In a 4-2 victory against the Arizona Coyotes, Jonathan Huberdeau contributed three assists. Following his great game the forward skated around the ice with a victory rat.

Local businesses were quick to realize the power of the rat during the team’s 1996 Stanley Cup Final run. A local radio station got in on the fun with a rat-themed good luck token.

A hand-written message on a rat projectile wished the Panthers good luck during the 1996 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The scrawled no. 27 and capital M made this rat specific to the man behind the Rat Trick, ...

Complete with a faux fur rat tail, the Mr. Rat blazer was an eccentric way to wear Panthers pride on your sleeve. The costume could have been a precursor to the Viktor E. Ratt mascot.

Marti Huizenga, the wife of team founder and former owner H. Wayne Huizenga, was one of the most dedicated Panthers fans of all time. During the 1996 postseason, Mrs. Huizenga reportedly smuggled doze ...

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 ...

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.

Orkin Rat Patrol members filled buckets to the brim with plastic pests, a regular practice during the 1995-1996 season when Panthers fans threw rats onto the ice to celebrate goals. The tradition was ...

Members of the Orkin Rat Patrol were fully equipped — hard hats and all — to clear the ice of hundreds of plastic rats, which were thrown in celebration by fans whenever the Panthers scored a goal dur ...