A Hockey Hall of Famer, a champion, an architect, a legend, and a true gentleman, William A. Torrey was the original Panther. He was founding owner H. Wayne Huizenga's first choice to helm his new NHL franchise in South Florida. He named Mr. Torrey the franchise's inaugural President on April 19, 1993. "Bow Tie Bill" as he was affectionately known, served in a senior capacity with the Panthers from 1993-2018.
Mr. Torrey's extensive and impressive resume included building a Stanley Cup dynasty with the New York Islanders, winning four consecutive Stanley Cups in 1980, 1981, 1982 and 1983, while drafting numerous Hall of Famers including Panthers TV Color Analyst Denis Potvin who served as the team's captain for eight seasons.
As the Panthers Special Advisor to the General Manager, Mr. Torrey sought to turn the fortunes of the Panthers around by choosing Dale Tallon as the team's new General Manager as the two began forging a blueprint similar to that of Torrey's former Islanders and Tallon's former Chicago Blackhawks. By building through the Draft, the Panthers began to build a core of young stars including Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau, Vincent Trocheck and Aaron Ekblad.
Mr. Torrey passed away on May 3, 2018 at age 83.