October 8, 1995,  the start of the 95-96 season, the Florida Panthers were in the dressing room preparing for their home opener when a rat made it’s way into the room.  Forward Scott Mellanby used his stick to “shoot” the rat across the room thus killing it .  He then went out and scored two goals in the Panthers 4-3 victory over the Calgary Flames.  His two goal night and killing of the rat prompted goaltender John (The Beezer) Vanbiesbrouck to comment that Mellanby had a
“Rat Trick”.  I cannot take credit for the name of this blog either, but it certainly is fitting.

Fans soon heard of the comment and after the Panthers would score a goal, plastic rats would be tossed out onto the ice in celebration.  Remember those days?  As we know the Panthers went on to the Stanley Cup Finals that year, and while they were swept by the Colorado Avalanche, the team had won the hearts of the South Florida Community.

Known for their hard work, tenacious play and tight defense, it was hard for anyone not to get on the bandwagon.  Well it has been a long 13 years since those finals and it’s been 8 years since they made the playoffs.  The time to get that old tradition back is now.  Coach Peter DeBoer in his second year has firmly indicated that this is his team, and he is going to do things his way.   He emphasizes many of those attributes the Panthers had in the mid to late 90’s that’s been sorely missing from previous Panthers’ squad’s.  Maybe we can refer to this as The Panther Way!

While the changes in the front office this offseason are still unresolved as the Panthers are without a General Manager as Assistant GM Randy Sexton has been running the show, life goes on.  In addition, ownership change which in my opinion is much needed has yet to be finalized as well.

I welcome this site not only for Panther fans, but for fans of all teams to come to and read and comment on.  Don’t expect me to be soft however.  When things are going well, I’ll say so, but when things are not, you’ll know it.  I am dying for this team to not only make the playoffs, but challenge once again for The Stanley Cup.  There’s alot of work to do, but if the bar is set high, then there should be no excuses.

I would like to thank both Zach and Adam for their hard work and giving me the opportunity to do this.  I am really looking forward to the upcoming season and to chatting with all of you.  Take a look at my about page to learn a bit more about me .

Thanks for reading!