Panthers To Host Reunion For 1996 Stanley Cup Finals Team
Follow CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter
SUNRISE (CBSMiami) – The Florida Panthers are having one of the best seasons in franchise history and appear well on their way to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Panthers currently sit atop the Atlantic Division standings, a spot the team has owned since early January.
Good times have been hard to come by during the team's 23-year existence, with Florida only making the playoffs a total of four times to date.
The first of those times came 20 years ago, when the Panthers surprised the league and made an epic march to the Stanley Cup Finals.
That 1996 Panthers team will be reunited in Sunrise next month to recognize the anniversary of their amazing accomplishment.
The Panthers announced on Tuesday that several members of the '96 team, coaching staff and front office will be on hand at the BB&T Center on Saturday, March 12th when Florida hosts the Philadelphia Flyers.
The guest list of players, coaches and staff that are confirmed to attend are Scott Mellanby, John Vanbiesbrouck, Ed Jovanovski, Bill Torrey, Doug Maclean, Bill Lindsay, Johan Garpenlov, Tom Fitzgerald, Brian Skrudland, Jason Woolley, Radek Dvorak, Terry Carkner, Mike Hough, Ray Sheppard, Bryan Murray, Chuck Fletcher, Duane Sutter, Gord Murphy, Dave Smith and Scott Tinkler.
"We are thrilled to welcome so many players and staff from the 1995-96 Stanley Cup Final team back to Florida," Panthers Executive Chairman Peter Luukko said. "We look forward to honoring their accomplishments and having a great reunion weekend."
The Panthers made the playoffs that year as the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.
They defeated the Boston Bruins in five games in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, the Philadelphia Flyers in six games in the semifinals and the Pittsburgh Penguins in seven games in the conference finals before falling to the Colorado Avalanche in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Fans embraced the hard-working Panthers and the tradition to throw plastic rats on the ice following every goal.
Rats are still thrown on the BB&T Center ice following every Panthers win.