Say Good-Bye to Scott Mellanby

Scott Mellanby, a folk hero to many Florida Panthers fans, and one of the league's senior citizens, is pretty much 99% certain that he's going to retire.

Atlanta Thrashers right wing Scott Mellanby said he'll probably retire after 21 seasons in the National Hockey League, a day after the team was eliminated from the playoffs by the New York Rangers.

"I'm 99 per cent there," Mellanby, 40, said yesterday.In 69 games this season, the Montreal native had 12 goals and 24 assists. He had 364 goals, 476 assists in 1,431 career games with Atlanta, St. Louis, Florida, Edmonton and Philadelphia.

Scott Mellanby has a special place in my heart, given that I used to cheer for the Florida Panthers and he's one of the players I remember from my early childhood of watching hockey. (The Flyers-Oilers series is my first hockey memory).

The "Rat Trick" - Remember when Panthers fans threw rats on the ice back during their run to the finals in 1996? Well, blame Mellanby for animal cruelty.

More under the cut ...Mellanby, as the legend goes, killed a rat in the dressing room with a one-timer while his team-mates ran away like little girls. Scott went to score two goals in the game afterward, and goalie John Vanbiesbrouck referred to Mellanby's feat as a "Rat Trick". From then on, Panthers fans tossed piles of plastic rats onto the ice when the Panthers scored a goal.

Mellanby was also one of the game's true old-school power forwards. Mellanby brought well-rounded offensive ability with lots of grit, determination, leadership, aggressiveness, and size. Mellanby was hardly graceful, but he used his size and strength to win battles along the boards and then get into position to produce points. Mellanby could drop the gloves, run you over, and then add a goal.

While never a star (70 points was his high total for a season), Mellanby was a dependable offensive producer and second-line winger for a very long time. Now that he's retiring, the number of stars from my early childhood has been reduced by one yet again.