Everblades End Affiliation With Florida Panthers

The Kelly Cup-champion Florida Everblades will look for a new affiliation after serving as the Florida Panthers' ECHL affiliate for the past two seasons

The Florida Everblades will not be renewing its affiliation with the National Hockey League's Florida Panthers, ending a two-year run as the ECHL affiliate. Florida Everblades President & Hertz Arena CEO Craig Brush addressed the split in a formal statement:

"We want to express our deepest gratitude to the Panthers and the American Hockey League's Charlotte Checkers for their support over the past two years.

And to our fans, thank you for your support this season. Our unwavering commitment to putting a top quality team on the ice will continue.

Stay tuned for more updates as we prepare to unveil our new NHL/AHL affiliates in the coming weeks."

As previously noted, this appears to be the next step for the Savannah Ghost Pirates to become the new ECHL affiliate for the NHL's Florida Panthers and AHL's Charlotte Checkers. The Ghost Pirates were previously linked to the Vegas Golden Knights. However, it would seem that the Tahoe Knight Monsters will take over as their new ECHL affiliate.

The Ghost Pirates are set to announce their plans on Monday, June 17.

The Florida Everblades, who became the first team in ECHL history to win three consecutive Kelly Cup championships, will pair up with one of five NHL clubs without an ECHL affiliate: the Carolina Hurricanes, Arizona Coyotes, Columbus Blue Jackets, St. Louis Blues, and Toronto Maple Leafs.