NHL Suspends Florida Panthers Vice Chairman Doug Cifu Indefinitely Over Social Media Comments

The NHL has suspended Florida Panthers vice-chairman and alternate governor Doug Cifu indefinitely due to inappropriate and inflammatory posts he made on his now-deactivated X (formerly Twitter) account. The suspension followed a heated exchange with a Toronto Maple Leafs fan, in which Cifu responded with a profane and anti-Semitic accusation, referencing both the Israel-Palestine conflict and former President Trump's comments about Canada as the '51st state.' The posts, which were quickly deleted, prompted the NHL to declare his behavior unacceptable and inappropriate for league standards. Cifu, who has been a key executive and minority owner since 2013, publicly apologized, admitting that his comments did not reflect the standards of the Panthers organization or its ownership. He is expected to have an in-person meeting with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman to address the incident further. The Panthers have referred all media inquiries to Cifu's statement expressing his regret and commitment to amending his actions.