Stanley Cup Final 2023 - Clearing up the confusion on Florida panthers - ESPN

It's been 600 years since William Shakespeare famously asked, «What's in a name?»

Here in 2023, we're still wondering the same thing — not about Romeo and Juliet of course, but about the Florida Panthers.

More specifically, the Florida Panthers' mascot.

Is it an actual panther emblazoned on the team's sweater? Or a panther in name only? And what's the difference between it and other big cats?

While Florida gears up to face the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final, the feline frenzy has been a topic online during the team's improbable run in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The Panthers' social media team even tweeted a link from the University of Florida's Wildlife, Ecology and Conservation to help explain what their cat really looks like.

«Panthers can sometimes be confused with bobcats, dogs, and coyotes,» the team tweeted, citing the report.

Let's start at the beginning.

The Panthers' primary mascot is Stanley C. Panther, named in 1995 by then-five-year-old Darrel Ambrosini. The moniker is firstly a reference to the piece of hardware Florida is currently four wins away from hoisting for the first time in team history.

The design itself is of an anthropomorphic version of the endangered cat, an acknowledgement of the state's official animal, the wildlife population and the fierceness of the beast itself.

But, is a panther really a panther? The answer is… complex.

«A panther is absolutely the same thing as a puma, or a mountain lion. They are all the same animal,» Dr. Mark Elbroch, director of the puma program at Panthera — a global science and conservation organization for wildcats — told ESPN. Elbroch has spent more than two decades studying big cats. «It is the species listed as holding the world record