Welcome back to the next installment of another day, another Panther. If you’d like to check out the details on how this list was assembled, click here.
In yesterday’s article, we enjoyed looking back at defenseman (and Supreme Commander of Florida Panthers enforcers) Paul Laus (530 games, 14 goals, 58 assists). Today, we check out his one-time partner in crime fighting – defenseman Ed Jovanovski
To read more about the other half of the dynamic duo, follow the link below.
15. Ed Jovanovski
Jovanovski, a native of Windsor, Ontario, was a 6’3″ left handed defenseman with the OHL Windsor Spitfires in 1993-94, where he scored 15 goals and 35 assists in 62 contests. The Panthers, proud owners of the first overall pick, selected Jovanovski to start out the proceedings in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft. He would stay on for another year of seasoning with the Spitfires, amassing over a point per game, totalling 23 goals and 42 assists in only 50 contests.
Ed Jovanovski – 1994 NHL Entry Draft (via GoingFiveHole)
The 19-year old Jovanovski joined the 1995-96 Panthers NHL roster in November. Surprisingly, he was not the youngest member of the team, as that honor fell to 18-year old Radek Dvorak. Ed led the Panthers blue-liners with 10 goals on 116 shots. He also pitched in 11 assists, finished with a minus-3 rating, and placed third on the team with 137 penalty minutes. On January 27th, he tied his season high with two points, a goal and an assist, in a 6-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres. He would add a goal and eight assists (tied for second on the team) through 22 Stanley Cup Playoff matches.
Rick Tocchet vs. Ed Jovanovski (4-25-96) (via ouzer)
In 1996-97, Jovanovski was limited to 61 games by injuries. He scored seven goals on 80 shots along with 16 assists, a minus-1 rating, and a team second most 172 penalty minutes (Laus led the team with a mind-boggling 313). He scored a career high two goals on February 22nd as Florida fell to the Philadelphia Flyers, 4-3. In five playoff contests, he racked up a collective minus-4 rating, otherwise failing to affect the scoresheet.
1997-98 would see Jovanovski play in a Panthers second best 81 games through the season. On November 22nd, he scored both of Florida’s goals in a 2-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils. His nine goals on 142 shots tied for the Panthers lead amongst defensemen (with Robert Svehla), and his 14 assists were second in the corps. He had a minus-12 rating on the year, and racked up 158 penalty minutes in his familiar spot (ranked second on the team) behind linemate Paul Laus (293 PIM).
1998-99 started out with Jovocop playing in 41 games for the Cats. He totalled three goals on 68 shots with 13 assists, a minus-4 rating, and 82 penalty minutes. On January 17th, he was traded to the Vancouver Canucks with Dave Gagner, Mike Brown, Kevin Weekes, and a first round pick (Nathan Smith) for Pavel Bure, Bret Hedican, Brad Ference, and a third round pick (Robert Fried). Considering what Bure brought to the mix, I’d say we can safely look back and say that we won this trade.
After parts of seven seasons in Vancouver (434 games, 57 goals, 177 assists, three all-star games), Jovanovski signed on as a free agent with the Phoenix Coyotes (332 games, 47 goals, 117 assists, two all-star games). On July 1st, 2011, Jovocop signed on for a second tour of duty with the Panthers.
Jovanovski started the 2011-12 season as part of Florida’s third pairing with 19-year old phenom Erik Gudbranson. On October 17th, he racked up two assists in a 7-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning. He duplicated the feat on December 18th in a 3-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. On January 17th, Jovanovski took on Boston Bruins left winger Daniel Paille in the first period of an eventual 3-2 shootout loss. As it turned out, he broke his hand during the altercation, and soon after required surgery, ultimately missing 15 games. Over the course of the season, he averaged 16:42 TOI through 66 games, scoring three goals on 58 shots. He also pitched in 10 assists, spent 31 minutes in the box, and totalled a minus-11 rating.
Ed Jovanovski ties game late 11/03/11 (via NHLVideo)
In Jovanovski’s first tour with the Panthers, he was a solid two-way threat and constant enforcer. Now 36 years old, he looks to enter his 17th NHL season as one of Florida’s resident greybeards. Along with fellow former and current over-35 Panther defenseman Filip Kuba, Florida can boast a wealth of experience on the blue line.
All-Time Statline: Five seasons, 319 games, 32 goals, 64 assists, 96 points, minus-31 rating, 580 PIM (seventh all-time), 22.2 APS.
Thanks for reading another day’s featured Panther. Make sure to come back tomorrow to check out a Czech right winger at number 14. Take some time out from the Giants and Cowboys tonight to give a listen to the fourth episode of LitterBoxChats, live at 9pm.