With the 2023 NHL Playoffs currently underway, plastic black rats have become a major storyline; find out the reason behind why the Florida Panthers fans throw black rats on the ice after a win.
The NHL is full of bizarre and strange traditions and the Florida Panthers fans definitely have one up their sleeve.
Explained why do Florida Panthers fans throw plastic black rats on the ice after a win
The rats are out in Florida as the Panthers take Game 3 in overtime 3-2 over the Maple Leafs and have a chance to sweep Toronto on Wednesday! Bobrovsky with another amazing performance in net. #TimeToHunt #NHLPlayoffs #StanleyCupPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/4bOK3SKToY
— Derrick (@D0lphin333) May 8, 2023
Who’s old enough to remember the #TimeToHunt rats 🐀 on ice? #nhlbruins #NHLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/FXIkNXO5ot
— Captain Nick’s Death Stare ☠️ 👀 🍺🏒🇨🇦 (@Hab_A_Cold_One) April 28, 2023
The throwing of plastic rats onto the ice is one of the coolest things I've seen. It would be cool to see a Panthers game in person some day, especially a playoff game#NHLPlayoffs #TimeToHunt
— Jordan Sanders (@TheeJayeSands) May 8, 2023
The Florida Panthers are well into the 2023 NHL Playoffs, with their most recent game against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 4 on 10 May.
The Panthers are in good form at the moment with a 3-0 series lead could secure their first-ever sweep. Meanwhile, the Leafs, are in trouble and will be looking to become the fifth team to come back from a 3-0 series.
However, aside from their obvious strong form, another thing has brought the Panthers in attention, particularly their fans.
Black rats steal the show in the 2023 NHL playoffs
The Florida Panthers have a unique and strange tradition where their fans throw black, plastic rats onto the ice after winning a game. In their most recent game as well, where the Panthers won, fans dived in on the tradition and threw the rats on the ice. The rats have since become a major storyline of the 2023 NHL playoffs series taking the social media by storm.
Reason behind Florida Panthers throwing black rats on the ice
The tradition of the Florida Panthers throwing black rats on the ice comes from an incident during the team’s run to the Stanley Cup Final 1996. Prior to a game against the Calgary Flames, the Panthers players were reportedly getting ready in the locker room when a rat appeared causing panic.
The then Panthers captain Scott Mellanby, reportedly took his stick and smashed the rodent against the wall. Interestingly, Mellanby went on to score two goals that evening with the very same stick. Following the match, Panthers’ goalie John Vanbiesbrouck joked about Mellany completing a ‘rat trick’ as a pun on the term ‘hat trick’.
Since then, fans began throwing black plastic rats onto the ice rink after every goal. Eventually, it became a tradition and even led to a partnership with exterminator company Orkin for cleaning up the rink.
In fact, the Miami Arena became notorious for its hostile environments for opponents. Fans even dubbed the ‘Year of the Rat’. However, the tradition soon died down in a couple of years before seeing a resurgence in 2012. The famous tradition has since become customary and now fans do it after a win and not after every goal.