Fixtures
| ECHL | 01/12 02:10 | - | Idaho Steelheads vs Florida Everblades | - | View | |
| ECHL | 01/16 00:30 | - | Florida Everblades vs Savannah Ghost Pirates | - | View | |
| ECHL | 01/18 00:30 | - | Florida Everblades vs Savannah Ghost Pirates | - | View | |
| ECHL | 01/19 00:00 | - | Florida Everblades vs Savannah Ghost Pirates | - | View | |
| ECHL | 01/25 00:05 | - | South Carolina Stingrays vs Florida Everblades | - | View | |
| ECHL | 01/26 00:00 | - | Savannah Ghost Pirates vs Florida Everblades | - | View |
Results
| ECHL | 01/11 02:10 | - | Idaho Steelheads v Florida Everblades | L | 5-4 | |
| ECHL | 01/09 02:10 | - | [3] Florida Everblades v Idaho Steelheads [11] | W | 4-0 | |
| ECHL | 01/05 00:00 | - | [3] Florida Everblades v Orlando Solar Bears [16] | L | 1-2 | |
| ECHL | 01/04 00:30 | - | [11] Jacksonville Icemen v Florida Everblades [3] | W | 2-6 | |
| ECHL | 12/31 00:30 | - | [17] Orlando Solar Bears v Florida Everblades [3] | W | 3-4 | |
| ECHL | 12/29 00:00 | - | [16] Orlando Solar Bears v Florida Everblades [1] | W | 2-4 | |
| ECHL | 12/28 00:30 | - | Florida Everblades v Orlando Solar Bears | W | 2-1 | |
| ECHL | 12/28 00:00 | - | [14] Orlando Solar Bears v Florida Everblades [1] | W | PPT. | |
| ECHL | 12/27 00:00 | - | Orlando Solar Bears v Florida Everblades | - | PPT. | |
| ECHL | 12/22 00:00 | - | [7] South Carolina Stingrays v Florida Everblades [1] | L | 4-1 | |
| ECHL | 12/21 00:30 | - | Florida Everblades v South Carolina Stingrays | W | 3-2 | |
| ECHL | 12/19 00:30 | - | Florida Everblades v South Carolina Stingrays | - | PPT. |
Wikipedia - Florida Everblades
The Florida Everblades are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Estero, Florida, in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metropolitan area. They play in the ECHL and are affiliated with the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Springfield Thunderbirds of the American Hockey League (AHL) starting in the 2024–25 ECHL season. Their home games are played at Hertz Arena.
The Everblades were founded in 1998. They play in the South Division of the Eastern Conference in the ECHL. They have failed to qualify for the playoffs just once in team history (2013–14) and have made seven appearances in the Kelly Cup finals, winning in 2012, 2022, 2023, and 2024; the latter three appearances constituted the first three-peat in ECHL history.
History
The team was founded in 1998 by Craig Brush, Peter Karmanos Jr., and Thomas Thewes and was named based on the Florida Everglades. The Everblades' logo features a gator-head design fused in the form of an ice skate. Barnstorm Creative Group, a Vancouver graphic design company, designed the logo. Barnstorm was contacted by Carolina Hurricanes owner Peter Karmanos Jr., who came up with the idea of choosing the Everblades' colors as blue and green, in tribute to the Hartford Whalers team that Karmanos moved to Raleigh, North Carolina. The Everblades' inaugural home opener featured a pre-game ceremony in which a large alligator was brought onto the ice to pay tribute to the team's name and logo, as well as Florida's vast population of reptile species. The Everblades won their first Kelly Cup on May 23, 2012, against the Las Vegas Wranglers. Brandon MacLean scored the championship-winning-goal in overtime during game five. Everblades goaltender, John Muse, was named the most valuable player of the 2012 Kelly Cup playoffs.
2012 Kelly Cup Finals
Florida won the 2012 Kelly Cup playoffs with a 4–1 victory at home in front of a standing-room-only crowd of 7,290. The first period saw Las Vegas Wranglers goalie Joe Fallon beaten by Justin Shugg and Mike Ratchuk, but Las Vegas edged back to even the score by the third, with Ash Goldie and Peter MacArthur beating John Muse to force the overtime. At 4:54 into the overtime, after Ryan Donald passed to Matt Beca, who in turn sent the puck to Brandon MacLean, who beat Fallon and secured the victory.
The win earned Florida the 2012 Kelly Cup and secured a perfect home record of 11–0 in the postseason (two victories over Greenville and three each over Elmira, Kalamazoo, and Las Vegas). Additionally, John Muse earned the Kelly Cup Finals MVP award.
Ownership and affiliation changes
In April 2013, owner Peter Karmanos, Jr. announced he would be selling the team along with Germain Arena to "simplify things" in his life, as he had just retired from the company he founded, Compuware. The team was made for sale and was being shopped by Park Lane, a sports investment-banking firm that specializes in the sale of sports teams. In 2018, Karmanos gave up majority control of the Hurricanes to new majority owner Thomas Dundon. After the 2018–19 season, the Everblades dropped the Hurricanes affiliation for the first time and partnered with the Nashville Predators. It was then announced on August 5, 2019, that Karmanos had sold both the team and arena to David Hoffmann, a Naples, Florida, resident and real estate investor. Starting in the 2022–23 season, the Everblades ended their affiliation with the Predators and entered a multi-year agreement with the Florida Panthers. On June 13, 2024, team president Craig Brush announced that the team would not be renewing its agreement with the Panthers. On July 10 of that year, the Everblades announced a new multi-year agreement with the St. Louis Blues.
Known for their competitive spirit and skilled players, the Everblades have a strong fan base and are a force to be reckoned with in the ECHL. The team's logo features a menacing alligator, reflecting the fierce and determined nature of the players on the ice.
The Florida Everblades have a history of success, with multiple division championships and playoff appearances. They are known for their fast-paced, exciting style of play and have produced many talented players who have gone on to play in higher leagues.
Overall, the Florida Everblades are a respected and formidable team in the world of ice hockey, representing the state of Florida with pride and passion.