Panthers Stop Rat Sale

    The Florida Panthers announced on Tuesday that they will no longer sell plastic rats at the Bank Atlantic Center. Crowds have been throwing rats on to the ice surface every time the Panthers have scored a goal in the playoffs. The public address announcer has mentioned on every occurrence following a goal that fans should not throw objects, specifically rats, or face ejection from the arena. Fans have been throwing rats on ice following a Florida home victory throughout the season.
    The tradition goes back to the 1995-96 season. On their first home game at the Miami Arena against the Calgary Flames, a rat was racing around inside the Panthers locker room prior to the start of the game. Right wing Scott Mellanby shot the rat into a wall and killed it. He would go on a score two goals that night for his team. After the game, goalie John Vanbiesbrouck called it a rat trick. People would start throwing rats on the ice after a Panthers win for the rest of the regular season.
    During the 1996 playoffs, the game operations crew would have to be brought out after every Panther goal and clean up the mess. It would later create long delays in the pace of the game. It was part of the great playoff run the Florida Panthers had that year. After the season, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman issued a policy that the tossing of objects on the ice following a goal would incur a delay of game penalty on the home team.