Editing Florida Panthers (section)

===New arena and a decade of struggles (1998–2010)===
The Panthers moved into the brand new National Car Rental Center (now known as [[Amerant Bank Arena]]) in 1998. In [[1998–99 NHL season|1998–99]], they acquired [[Pavel Bure]] (the "Russian Rocket"), in a blockbuster trade with the [[Vancouver Canucks]]. They then reached the playoffs again in [[1999–2000 NHL season|1999–2000]], losing in a first round sweep to the eventual [[Stanley Cup]] champion [[New Jersey Devils]]. The team slumped in [[2000–01 NHL season|2000–01]]. Afterward, Huizenga sold the Panthers to an ownership group led by Alan Cohen.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=nT1GAAAAIBAJ&sjid=buUMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4337,937756|title=Record-Journal – Google News Archive Search|access-date=September 21, 2016|archive-date=November 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211125201129/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=nT1GAAAAIBAJ&sjid=buUMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4337%2C937756|url-status=live}}</ref> The following season, [[2001–02 NHL season|2001–02]], the Panthers had their worst record ever. Bure struggled despite being reunited with his brother [[Valeri Bure|Valeri]], and was traded to the Rangers at the 2002 trade deadline.

[[File:Jay Bouwmeester.jpg|thumb|left|upright|The Panthers drafted [[Jay Bouwmeester]] third overall in the [[2002 NHL entry draft]].]]
The Panthers then began eyeing defenseman [[Jay Bouwmeester]], who was widely tipped to be picked first overall pick at the [[2002 NHL entry draft]]. However, then-general manager [[Rick Dudley]] sent Florida's first pick to the [[Columbus Blue Jackets]], who selected winger [[Rick Nash]], and in return, the Panthers received the right to trade first-round selections with the Blue Jackets in the [[2003 NHL entry draft]],<ref>{{cite web|title=This Day In Panthers History – June|url=http://panthers.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=37497|website=FloridaPanthers.com|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L.P.|access-date=June 18, 2018|archive-date=September 6, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906065112/http://panthers.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=37497|url-status=dead}}</ref> a right which was not exercised when the Panthers received the first overall selection in 2003 as well. The [[Atlanta Thrashers]], after picking goaltender [[Kari Lehtonen]] second overall, announced that the Panthers had given them two draft picks to guarantee that Bouwmeester would still be available for Florida's selection. Bouwmeester was selected third overall by the Panthers. Said then-head coach [[Mike Keenan]], "We shouldn't have done that ... Jay would have been number-one if we'd kept that pick."<ref>{{cite book| author=McDonell, Chris. | title=Hockey's Greatest Stars: Legends and Young Lions | publisher= Firefly Books | year=2005 | isbn=1-55407-038-4 | pages=135}}</ref>

In 2003, the Panthers hosted the [[2003 National Hockey League All-Star Game|NHL All-Star weekend]] in which the [[Western Conference (NHL)|Western Conference]] earned a 6–5 victory after the first overtime shootout in All-Star history. The West overcame a four-goal outburst by Thrashers winger [[Dany Heatley]], who took home MVP honors in his first All-Star appearance.

On June 23, 2006, the Panthers were again involved in a blockbuster trade with Vancouver, sending [[Roberto Luongo]], [[Lukáš Krajíček|Lukas Krajicek]] and a sixth-round draft pick ([[Sergei Shirokov]]) in exchange for [[Todd Bertuzzi]], [[Alex Auld]] and [[Bryan Allen (ice hockey)|Bryan Allen]]. This trade has been regarded by some as one of the worst trades in professional sports history – Luongo, who was at the prime of his career, was one of the League's top goaltenders, while Bertuzzi played just a handful of games for Florida before getting injured. He would later be traded to Detroit Red Wings at the trade deadline for [[Shawn Matthias]]. Additionally, Auld ended up a poor replacement for Luongo, and was ultimately let go after one season with the team.

On June 22, 2007, the Panthers were involved in yet another draft-day deal involving a goaltender. The team acquired [[Tomáš Vokoun|Tomas Vokoun]] from the [[Nashville Predators]] in exchange for three draft picks – a first-round pick in 2008, a second-round pick in 2008 and a conditional second-round pick that could be used in 2007 or 2008. The move would eventually pay off when Vokoun was selected to the Eastern Conference All-Star Team. On July 28, 2007, Florida unveiled their new jerseys to over 11,000 fans at the BankAtlantic Center during the first intermission of the Panthers' 1996 Reunion game. Star forwards [[Nathan Horton]] and [[Stephen Weiss]] were both in full gear to help showcase the sweater changes.

In June 2008, the Panthers traded their captain [[Olli Jokinen]] to the [[Phoenix Coyotes]] for a second-round draft pick and defensemen [[Keith Ballard]] and [[Nick Boynton]]. The Panthers finished the [[2008–09 NHL season|2008–09 season]] with a strong 41–30–11 record and 93 points, their second-highest finish in franchise history. Despite this, however, the Panthers missed the playoffs for an eighth-straight season, the then-longest streak in the NHL.

In November 2009, [[Cliff Viner]] and Stu Siegel became the new majority owners.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/nhl/2009-11-16-1521235273_x.htm|title=Panthers announce new majority owners - USATODAY.com|access-date=July 5, 2013|archive-date=May 18, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518071341/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/nhl/2009-11-16-1521235273_x.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> On November 23, 2009, the Panthers made their third jersey, ridding red from the alternate jersey, replacing it with powder blue. The Panthers missed the playoffs for the ninth consecutive time in the [[2009–10 NHL season|2009–10 season]], making them the first team in NHL history to do so in one city.