Florida Panthers Get A New Owner for $250 Million

VIncent Viola, CEO of Virtu Financial, an electronic trading firm, has just purchased the Florida Panthers NHL team.  He’s going to have his work cut out for him as he’s buying a franchise that finished last season with the fewest points in the NHL and has only seen one playoff since 2000. But if anyone can do it, it could be Viola, who is known to be something of a tough guy from Brooklyn. He is also a West Point grad who is something of a hero after opening an anti-terrorist center after 9/11 and also a former chairman of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Viola also is a minority owner of the NBA’s Nets. The purchase of the Panthers should cement the acquisition of Stanley Cup vet goaltender Tim Thomas who had been with the team on a temporary basis until the pending the sale of the team. More details will be make public after tomorrow’s press conference, for hard-core hockey fans.