On Wednesday, it was announced that the Minnesota Timberwolves (and the Minnesota Lynx) were hiring Matthew Caldwell to become the team’s CEO. He is leaving his previous post of being the business operations president for the NHL’s Florida Panthers. Both the Wolves and Panthers have similar histories prior to Florida breaking out the past two years, a trajectory Minnesota is hoping for as well.
Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez have made their 1st big hire since taking over as owners of Wolves/Lynx. They are naming Florida Panthers Pres/CEO Matthew Caldwell as the team's new CEO. Most notably, Caldwell is getting a 10-year contract to run business operations in Minnesota.
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) August 27, 2025
Panthers history similar to that of the Timberwolves
Both teams had their inaugural seasons within four years of each other. The Timberwolves began play in 1989-90, and the Panthers’ first season came in 1993-94.
Up until recently, the Timberwolves and Panthers each had just one season where they went deep into the playoffs. In just their third season, the Panthers reached the Stanley Cup Finals, where they were swept by the Colorado Avalanche. The Timberwolves finally won their first playoff series in 2004 and ended up reaching the Western Conference finals.
Turn for the better in recent years for both teams
Caldwell joined the Panthers in 2014 as a COO and became their CEO in 2016. Florida has reached the playoffs for the last six years. Of course, the most recent years have brought the most success. They are the reigning back-to-back Stanley Cup champions and made it to the Stanley Cup finals the year before.
The Timberwolves have gone four straight years of playing postseason basketball. The last two have seen them reach the Western Conference finals. Now the goal is winning their first championship in franchise history.
New ownership already proving that they care about winning
This will be Caldwell’s first foray into the NBA. It’s a 10-year deal, and while finances aren’t known, it’s likely that team owners Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore paid a pretty penny to get him to leave his gig with the dominant NHL team.
It’s yet another move that shows not just that Rodriguez and Lore care about winning, but also about building a stronger team culture. They even wanted to hear what the fans have to say by coming up with a fan survey. They are making efforts to make the experience for the fans even better when attending a game at the Target Center.
While it’s too early to come up with a conclusion, thus far, Wolves fans have to be ecstatic about the new ownership, as well as the hiring of Caldwell. That brings even more excitement for a 2025-26 Timberwolves season that has high expectations.