I hate to say this but it feels like we're seeing the end of a franchise,'' John Butler, a season-ticket holder for three years from Tamarac, said from his upper level perch. "So many rumors are flying around and [the owners] sent out a letter restating their commitment to South Florida. It doesn't feel totally positive.

"If they do leave we'll be sad, but we're still coming because we love hockey and are happy to be here,'' added Butler's wife, Alaina.

The Panthers dropped to 0-2-1, losing two in a row to Atlantic Division foes who like them failed to make the playoffs last season. It's the Panthers worst start since 2007 when they dropped the first three games without any points.

...

Before the season began Panthers owners Vinnie Viola and Doug Cifu said they would no longer offer as many discount tickets online and wouldn't give away free tickets like previous regimes had been doing because they felt that practice had devalued the ticket.

They also correctly predicted that attendance, which was the 29th lowest at home last season at an average 14,177, would drop precipitously.

"It's a Monday and it's hard to get out for me also,'' said Joseph Palermo, 20, of Coral Springs, who paid $10 for his upper-deck ticket via Stub Hub. "Not really for an Ottawa game, it's not embarrassing.''

The Ottawa Sun's Bruce Garrioch noted that the Panthers kind-of-sort-of addressed the issue on Twitter...

And South Florida native Craig Anderson put things bluntly while speaking to the Associated Press:

Anderson, a backup with the Panthers for several seasons, knows what it will take for attendance figures to improve.

"This city seems to need wins, whether it's football, baseball, basketball. You need to win games to get fans in the building," Anderson said. "It's a matter of them putting some wins together and getting the fan base to come back."