The Shared Sheet

Before the plastic rats rained down in South Florida, one leader championed a system where depth outmatched stardom. It was a gritty path to a Cinderella finish.

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I played for the Florida Panthers during our Cinderella run to the 1996 Stanley Cup Final.

I was a right winger who played in a defensive system known as the trap.

During my first two seasons in Florida, we missed the playoffs by a single point each year.

I believed in our four-line system, often saying 'four beats two' against top-heavy teams like Pittsburgh.

I once killed a rat in our dressing room with a shot I called the best one-timer of my career.

After I killed a rat and scored two goals in one night, my goalie coined the term 'rat trick.'