes	SE	82	34	30	18	210	202	86
4	Toronto Maple Leafs	NE	82	45	30	7	268	231	97
5	Philadelphia Flyers	ATL	82	37	26	19	231	196	93
6	Boston Bruins	NE	82	39	30	13	214	181	91
7	Buffalo Sabres	NE	82	37	28	17	207	175	91
8	Pittsburgh Penguins	ATL	82	38	30	14	242	225	90
9	Florida Panthers	SE	82	30	34	18	210	228	78
10	New York Rangers	ATL	82	33	38	11	217	227	77
11	Montreal Canadiens	NE	82	32	39	11	184	209	75
12	Washington Capitals	SE	82	31	45	6	200	218	68
13	New York Islanders	ATL	82	24	48	10	194	244	58
14	Tampa Bay Lightning	SE	82	19	54	9	179	292	47

Divisions: ATL – Atlantic Division, NE – Northeast Division, SE – Southeast Division

bold – Qualified for playoffs; y – Won division

Schedule and results

1998–99 regular season
October: 3–3–3 (home: 1–2–1; road: 2–1–2) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 1 W October 9, 1998 4–1 Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99) 1–0–0 Recap 2 W October 10, 1998 1–0 @ Nashville Predators (1998–99) 2–0–0 Recap 3 T October 16, 1998 2–2 OT @ Buffalo Sabres (1998–99) 2–0–1 Recap 4 T October 21, 1998 1–1 OT Los Angeles Kings (1998–99) 2–0–2 Recap 5 L October 23, 1998 0–5 Vancouver Canucks (1998–99) 2–1–2 Recap 6 T October 24, 1998 2–2 OT @ Washington Capitals (1998–99) 2–1–3 Recap 7 L October 28, 1998 2–7 Detroit Red Wings (1998–99) 2–2–3 Recap 8 W October 30, 1998 7–3 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99) 3–2–3 Recap 9 L October 31, 1998 1–3 @ New Jersey Devils (1998–99) 3–3–3 Recap
November: 5–5–2 (home: 3–3–0; road: 2–2–2) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 10 L November 2, 1998 2–6 @ New York Islanders (1998–99) 3–4–3 Recap 11 W November 4, 1998 2–1 Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99) 4–4–3 Recap 12 L November 7, 1998 3–4 New Jersey Devils (1998–99) 4–5–3 Recap 13 W November 11, 1998 4–1 New York Rangers (1998–99) 5–5–3 Recap 14 W November 12, 1998 2–1 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1998–99) 6–5–3 Recap 15 L November 14, 1998 0–4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1998–99) 6–6–3 Recap 16 T November 19, 1998 5–5 OT @ Boston Bruins (1998–99) 6–6–4 Recap 17 T November 21, 1998 3–3 OT @ New Jersey Devils (1998–99) 6–6–5 Recap 18 L November 22, 1998 1–2 OT Philadelphia Flyers (1998–99) 6–7–5 Recap 19 L November 25, 1998 0–1 Boston Bruins (1998–99) 6–8–5 Recap 20 W November 27, 1998 2–1 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99) 7–8–5 Recap 21 W November 28, 1998 6–2 Buffalo Sabres (1998–99) 8–8–5 Recap
December: 5–5–1 (home: 4–2–1; road: 1–3–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 22 L December 1, 1998 4–5 OT @ New York Rangers (1998–99) 8–9–5 Recap 23 L December 2, 1998 1–2 @ Buffalo Sabres (1998–99) 8–10–5 Recap 24 T December 5, 1998 3–3 OT Carolina Hurricanes (1998–99) 8–10–6 Recap 25 W December 9, 1998 6–5 Ottawa Senators (1998–99) 9–10–6 Recap 26 L December 12, 1998 2–4 Calgary Flames (1998–99) 9–11–6 Recap 27 W December 16, 1998 4–1 Pittsburgh Penguins (1998–99) 10–11–6 Recap 28 W December 19, 1998 3–1 Edmonton Oilers (1998–99) 11–11–6 Recap 29 L December 23, 1998 0–4 Washington Capitals (1998–99) 11–12–6 Recap 30 W December 26, 1998 3–1 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99) 12–12–6 Recap 31 W December 28, 1998 5–1 New York Islanders (1998–99) 13–12–6 Recap 32 L December 30, 1998 4–7 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1998–99) 13–13–6 Recap
January: 5–4–6 (home: 2–3–2; road: 3–1–4) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 33 T January 1, 1999 3–3 OT Carolina Hurricanes (1998–99) 13–13–7 Recap 34 L January 2, 1999 2–4 Pittsburgh Penguins (1998–99) 13–14–7 Recap 35 T January 5, 1999 2–2 OT @ Phoenix Coyotes (1998–99) 13–14–8 Recap 36 T January 6, 1999 2–2 OT @ Colorado Avalanche (1998–99) 13–14–9 Recap 37 T January 8, 1999 1–1 OT @ Vancouver Canucks (1998–99) 13–14–10 Recap 38 W January 10, 1999 2–1 @ Calgary Flames (1998–99) 14–14–10 Recap 39 T January 13, 1999 3–3 OT Toronto Maple Leafs (1998–99) 14–14–11 Recap 40 L January 14, 1999 2–3 @ Carolina Hurricanes (1998–99) 14–15–11 Recap 41 W January 16, 1999 1–0 New York Islanders (1998–99) 15–15–11 Recap 42 L January 18, 1999 0–4 Buffalo Sabres (1998–99) 15–16–11 Recap 43 W January 20, 1999 5–2 @ New York Islanders (1998–99) 16–16–11 Recap 44 W January 21, 1999 2–1 @ New York Rangers (1998–99) 17–16–11 Recap 45 T January 26, 1999 3–3 OT @ Philadelphia Flyers (1998–99) 17–16–12 Recap 46 W January 27, 1999 2–1 Montreal Canadiens (1998–99) 18–16–12 Recap 47 L January 30, 1999 2–5 Dallas Stars (1998–99) 18–17–12 Recap
February: 4–5–4 (home: 3–1–1; road: 1–4–3) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 48 W February 3, 1999 5–2 Toronto Maple Leafs (1998–99) 19–17–12 Recap 49 L February 5, 1999 0–3 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1998–99) 19–18–12 Recap 50 T February 6, 1999 3–3 OT @ Carolina Hurricanes (1998–99) 19–18–13 Recap 51 L February 8, 1999 4–5 St. Louis Blues (1998–99) 19–19–13 Recap 52 W February 11, 1999 3–1 @ Ottawa Senators (1998–99) 20–19–13 Recap 53 L February 13, 1999 0–4 @ Montreal Canadiens (1998–99) 20–20–13 Recap 54 T February 15, 1999 2–2 OT San Jose Sharks (1998–99) 20–20–14 Recap 55 L February 17, 1999 1–2 @ Dallas Stars (1998–99) 20–21–14 Recap 56 T February 18, 1999 0–0 OT @ St. Louis Blues (1998–99) 20–21–15 Recap 57 W February 20, 1999 7–1 Phoenix Coyotes (1998–99) 21–21–15 Recap 58 W February 24, 1999 5–3 Philadelphia Flyers (1998–99) 22–21–15 Recap 59 T February 26, 1999 5–5 OT @ Detroit Red Wings (1998–99) 22–21–16 Recap 60 L February 27, 1999 1–4 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1998–99) 22–22–16 Recap
March: 5–6–2 (home: 2–3–2; road: 3–3–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 61 L March 3, 1999 5–7 Colorado Avalanche (1998–99) 22–23–16 Recap 62 T March 6, 1999 2–2 OT Carolina Hurricanes (1998–99) 22–23–17 Recap 63 W March 8, 1999 5–2 @ Montreal Canadiens (1998–99) 23–23–17 Recap 64 L March 9, 1999 0–2 @ Boston Bruins (1998–99) 23–24–17 Recap 65 W March 11, 1999 2–1 @ Washington Capitals (1998–99) 24–24–17 Recap 66 W March 13, 1999 1–0 Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99) 25–24–17 Recap 67 L March 17, 1999 2–4 @ San Jose Sharks (1998–99) 25–25–17 Recap 68 L March 20, 1999 3–4 @ Los Angeles Kings (1998–99) 25–26–17 Recap 69 W March 21, 1999 5–2 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1998–99) 26–26–17 Recap 70 L March 24, 1999 1–2 New York Rangers (1998–99) 26–27–17 Recap 71 W March 26, 1999 4–1 Nashville Predators (1998–99) 27–27–17 Recap 72 T March 28, 1999 2–2 OT New Jersey Devils (1998–99) 27–27–18 Recap 73 L March 31, 1999 3–5 New York Islanders (1998–99) 27–28–18 Recap
April: 3–6–0 (home: 2–3–0; road: 1–3–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 74 L April 1, 1999 3–5 @ Washington Capitals (1998–99) 27–29–18 Recap 75 L April 3, 1999 4–6 Ottawa Senators (1998–99) 27–30–18 Recap 76 L April 5, 1999 0–3 Washington Capitals (1998–99) 27–31–18 Recap 77 L April 7, 1999 2–5 Boston Bruins (1998–99) 27–32–18 Recap 78 L April 9, 1999 1–3 @ Buffalo Sabres (1998–99) 27–33–18 Recap 79 L April 10, 1999 1–9 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1998–99) 27–34–18 Recap 80 W April 12, 1999 2–0 @ Ottawa Senators (1998–99) 28–34–18 Recap 81 W April 14, 1999 3–2 OT Montreal Canadiens (1998–99) 29–34–18 Recap 82 W April 17, 1999 6–2 Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99) 30–34–18 Recap
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Player statistics

Scoring

• Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left Wing; RW = Right Wing
• † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Panthers only.
• ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Panthers only.

No.	Player	Pos	Regular season
			GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
14	Ray Whitney	LW	81	26	38	64	−3	18
44	Rob Niedermayer	C	82	18	33	51	−13	50
25	Viktor Kozlov	C	65	16	35	51	13	24
27	Scott Mellanby	RW	67	18	27	45	5	85
19	Radek Dvorak	RW	82	19	24	43	7	29
21	Mark Parrish	RW	73	24	13	37	−6	25
24	Robert Svehla	D	80	8	29	37	−13	83
11	Bill Lindsay	RW	75	12	15	27	−1	92
16	Oleg Kvasha	LW	68	12	13	25	5	45
29	Johan Garpenlov	LW	64	8	9	17	−9	42
10	Pavel Bure†	RW	11	13	3	16	3	4
55	Ed Jovanovski‡	D	41	3	13	16	−4	82
9	Kirk Muller	LW	82	4	11	15	−11	49
8	Jaroslav Spacek	D	63	3	12	15	15	28
15	Dave Gagner‡	C	36	4	10	14	−7	39
2	Terry Carkner	D	62	2	9	11	0	54
4	Bret Hedican†	D	25	3	7	10	−2	17
3	Paul Laus	D	75	1	9	10	−1	218
28	Peter Worrell	LW	62	4	5	9	0	258
26	Dan Boyle	D	22	3	5	8	0	6
22	Dino Ciccarelli	RW	14	6	1	7	−1	27
5	Gord Murphy	D	51	0	7	7	4	16
7	Rhett Warrener‡	D	48	0	7	7	−1	64
18	Alex Hicks†	LW	51	0	6	6	−4	58
31	Sean Burke	G	59	0	4	4		27
12	Marcus Nilson	LW	8	1	1	2	2	5
6	Peter Ratchuk	D	24	1	1	2	−1	10
23	Chris Wells	C	20	0	2	2	−4	31
17	Ryan Johnson	C	1	1	0	1	0	0
33	Filip Kuba	D	5	0	1	1	2	0
26	David Nemirovsky‡	RW	2	0	1	1	1	0
15	Jeff Ware†	D	6	0	1	1	−6	6
12	Chris Allen	D	1	0	0	0	1	0
17	Vyacheslav Butsayev‡	C	1	0	0	0	−1	2
12	Dwayne Hay	LW	9	0	0	0	−1	0
15	John Jakopin	D	3	0	0	0	−1	0
1	Kirk McLean	G	30	0	0	0		2
6	Jeff Norton‡	D	3	0	0	0	0	2
37	Herberts Vasiljevs	RW	5	0	0	0	−1	2
17	Steve Washburn‡	C	4	0	0	0	−1	4
7	Mike Wilson†	D	4	0	0	0	2	0

Goaltending

No.	Player	Regular season
		GP	W	L	T	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI
31	Sean Burke	59	21	24	14	1624	151	2.66	.907	3	3402
1	Kirk McLean	30	9	10	4	727	73	2.74	.900	2	1597

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Viktor Kozlov
	NHL Rookie of the Month	Mark Parrish (October)

Milestones

Milestone	Player	Date	Ref
First game	Oleg Kvasha	October 9, 1998
	Mark Parrish
	Jaroslav Spacek
	Peter Ratchuk	December 16, 1998
	Marcus Nilson	January 6, 1999
	Dan Boyle	February 18, 1999
	Filip Kuba	April 9, 1999
	Herberts Vasiljevs
500th game played	Sean Burke	January 18, 1999

Draft picks

Florida's draft picks at the 1998 NHL Entry Draft held at the Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo, New York.

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
2	30	Kyle Rossiter	Canada	Spokane Chiefs (WHL)
3	61	Joe DiPenta	Canada	Boston University (Hockey East)
3	63	Lance Ward	Canada	Red Deer Rebels (WHL)
4	89	Ryan Jardine	Canada	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL)
5	117	Jaroslav Spacek	Czech Republic	Färjestads BK (Sweden)
6	148	Chris Ovington	Canada	Red Deer Rebels (WHL)
7	176	B. J. Ketcheson	Canada	Peterborough Petes (OHL)
8	203	Ian Jacobs	Canada	Ottawa 67's (OHL)
9	231	Adrian Wichser	Switzerland	EHC Kloten (Switzerland)

References

• "Florida Panthers 1998-99 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
• "1998-99 Florida Panthers Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
• Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Toronto: Dan Diamond & Associates. ISBN 978-1-894801-22-5.