Panthers players Aaron Ekblad, Vincent Trocheck, Shawn Thornton and Steven Kampfer revealed the new uniforms to the crowd. Panthers alumni Ed Jovanovski, Olli Jokinen, Radek Dvorak and Billy Lindsay also made an appearance for the franchise’s first major logo change since its inaugural season in 1993.

“The idea when we came into Florida and took responsibility for the stewardship of the franchise, was to start anew and create traditions that were unique to this new start,” Vincent Viola said. “I think the logo harkens to the vanguard of courage; the idea that you put a shield on the hockey uniform. It’s something to protect, but you also protect it. We wanted something that began a new tradition of winning and demonstrated courage and selfless dedication to a team pursuit of victory.”

“We wanted to really put a bold emphasis on the idea that this was a new era for the franchise,” added John Viola, who took the lead for his family in working with Reebok to bring the new uniforms to life. “It’s not necessarily a new direction, but a new evolution, a new maturity for the franchise.”

The new Panthers primary logo includes a more mature and stoic panther inside a shield with “Florida” set in a tab across the top of the mark. The primary logo will be used on the Panthers away uniforms. The same logo design will be on the front of the home uniforms with “Panthers” in the tab. The three primary colors for the new look logo and uniforms are Panthers Red, Panthers Blue and Panthers Flat Gold.

In addition, the team introduced a new alternate logo that will serve as the patch on the shoulder of the home and away jerseys. The alternate logo includes the Florida state flag with a sleek prowling Panther above it. Above the new shoulder patch there is also something unique to the Panthers. In addition to militaristic tabs above the prowling panther that will either read “Florida” or “Panthers” based on whether the team is home or away, a separate tab just for the team’s captains will be added on top of that.

Finally, a tertiary logo that displays the evolution of the original leaping panther has been given a new polish and will be used as a helmet decal for home and away contests. The tertiary logo holds sacred the great history of the franchise while presenting a developed look for the team’s original logo.

Merchandise with the Panthers new logo is available at www.shop.nhl.com. Additionally, merchandise is for sale at the Panthers IceDen in Coral Springs, Fla., based on availability. Pre-orders for the team’s new home and away jerseys are also available at the Panthers IceDen.