Back in the 1995-96 NHL season, Florida Panthers fans weren't sure whether they'd have a team the following year. That turned into a dream campaign despite a Cup final loss.
The Florida Panthers are two wins away from their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. But in this feature story from The Hockey News’ June 28, 1996, edition (Volume 49, Issue 38), writer Dave Joseph analyzed the Panthers after their Stanley Cup final loss to the Colorado Avalanche.
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The Panthers were swept by the Avalanche in Florida’s first-ever trip to the Stanley Cup final. But Panthers players and management were bowled over by the support Floridians gave to the team.
“The crowd, the support, the noise, it has been unbelievable,” Panthers center Tom Fitzgerald said more than two decades before he became the GM of the New Jersey Devils. “This crowd has been like a sixth man for us.”
It would take decades of underwhelming play and mismanagement before the Panthers got back to the Cup final, but the emotion and memories provided by that 1996 run resonated with Panthers players and fans alike.
“It has been a lot of fun, unbelievable really, to go out there every night,” said Florida winger Ray Sheppard. “The harder they cheer, the harder we want go out there and work.”
And don't forget the rats. Here's the full story:
RATS! PANTHERS LOSE, BUT FANS KEEP FAITH
Vol. 49, No. 38, June 28, 1996
By Dave Joseph
Two days after the sweep was complete, flags were still flying across South Florida.
Florida Panther flags, that is. And they weren’t at half mast.
Displayed from the front doors of apartments and houses, from the windows of cars, South Florida’s love affair with the Panthers couldn’t be extinguished after the team was eliminated in four straight games by the Colorado Avalanche.
Automobiles were still painted with signs reading, ‘Go Panthers’ and ‘Rat Mobile,’ Panther merchandise was being gobbled up and thousands filled the Miami Arena two days after Game 4 to give one last salute to the Panthers of 1995-96.
It was a fitting end to an exciting and tumultuous season. Just nine months earlier, Panther fans didn’t even know if they’d have a team next season when owner H. Wayne Huizenga said he might have to sell because he was losing money at the Miami Arena.
But while Huizenga and Broward County worked out a deal to build a new arena, the Panthers put together a dream season. Despite all the talk about a possible move to Nashville, Portland, Ore., or Phoenix, the Panthers drew 94 percent capacity at the Arena.
And a love affair had started.
“The crowd, the support, the noise, it has been unbelievable,” said center Tom Fitzgerald. “This crowd has been like a sixth man for us.”
After the Panthers’ first home playoff game against the Boston Bruins, right winger Scott Mellanby said the atmosphere at the Arena ”reminded me of Chicago Stadium.”
Panthers’ play-by-play broadcaster Jeff Rimer said the crowd’s reaction to Uwe Krupp’s series winner was an indication of how good Panthers’ fans have become.
“At first there was stunned silence,” Rimer said. “But a couple seconds later, when you looked around the place, no one left. It was a great gesture, as was the fans standing and applauding for the Colorado Avalanche.”
GM Bryan Murray was equally impressed.
“The attention we received - the media attention, the fan support - it was really incredible,” Murray said. “And the fans showed their class after (Game 4) by showing the courtesy they gave to Colorado when the Stanley Cup was presented.”
Of course, no talk of Panther fans would be complete without a rat tale, a tradition started after Mellanby one-timed a rodent in the team’s dressing room before the Oct. 8 home opener.
Dean Jordan, the Panthers’ vice-president, business operation, went to work marketing the bizarre incident. The hottest selling item at the Arena was Panther-red hats which read, ‘The Year of the Rat.’ Before playoff games, colored rats were illuminated on the ice. After each goal Panther fans threw plastic rats on the ice and a crowd of workers sporting construction hats and jackets scooped the critters off.
So how many rats had a close-up view of the ice?
“Let’s say there was an average of 100 a game for the first 20 games, then 200 for the next 20 games and about 600 a game for the playoffs. So…”
Jordan got out his calculator.
“It’s about 10,000 rats,” he said.
And what happened to them after they were taken off the ice?
“They’re humanely destroyed,” Jordan smiled.
But it’s not just about rats.
“I’ve talked to people in Canada and they can’t believe the noise level in our building across the television on Hockey Night in Canada,” said Panthers’ coach Doug MacLean. “I think our building is the toughest building to play in in the NHL.
“But, you know, it’s a two-way street. We get a lift from our crowd, they help us big time. But the team deserves to be treated that way.”
Right winger Ray Sheppard, acquired before the trading deadline from the San Jose Sharks, praised the fans.
“It has been a lot of fun, unbelievable really, to go out there every night,” Sheppard said. “The harder they cheer, the harder we want go out there and work.”
The Cup final was a culmination of three years of hard work.
“You think back to just three years ago,” Vanbiesbrouck said. “We were a new team that didn’t know if it could win one game. Now this.”
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