Florida Panthers
Formerly/aka N/A
Founded in 1993
Stanley Cups: 0
Original Six Status: No
Following on the heels of the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Florida Panthers help prove that there is a place for hockey in the south, and more specifically, Florida. Currently struggling in 13th place for the Eastern Conference, the Panthers are in the middle major overhaul, acquiring 13 new players in the last two years. With new talent to freshen up the roster, the Panthers might just be a threat in next season’s playoffs.
You can’t talk about the Florida Panthers without talking about the “Rat Trick”. Hat tricks have hats, Nashville has catfish, Detroit has octopi, but the Panthers have Scott Mellanby and his rat killing skills. Before a game in October of 1995, a rat wandered into the Panthers’ locker room, without even thinking about it, Mellanby took his stick and fired the rat across the room. The rat died. Later that game, Mellanby scored two goals, helping give the Panthers their first win of the season. The goaltender at the time, John Vanbiesbrouck, mentioned in a post game interview that Mellanby had scored a “rat trick” and told the press what had happened before the game. Fans began chucking plastic rats onto the ice, with 100s ending up on the ice by the end of the season.
Notable Players:
Stephen Weiss
David Booth
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