SUNRISE, Fla. – The late Bill Torrey may have identified himself more with the Panthers once he joined the organization as president in 1993, but he never stopped watching the Islanders.
“He’d been with the Panthers for 25 years, he wanted to see hockey succeed here so badly,” the Hall of Fame NHL executive’s son, Rich Torrey, told Newsday. “Out of the side of his eye, the whole time here, he always watched the Islanders. The surroundings of how he ended up leaving them were painful. I don’t know if he ever really got over it.”
The Panthers honored Bill Torrey, who passed away at his West Palm Beach, Florida home on May 3 at age 83, with a simple yet tasteful pre-ceremony prior to Saturday night’s match with the Islanders at BB&T Center as part of their Legacy Saturdays series.