Florida Panthers: Remembering Bill Torrey’s Legacy

The NHL world was deeply saddened Thursday afternoon following the death of former Florida Panthers President Bill Torrey at age 83.

He was the first president of the franchise and was a massive piece to the puzzle in the early seasons of the organization. Torrey also served as the general manager of the New York Islanders during their 1980s dynasty, in which the Islanders won four consecutive Stanley Cups.

Torrey served as Panthers’ president for the first nine years of the franchise. Within three years, the Panthers made it to the 1996 Stanley Cup Final, the only appearance in franchise history. Torrey built the Florida Panthers similar to the Islanders from the decade prior; a star right-winger in Pavel Bure, solid depth with Rob Niedermayer and Radek Dvorak, and solid defense with Rhett Warrener and Ed Jovanovski.

Both teams were successfully built through the draft, as Torrey drafted 5 of 6 to be hall of fame players with the Islanders. The young Panthers played fast and played hard, taking the NHL by shock, becoming the quickest recent-era expansion team to win their conference.

Torrey served as the team governor for the 2002-03 season, before stepping down to assistant team governor for the next ten years. He dealt with almost everything to do with the franchise, from players and player management, to financial aid and ticket pricing. Torrey was the only front office member to spend the first 25 years with the Panthers.

Owner Vinnie Viola was very humbled by his work with the franchise, saying:

"“An original Panther and the forefather of our franchise, Mr. Torrey had a champion’s spirit and lived for the game. His indomitable energy and his commitment to hockey and to South Florida was inspiring. It was an honor to work with him and know him.”"

Viola has always been high on motivation and spirits, and as his right-hand man, Torrey gave a strong presence to Viola’s front office and attitude going forwards. Viola was unbelievable to honor him during his jersey retirement.

Torrey had worked as an assistant to Panthers GM Dale Tallon, who was heavily honored to work with the former president. Tallon called him a “giant of the [NHL],” learning a lot of his drafting techniques through Torrey (and looking to have drafted some Torrey-like players in Aleksander Barkov and Aaron Ekblad to name a few). Dale continued with:

"“He was a wonderful person who never lost his passion for the game and loved being at the rink. I am proud to have worked with him, and I will always be grateful for his support and friendship. He was a legend and the original Panther.”"

He even adopted some of Torrey’s humor through his pause before announcing the Panthers’ selection.

Wayne Huizenga (#37) and Bill Torrey (#93) are the only two who have numbers retired by the Florida Panthers. Torrey’s number 93 was retired back in 2010, in honor of his start with the franchise that he would go on to serve 25 years with. Torrey was inducted into the NHL Hall of Fame during his time with the Panthers in 1996. His nickname of “The Architect” and his iconic bow ties will go down in Long Island and Sunrise alike as ultimately one of the great names to ever serve their franchises.

To close off with a saying from the NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman:

"“From his iconic bow tie, retired by the Islanders organization, to his devilish sense of humor, he truly was one of a kind.”"

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