The Florida Everblades are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Estero, Florida; near Fort Myers. They play in the ECHL and are affiliated with the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League (AHL). Their home games are played at Hertz Arena. The Everblades were founded in 1998. They play in the South Division of the Eastern Conference in the ECHL. They have only missed the playoffs once in team history (2013–14), and have made four appearances in the Kelly Cup finals, winning in 2012.