Detroit Red Wings fans throw an octopus on the ice during the playoffs due to a tradition originating in the "Original Six" Era. At the time, with only four teams qualifying for the playoffs, it took eight wins (Two best-of-seven series) to win the Stanley Cup. The eight arms of the octopus represent those eight wins.
(Originally answered by Garpinator as well. Somehow something went wrong with the "Keep me logged in" feature.)
Octopus
mostly tradition or over excitement, just like Swedish Fans Throw Dildos, a tradition to throw fish on the ice when Cornell hockey faces off against Harvard at home, The Hat Trick where fans throw hats on the ice if someone scores three times in one quarter and Detroit fans throw octopus
fans throw hats on the ice
Back in the '50's, a local seafood shop owner decided to throw an octopus on the ice during a Red Wings playoff game in order to bring them good luck. Back then, only 8 wins were needed in the postseason to win the Stanley Cup, and so the octopus' 8 tentacles represented the number of games Detroit had to win. Detroit went on to win 3 consecutive Stanley Cups in the '50's and the local seafood shop owner was hailed as a hero.
The heaviest octopus ever throw at a red wings game weighed 50 pounds. The heaviest octopus ever throw at a red wings game weighed 50 pounds.
The Octopus ice cream is in Japan.
These things are thrown as gifts for the skater in appreciation for their performance.
go on the ice island and make sure ice hole and ice squid are in in the menu bar thingy. then get a pygmy and turn the sun really hot. he will melt a hole in the ice. then put a pygmy over top of the ice hole and the squid will come out
In a recent home loss, leafs fans booed their team and thew waffle on the ice to heckle them
The tradition of throwing an octopus onto the ice started at a Detroit Red Wings game on April 15, 1952. It’s a pretty fascinating tradition, and over the decades, it has spread to other NHL teams.We can thank brothers Pete and Jerry Cusimano for coming up with the idea. They owned a fish market in Detroit, and by mid-April, the Red Wings were in a great position: They led the Stanley Cup Final series 3-0 over the Montreal Canadiens. They’d won seven straight games, but they needed one more win to come home with the Cup.Jerry figured the easiest way to ensure the victory was to...throw a dead octopus onto the ice.“Here's the thing with eight legs,” Jerry reportedly told Pete. “Why don't we throw it on the ice and maybe the Wings'll win eight straight?"After Gordie Howe scored the first goal of the game, the brothers threw out the octopus (they’d boiled it prior to the game to ensure that it wouldn’t stick to the ice). According to legend, the game announcer quickly warned fans not to throw any additional cephalopods:"Octopi shall not occupy the ice. Please refrain from throwing same."In any case, the Red Wings finished the sweep, and the strange tradition was formed. Soon, other fans were throwing octopi, and the Cusimanos became local legends."If you try to throw [an octopus] like a baseball, you'll throw your arm out," Pete told The Washington Post in 1998. "I would fling it sidearm like a hand grenade. One time I missed and knocked a man's hat off. When he spotted what it was hit him, he left and never came back to his seat.”Other teams tried to adopt similar traditions with varying results. In the 1995-96 NHL season, Florida Panthers player Scott Mellanby killed a rat with his hockey stick in the locker room, then scored two goals in the team’s home opener. Soon after, Panthers fans were throwing toy rats onto the ice after every goal (prompting the NHL to issue rule changes to prevent unnecessary delays).In 2003 (or 1999, depending on the source), Nashville Predators fans began throwing catfish onto the ice to show support for their team—and, perhaps, to show Red Wings fans they don’t hold a monopoly on the practice of throwing around dead sea creatures."I thought it was an octopus," former Predators owner Craig Leipold told The Associated Press of the newer tradition. "I was pleasantly surprised when I realized it was a catfish. I figured it had to be one of our fans mocking the Red Wings. I was not disappointed."Of course, throwing anything onto the ice can cause delays, and in rule 63.4 of their official rulebook, the NHL discourages the practice. Teams can be penalized if their fans throw too many octopi, fish, rats, or other objects, and in recent years, the tradition has changed; fans usually throw items before the game starts.But while fans can be kicked out of the arena and fined for throwing items onto the ice, the traditions are mostly tolerated. Hockey is, after all, an intense sport—and if some superstitions seem strange to outside observers, rest assured that they make total sense to dedicated fans.
Please be more specific.
First of all, it is not a squid. It is an octopus. And secondly, the octopus is NOT in ALL of hockey. It is used EXCLUSIVELY in connection with the Detroit Red Wings of the NHL. It started during the 1952 Stanley Cup Playoffs. At that time there were only 6 teams, and to win the Stanley Cup required 8 playoff victories (two best of seven series). The owner of a local fish shop in Detroit threw an octopus onto the ice claiming that the 8 tentacles represented the 8 games that the Red Wings would win to get the Stanley Cup. The Wings won the Cup, and the tradition of using an Octopus to rally the Red Wings was born. Now there are 30 teams in the NHL, and it takes 16 victories to win the Stanley Cup, but the original playoff symbolism remains. Which is why the octopus toss is rarely seen during the regular season (except for the last few games when the Playoffs are very near). No team in the NHL has more fans attend AWAY games than the Detroit Red Wings, so an octopus may be seen in any city in which the Red Wings are competing. However, the throwing of ANY object onto the ice in ANY arena (including Joe Louis Arena - home of the Detroit Red Wings) is ALWAYS prohibited, and therefore runs the risk of getting kicked out of the game. This risk is obviously much lower at Joe Louis Arena where the behavior is not only tolerated, but (unofficially) encouraged, as long as certain rules are followed. First of all, the octopus should be boiled prior to the game to prevent it from sticking to the ice, and to eliminate any residue from the outside of the octopus flying off of it as Al Sabotka swings it around over his head to fire up the crowd when he removes it from the ice. Secondly, NEVER thow it onto the ice while the game is being played. This will assuredly give the Red Wings a penalty for delay of game. The acceptable times for throwing an octopus onto the ice is right after the Red Wings score a goal, OR right after the singing of the National Anthem, OR at the conclusion of the game (although most fans can't wait that long).