There’s a giant, gold-outlined rat emblazoned on the hat that dangles in Brad Marchand’s locker.

It was October of 1995. Inside a cramped and humid locker room at the old Miami Arena, as the Florida Panthers were getting ready to take the ice against the Calgary Flames, a giant rat scurried across the floor.

SUNRISE, Fla. They searched high and low, near and far, but the Florida Panthers may have found their guy. Sportsnets Elliotte Friedman was the first to report that Columbus Blue Jackets assistant general manager Bill Zito will be hired as Floridas new GM. Zito, 55, was hired as the Blue Jackets assistant GM in 2013 and was named general manager of their AHL club two years later. Before joining Columbus, Zito co-founded Acme World Sports and spent two decades working as a player agent. The Blue Jackets have enjoyed consistent success under the watchful eyes of Zito and general manager Jarmo Kekalainen.