I wonder if contracting the Panthers would help the Lightning in their finances?
1. The Panthers are currently losing money on the team (because they have been terribly mismanaged for a decade) but making money on the arena. Whether they are making money or losing money as a whole likely depends on which set of books you are looking at.
Since the two entities are inseparable, it's unlikely that SSE (the parent company) will give up the team and thereby lose their rights to all other arena revenue (which is substantial).
2. The area is heavily populated by people from the Northeast, Midwest & Canada. These people didn't stop loving hockey when they moved here, but the team hasn't given them a reason to love THEM. When the team went on their miracle run in 1996, the area went crazy. You don't need a cup finalist to get those people to come out again. You just need a team that wins more than it loses and wins an occasional playoff game... (which is something this team hasn't done in
15 years.)
3. Your post above demonstrates some lack of knowledge of Florida geography. People from the east coast aren't going to drive across the Everglades at night to watch a hockey game. It also demonstrates a lack of knowledge of the demographics. Those fans who came from "up North" still love their original teams. If the Panthers leave, Tampa won't win those fans. The Panthers could have won many of them over rather easily, if they just didn't suck so badly for so long.