No rink? No problem. The NHL Break Out Off-Ice tour hit 16 cities during the summer of 1996, when youth street and roller hockey players participated in tournaments and competitions.

As part of the NHL Freeze Play program, local kids laced up skates and learned to play ice hockey in a three-week instructional clinic. Several cities with NHL teams hosted the program in the 1990s.

Rob Niedermayer got into a face-off scrum during a 1993 game against the Ottawa Senators. Later in the game, Niedermayer scored the winning goal on an assist from Dave Lowry in what became the first h ...

Rob Niedermayer struggled against the boards in this Stanley Cup playoff match against the Colorado Avalanche.

Rob Niedermayer skated near center ice with the puck in this Stanley Cup Final game against the Colorado Avalanche in 1996. He had five goals and three assists in the playoffs that season.

Prior to the 1996-1997 season, the NHL implemented a new rule prohibiting fans from throwing objects onto the ice. The new rule was likely a response to the now-legendary “Year of the Rat,” in which P ...

An NHL rule was introduced in September 1996 prohibiting fans from throwing objects onto the ice, including plastic rats. The Panthers and Miami Arena reminded fans of this new rule in a March 1997 Br ...

Oleg Kvasha made his NHL debut with the Panthers in 1998 and notched 50 points for the team over the next two seasons.

Plastic victory rats came in all shapes and sizes, but a pink rat with a purple mullet was sure to stand out on the ice.

Watch out — those kitties bite! A real-life Florida panther joined Bill Torrey, H. Wayne Huizenga and others on the ice to officially welcome fans to the beginning of Panthers hockey. When Huizenga an ...