Since 1996, Florida Panthers fans have taken to throwing plastic rats on the ice after the club's victories.
The 2025 Panthers have added a variation to the tradition: pelting left wing Brad Marchand with said plastic rats. There's no telling why or how this bizarre tradition began—other than the boys being the boys—but it's caught on, even during road games. The Panthers defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 5-0 in Game 2 of the conference finals on Thursday night at Lenovo Center, and the rats sailed onto the ice shortly after the end of regulation.
Marchand stood stationary on the ice to congratulate his teammates as they filed off towards the locker room. In doing so, he also set himself up as a sitting duck for plastic rat attacks.
WE'VE GOT RATS ON THE ICE IN RALEIGH 🐀 pic.twitter.com/9mWGfUJRWK
— x - Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) May 23, 2025
The @FlaPanthers celebrated their Game 2 victory by firing rats at Brad Marchand 🐀😂 pic.twitter.com/3Awgk7ZabO
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 23, 2025
If Marchand thought he'd have a savior in Panthers coach Paul Maurice, he was wrong. Maurice got a kick out of it.
"I heard about it. I’d never seen it,” Maurice told The Athletic. “I will tell you, they’re shooting them as hard as they can. They’re not flipping them at him. There’s shrapnel around there, and I didn’t have any equipment on. I was just trying to get off the ice. Like, it hurt. But they’re eating them up at them, and he’s trying to get out of the way. It is funny as hell."
Marchand, a Stanley Cup champion with the Boston Bruins back in 2011, was acquired by Florida in exchange for a conditional pick back in March. The 37-year-old has not only been productive—he ranks second on the team in points and is a plus-11 in the playoffs—he has also brought a veteran presence to the locker room and an enforcer-like mentality on the ice to an already-physical Panthers team.
Marchand has been great for the vibes off the ice too.
On the Panthers' off-day, Marchand apparently organized a trip to a Dairy Queen in Raleigh, N.C.
Panthers pulled up a Raleigh Dairy Queen on their off day on Wednesday, then brought the real blizzard to the Canes in Game 2 on Thursday.
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) May 23, 2025
The Cats vibes right now are immaculate 🥤🔥 (w/ @MikeBartner) pic.twitter.com/s89XfPNFkD
"It's important," Marchand's Panthers teammate Niko Mikkola told Jamison Olive of the team's website. "You have a day off and you don't think about hockey too much. You just live your normal life."
The Panthers are seeking to win the franchise's second straight Stanley Cup Trophy. Currently leading the conference finals 2-0 with the series set to return to Florida for Game 3 on Saturday, the Panthers will look to get one step closer to the Cup.
Oh, and keep shooting rats at Marchand.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Panthers Pelt Brad Marchand With Rats After Wins, Coach Paul Maurice Loves It.
