A Florida Panthers minority owner has been suspended indefinitely by the NHL.
Doug Cifu, who owns a minority stake in the team and is listed as vice chairman, partner and alternate governor, was suspended on Monday night from any participation or involvement with the team.
The news was first reported by the Toronto Sun.
“The NHL has concluded that Mr. Cifu’s X posts were unacceptable and inappropriate,” the league said in a statement posted by the Sun. “As a result, Mr. Cifu has been suspended indefinitely from any involvement with the Club and the NHL.”
The decision came after Cifu posted a series of messages on social media Sunday evening that could be considered vulgar and offensive.
Responding to a post from a user on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter, Cifu was commenting on the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
In his messages, Cifu also referred to Canada as the 51st state, something first brought up by President Donald Trump that did not resonate well with Canadiens, and understandably so.
Cifu has since deleted hit account. Screenshots of the interactions can be seen in the embedded posts below, which are from the account Cifu was interacting with.
Panthers owner tilted LFG 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/qhk0DFCYOg
— Dr. Grizzo (PhD, MD, BA, MBA, 7’4 240 IQ) (@mrgrozz) May 12, 2025
LMFAOOOOOO pic.twitter.com/Q33jRFHM2P
— Dr. Grizzo (PhD, MD, BA, MBA, 7’4 240 IQ) (@mrgrozz) May 12, 2025
The back and forth came after Florida’s 2-0 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 4 of their second-round playoff series.
This is not an isolated incident, as Cifu has had an active social media presence, often not holding back when making his opinions known.
On this occasion, though, it appears his verbiage was enough to warrant the league to step in.
There will an in-person meeting between Cifu and the NHL at a later date, the league has said.
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