
It’s official, the Florida Panthers are Stanley Cup champions! The Cats clinched their first championship in NHL history by defeating the Edmonton Oilers in a thrilling Game 7 of the series Monday night.
Whether you’re a casual watcher or a tried and true hockey fan that might not be familiar with this South Florida tradition, you may have noticed strange objects being thrown onto the ice. When it comes to Panthers wins — not just at home, but on the road — airborne rats are a pretty common occurrence.
While Panthers fans don’t throw rats after goals the way they did in 1996 (the NHL changed the rules due to the delays caused by clearing up the ice), plastic or rubber rats are often tossed following victories. It’s a lot like Nashville Predators fans throwing catfish into the rink or octopi for the Red Wings. Except our rats aren’t exactly real.
If you’re curious about the origins of this rodent-crazed celebration, we’re here to tell you how it all came about.
History of why Panthers fans throw rats on the ice
The rat-throwing tradition leads back to the 1995-96 season, when a rat snuck its way into the Panther’s locker room. Despite the other players scrambling, captain Scott Mellanby used his stick to send the rodent flying into wall and went on to score two goals with the same stick that night. His teammate, goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck, told reporters it was a “rat trick” as opposed to a hat trick.
Days later, a rubber rat bought from a Halloween store would be placed in the same spot where the original rat had died, according to NHL.com. Once the rat shrine became publicized, a single rubber rat hit the ice after Mellanby scored.
Alas, fans began to throw more and more rubber rats onto the ice and the team went to the Stanley Cup Final that season, which would ultimately become known as the “Year of the Rat.” Coincidentally, 1996 is also the Chinese Year of the Rat.
The tradition became so popular, the Panthers’ rat mascot is appropriately named Viktor E. Ratt and the team, at one point, partnered with pest control company Orkin to have men dressed as exterminators come onto the ice and collect the rats.
So let it rain (rats)!!