Oct 8, 2026 6:13 PM
From a locker room pest to a Stanley Cup frenzy, discover how Scott Mellanby’s "rat trick" ignited one of hockey’s most iconic and enduring fan celebrations.
Today we celebrate the anniversary of one of the oldest and most popular traditions involving the Florida Panthers and their fans.
If you’re an NHL fan and are familiar with the Panthers, odds are you’ve heard of their victory tradition.
After every one of the team’s victories, Panthers fans celebrate by throwing plastic rats on the ice.
It’s something that started 31 years ago, all the way back on Oct. 8, 1995.
On that Sunday night, a few hours after Dan Marino broke Fran Tarkenton’s NFL career completions record at Joe Robbie Stadium, the Panthers hosted the Calgary Flames for their home opener at Miami Arena.
Surely there were a few South Florida sports fans who attended both games, which sure sounds like a fun way to spend a Sunday.
As the Panthers were preparing to take the ice that night, something happened in the locker room that would impact the franchise for decades to come.
A few minutes before puck drop, a live rat emerged in the dressing room and scurried across the floor, startling the majority of the players who were getting dressed.
One player, however, was not fazed by the furry rodent, and that was forward Scott Mellanby.
While many players jumped on chairs or moved away from the rat, Mellanby grabbed his stick and one-timed the gnawing pest across the room and into a wall, killing it instantly.
The story could have stopped there and it would’ve just been a fun story to hear on podcasts 30 years later, but then Mellanby went out with that same stick and scored a pair of goals while helping Florida to a 4-3 victory over the Flames.
After the game, to put a bow on the night and giving fans something to think about, Panthers goalie John Vanbiesbrouck referred to Mellanby’s heroic efforts on and off the ice that night as a “Rat Trick.”
The rest, as they say, is history.
Fans quickly picked up on the comment and began throwing plastic rats on the ice after Panthers goals.
For the rat-throwing tradition, the timing couldn’t have been better.
Florida was playing in just the team’s third season of existence, but they were about to embark on an incredible journey.
After making the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, the Panthers went on a Cinderella march all the way to the Stanley Cup Final.
During the improbable playoff run, the throwing of the rats took on a life of its own, to the point where the Panthers had to employ several people whose job was to go on the ice after goals and clean up all the rats as quickly as they could.
There would be delays lasting several minutes after Florida scored on home ice, which ultimately led to the NHL changing its rules and threatening home teams with delay of game penalties if fans consistently threw items which caused a delay.
That’s when the tradition changed from after every goal to after every win.
To this day, Panthers fans still throw rats after every home win, and you’ll even see a few sprinkled on the ice for some of Florida’s road victories.
It’s a tradition as random as it is awesome, and one that Panthers fans have long embraced as their own.
Over the past few seasons, some of the Panthers players have even gotten in on the fun.
During Florida’s last run to the Stanley Cup in 2025, former Panthers forward Evan Rodrigues began shooting rats at Brad Marchand as the team exited the ice after a win.
Marchand, a new Panthers player at the time, would collect the rats and bring them home to his kids.
Because what young children don’t want a few plastic rats to play with, am I right?
So wherever you are today, take a moment to think about a few things.
Think about Scott Mellany scoring two goals with a stick that still had rat hair stuck to the tape.
Think about a group of arena workers dressed as exterminators while using buckets and squeegees to collect thousands of rats off the ice.
Thank about Brad Marchand giving his children a thrill by bringing them home a handful of rats.
Think about a decades-long tradition that has survived the test of time despite being on one of the NHL’s most unsuccessful franchises (which was true until around seven years ago).
And if you have a chance, think about finding a plastic rat and throwing it at your TV, or on your living room floor, or wherever you are when you watch Panthers games.
Go Cats Go?
More like, Go Rats Go.
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