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The Florida Panthers Hockey Club * formerly Office Depot Center, and before that National Car Rental Center and originally Broward County Arena Rec-sport-hockey Florida contact: Eric A. Seiden
WHERE TO SEND FAN MAIL: Florida Panthers General Information
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Media - Radio [LOCAL]: WQAM (790AM) with Randy Moller, Billy Lindsay Team Colours: Red, Navy Blue, White, and Yellow-Gold Team Mascot: Stanley C. Panther PantherDivision: Eastern Conference -- SouthEast Division First Year: 1993-1994 Inaugural Season Current Year: 2007-2008 is the Panthers' Fourteenth NHL Season (Would have been one more except for the cancellation of the 04-05 season) Minor League Affiliates: Florida Everblades (ECHL), Rochester Americans (AHL) Previous Affiliates: Augusta Lynx (ECHL), Louisville Panthers (AHL), Miami Matadors (ECHL), Tallahassee Tiger Sharks (ECHL), San Antonio Rampage (AHL), Birmingham Bulls (ECHL), Cincinnati Cyclones (IHL), Carolina Monarchs (AHL), Fort Wayne Komets (IHL), and Port Huron Border Cats (UHL), Laredo Bucks (CHL), Texas Wildcatters (ECHL) Save The Florida Panther To save the beautiful Florida Panther, an endangered animal with less than fifty cats still in existence, send your contributions to this not-for profit organization: St. Petersburg FL 33734 -7959
By far, the most common question I get is "What is the deal with the rats?" To put that to rest, I bring to you the final say in the matter. The real deal: how the rat tradition really began. It was 1995, the Year of the Rat on the Chinese calendar. Specifically it was 8 October 1995, at approximately 6:30pm in the locker room. With an hour to go before face-off in the home opener against the Calgary Flames, a live rat dashed about the Panthers' locker room. Scott Mellanby, the future captain, remembers, "Guys were jumping out of the way and screaming. It made a beeline right towards me." So, Mellanby, armed with his stick let his fine-tuned instincts take over. He one-timed the rat with a slap of his stick against the locker room wall. "I one-timed it," said Scott, "and it was dead." Soon, a tradition would be born. That night Mellanby scored two goals in a 4-3 win. Goalie John Vanbiesbrouck called it a "rat trick." Later that night in the locker room, an unidentified team member marked the spot on the wall with a circle and inscription "R.I.P. Rat 1." Two games later, on 13 October 1995, the team's third home game which was a 6-2 win against Ottawa, two rubber rats hit the ice after a Panther goal. This was the first recorded rat throwing. The next game the total was 16 and the game after that it was 50. By the time the playoffs began, the per-game rat count exceeded 2,000. Mellanby quotes courtesy of Michael Mayo from a June 1996 issue of the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel. Significant Panther Information
Special Inaugural (Expansion) Year Statistics
Special Statistics Statistics Complete Panthers Personnel Directory
(All camp dates are year end dates, so 1993 is the 1992-1993
season)
If you're wondering what the deal with the famous Radek Dvorak avec chien picture is, you can now see it for yourself. This is the infamous photo in the 1999-2000 season calendar from September. I've scanned it in, cropped it, and added a caption. It was and is much talked about. This photo is not the real reason he was traded, despite rumours to the contrary. (132K image will open in its own window). You can read our exclusive interview with Paul Laus and hear what he has to say about your Florida Panthers. Paul also uses our message boards.
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