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The Florida Panthers honored Jose Fernandez during their NHL opener with jerseys and decals

By Michael Clair

It wasn't just the baseball community that felt tremendous loss following the passing of Marlins pitcher José Fernández. Earlier this week, the Miami Heat wore warmup shirts with JDF and his No. 16 printed on them:

And tonight, when the Florida Panthers started the NHL season against the New Jersey Devils, they wore Fernandez jerseys along with No. 16 decals on their helmets: 

It was a powerful moment as the team took the ice for warmups in the sweaters: 

Dee Gordon, who was one of Fernandez's closest friends on the Marlins and who impersonated Fernandez's stance before hitting an emotional home run in the Marlins first game following the pitcher's death, was in attendance:

The Panthers also made a $35,000 donation to Fernandez's foundation: 

Far more than just a baseball player, this is further proof of the enormous impact that Fernandez made in his tragically short life.
Amazingly, the Panthers won on an overtime goal by Aleksander Barkov. Barkov is, quite fittingly, No. 16:


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