Panthers honor legacy of late Hall of Fame executive Torrey

SUNRISE, Fla. --The Florida Panthers paid tribute to the late Bill Torrey before their game against the New York Islanders at BB&T Center on Saturday.

The Hall of Fame executive known for his omnipresent bowtie, who died at 83 on May 3, was a member of the Panthers organization for the past 25 years after being the franchise's first president in 1993-94. He joined the Panthers after serving as general manager of the Islanders and helping them win four consecutive Stanley Cup titles from 1980-83.
Torrey's four adult sons - William, Peter, Richard and Arthur - took part in the ceremonial face-off, which followed a video tribute. They all wore a jersey with the number 93, which was retired by the Panthers in Torrey's honor in 2010.
Players were both teams had a bowtie on the back of their helmets.

The Panthers

designed in part by Torrey's son Richard, with all proceeds going to Cleveland Clinic, a charity chosen by Torrey's family.

"A lot of the things that I learned I watched from afar when he was with the Islanders, how he and (Hall of Fame coach) Al Arbour interacted, how they behaved, how they handled themselves," said Panthers President of Hockey Operations/General Manager Dale Tallon, who joined Panthers players wearing a bowtie for the game. "Just how you handle yourself on a regular daily basis, and he did it with class.

"And that's what I learned from him. That's what I want our organization to be. We want to follow that way, the lead that he's given us over the years. That's what impressed most about Bill is that he's just the classiest guy and never had a negative word to say about any other team or any other organization," Tallon said.