Brad Marchand and the Panthers Embrace Florida’s Famous Flying Rats, a tale 30 years in the making

When Brad Marchand arrived in Florida after he got traded from Boston, he didn’t have long to wait (do anything) until he found his new identity – or should I say, assume his old one. Known throughout the NHL for his daring and unorthodox style of play, Marchand has always been given the nickname “The Rat” by supporters and detractors. Consequently, when a player of his caliber signed for the Florida Panthers, a team with one of ice hockey’s most peculiar and endearing fan bases, who throw plastic rats onto the ice, it was as if the stars aligned.

Before Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final, Marchand jested, “I hope they play us some rats. I just hope it will be inside and not outside.” All that Marchand wanted soon became a reality. After a 6-1 Florida victory against Edmonton, the fans threw rubber rats onto the ice as a token of celebration, a party that has turned as symbolic as it is weird.

This is not just a silly trick, though. The Panthers’ rat concept has considerable staying power in the team’s history, going all the way back to the 1995-96 season. That was the year when, before a game, a real rat ran into a dingy locker room of the then, the demolishing Miami Arena. Most of the players, in a fright, leapt onto the benches – there was only one, the winger Scott Mellanby who killed the rat with his stick by slapping the wall. That very evening Mellanby went on to score twice, thus bringing up the term “Rat Trick” with Vanbiesbrouck, the goalie.

That’s where the fans entered the scene. At first, a single plastic rat was thrown on the ice after a game. That was soon followed by a few and still more. By the end of that Cinderella season, which was a huge surprise as Florida went all the way to the Stanley Cup Final, the rat-throwing custom had become a raging this that no one had ever seen. So much so that pest control giant Orkin even jumped in as a sponsor.

Today, it is a major part of the Panther’s identity. Arrive at Amerant Bank Arena for a game and you will see fans wearing old Mellanby jerseys, with plastic rats shaking in their hands. You can find them in a gas station, in a party store or if not buying in stock, you can ask the person next to you to have a few delivered to your seat. For the people from Miami like Colin Fox, the ceremony means more than just an act of fun—it is the old team’s support. “Even when they weren’t good, there were still rats,” he said. “It’s something that has gone through the years.”

And as for the players, they are a hundred percent committed. After all of their wins in these playoffs, the(!) friends have made it a joke to throw some rats at the legs of Marchand and then go to the changing room. He’s taken it with humor and a smile. “This team is having the time of its life,” he said. “Now, we are all high on excitement.”

But naturally, the rats will not be liked by all. Some goalies of the opposing team tried to hide inside the net to avoid being hit, the NHL went as far as to impose a ban on throwing rats on the field during the game because it caused delays. But the fans know rats are allowed after the match, and that’s when they blast off.

108 For long-standing fans of the Panthers e.g. JP Kirkpatrick, it is really special. “It’s something that only happens in person- the television doesn’t even show it,” he said. “It’s absolutely fiery.”

It’s going to be the most exciting sport of the day as the Panthers are once again in a match for the championship and the plastic rats fly up to the ceiling of the arena as the fans come together to support their team that gives them pride, identity, and the element of unexpected joy. 108 And for Brad Marchand–the person whose nickname has been rat all along his career–there is really no other place like home.