Do you think the Canadian hasn’t won the Stanley Cup for a long time? Tell yourself that the Panthers’ fans, who we can agree were far fewer in number, had to wait almost as long for their favorites to reach the finals.
“It’s been far too long. And it took way too long to just feature them in the series portrait,” explained Brian Skrudland in a phone interview with Le Journal de Montréal.
Skrudland, a former Canadiens player, captained the Panthers when they reached the finals for the only other time in their history in the spring of 1996.
“I am very happy about this concession. I feel pure excitement at founding Skrudland, which has been based in Calgary for several years.
Skrudland served as head of player development from 2010 to 2016, working on the development of Aleksander Barkov, Aaron Ekblad and Jonathan Huberdeau.
While Skrudland is cheering on the idea of seeing the Panthers in the Finals, he also says he sympathizes with Huberdeau, who was traded in Matthew Tkachuk’s transaction last summer.
“I feel a little sorry for Huberdeau. I totally understand what he’s going through right now.”
Just before the end of the world
Skrudland had joined the Flames from the Canadians in January 1993 and had watched in his living room as his former teammates won the Stanley Cup on June 9 of that year.
“We tell ourselves it’s not the end of the world, but when it happens, it’s not bad, which is the closest thing to it.”
What’s even more shocking about the Quebecer is that he was instrumental in bringing a winning culture back to South Florida.
“[MacKenzie] Weegar [impliqué dans la même transaction] and he can still be proud of the work done. They helped bring a culture of success back to Florida,” said Skrudland.
few similarities
Much like the 1996 Panthers, no one expected Paul Maurice’s squad to reach the finals.
“That’s pretty much the only thing the two teams have in common. That and the goalie. John Vanbiesbrouck was largely responsible for our presence in the final. Sergei Bobrovsky does a bit of the same thing.
Since they were only in their third season and the rules of the expansion draft weren’t nearly as advantageous as they are today, the Panthers consisted mostly of support players and plumbers.
“We had no [Matthew] Tkachuk, a smart player who has everything. Neither did we [Aleksander] Barkow. When the Panthers recruited him, things started to change. He became a superstar.”
And today, the Panthers finally seem to have a solid base. Let’s assume their followers have never really been spoiled at this level. After reaching the finals in 1996, the Panthers made the playoffs just four times in 22 years.
Scott Mellanby am‘Origin of the Rat Tradition
Aleksander Barkov had to be careful. With the Prince of Wales trophy in hand, he had to cross the rink, being careful not to set his skate on one of the plastic rats being thrown onto the rink by fans.
Aside from the ruthlessness of the Panthers’ captain, who defied fate as ruthlessly as if he’d walked under a ladder or encountered a black cat on Friday the 13th, Brian Skrudland saw a nice nod to the 1996 team .
Because in this 1995-1996 season, this tradition was born in a scene worthy of a summer play by Gilles Latulippe.
“We were in the locker room about to jump onto the ice when we heard shouts, ‘There’s a rat! There’s a rat!'” As several guys, Scott Mellanby and I, jumped onto the benches, we faced each other , hoping to corner him,” Skrudland said.
The rat smelled the hot soup and initially managed to escape before reappearing. He looked for an exit again and ran along the wall until he neared Mellanby.
“When the rat got close to him, Scott booked him a one-time attack. The rat crossed the locker room before hitting the wall. He died instantly,” he continued.
A “rat trick”
The story would probably have ended there if Mellanby hadn’t ended the evening with two goals. “A rat trick,” Skrudland quipped, adding that the story quickly made the newspapers and caused a stir.
“At the same time, it wasn’t the only rat in the area. There must have been three million around the Miami Arena!”
The Panthers, only in their third season, had just, unknowingly, found the element that would unite the players and win the supporters over to their cause.
Furthermore, the tradition had taken on enormous proportions during the playoffs. After each Panthers goal, hundreds of plastic mammals littered the ice at Miami Arena.
“I remember Patrick Roy hiding in his net to avoid getting hit in the head when we scored against him at the end,” said his former Habs team-mate.
Only he was the one with the last laugh, winning the final in four games.