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          Cross Checks Blog

          Could 'Spacey in Space' be the Florida Panthers' secret weapon?

          Jan 27, 2016
          • Craig CustanceESPN Senior Writer
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            • Senior NHL writer for ESPN The Magazine
            • Wrote for Atlanta Journal-Constitution
            • Wrote for The Sporting News
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          The slightly bizarre love affair among actor Kevin Spacey, the Florida Panthers and their fans has reached new heights.

          This season, the Panthers players have passed around a blue “Spacey in Space” hoodie after games to different players after wins.

          The sweatshirt, as these things tend to do, became a sensation on Twitter, inspiring interaction between Spacey and the Panthers' Aleksander Barkov.

          The origins hoodie's being handed out are kind of a mystery. The shirt showed up in the Panthers' dressing room, and the players have refused to divulge who brought it in or why. They've been asked multiple times and want to keep it a secret. It's become their version of the Broadway Hat for the New York Rangers, a reward passed around to the best player after wins.

          On Tuesday, The Miami Herald reported that fans could now buy replicas of the sweatshirt at $40 a pop, with the proceeds going to the Florida Panthers Foundation and Kevin Spacey Foundation.

          As you might have guessed, they’re wildly popular. According to the Panthers, the first order of 144 Spacey in Space shirts sold out almost immediately; 100 were sold before the game even started.

          The Panthers, through team president Peter Luukko, reached out to the Spacey camp to coordinate the deal that splits proceeds between the foundations. The team hopes to have the shelves restocked with more sweatshirts before their next home game on Feb. 4.

          Now if they can just arrange for Spacey himself to make it to a game, the Panthers might not lose again.