Maurice enjoying seeing Panthers fire rats at Marchand: 'It's funny as hell'
Published
The Florida Panthers have quickly taken to putting trade-deadline addition Brad Marchand at the centre of their on-ice celebrations after wins.
For years, the Panthers have been showered with plastic rats after home wins and Marchand just so happens to have been nicknamed "The Rat" throughout his playing career.
The 37-year-old has become the target of his teammates shooting the rats at him during their playoff run. The ritual made it on the road after a few rats wound up on the ice in Carolina after a 5-0 win over the Hurricanes in Game 2 on Thursday.
Panthers head coach Paul Maurice was seeing enjoying the celebration after Aleksander Barkov, Evan Rodrigues and Matthew Tkachuk took aim at Marchand after the Panthers went up 2-0 in the Eastern Conference Final.
"They're shooting them as hard as they can. They're not flipping them," Maurice said Friday, per team reporter Jameson Olive. "It's funny as hell."
Acquired from the rival Boston Bruins in March for a conditional pick that upgraded to a first-round pick when Florida advanced to the conference final with Sunday's Game 7 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Marchand has been a key contributor in the playoffs, posting three goals and 12 points in 14 games. He had two goals and four points in 10 regular season games with the Panthers.
Playing in his 16th NHL season, Marchand is seeking his second career Stanley Cup after winning with the Bruins in 2011. He is a pending unrestricted free agent after spending this year playing out the last of an eight-year, $49 million contract.
The Panthers' association with rats dates back to the 1995-1996 season, their third in the NHL. Prior to the team's home opener, captain Scott Mellanby allegedly killed a rat in the locker room with his stick and then went out and scored two goals with that same stick in a 4-3 win over the Calgary Flames. Goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck dubbed it a "rat trick." By the next home game, a 6-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens, fans began throwing plastic rats onto the ice and a local tradition was born.