NHL Says No to the Octopus Throw

Written by Kevin Sellathamby

Friday, 15 April 2011 15:33

First off- a programming note. In 1-2 weeks from now, I won't be writing here- instead I will have a new blog on Bloguin (still in the works). As for now i'm still posting here until the new site is up. As for the mock draft, I will start working on that once I get the new site up. Now, back to our scheduled programming.

Earlier today, a story on Deadspin.com was posted involving a Red Wings fan named "Tommy B". In the story, it talks about Tommy's experience at Wednesday's Red Wings-Coyotes playoff game, and how he was ejected and fined $500 for throwing an octopus- a playoff tradition the Red Wings have had since 1952, regardless of where they're playing. The Red Wings backup goalie Swiss Chris Osgood had a bit more to say on the whole incident. Here are some of my favourite quotes (via mlive- they've also got video of the porous backup's rant)-

"It's a little ridiculous they're concerned about a tradition that goes on at our rink - or any other rink around the league for that matter. Do they want everybody coming to the rink and sit up on their hands and not do anything? It's gotten a little bit exaggerated. People are taking it a little bit too seriously."

"Other things that could change, maybe the consumption of just one beer game. To me, you come to a sporting event to have fun first and foremost. We can’t take this too far and start taking away what people are there to do."

"I just remember one of their players taking it and firing it off the ice because he was mad that we scored. I don't think he had much of a gripe."

What bothers me is that Swiss Chris makes a somewhat hypocritical statement- he talks about a "tradition" that goes on in one rink or any other rink in the league. I have no problem with this statement if the Joe Louis Arena was okay with this, but in most stadiums, throwing stuff on the ice isn't legal. When Popular Coyotes Blogger Travis Hair and Chemmy (of Pension Plan Puppets) decided to plan a "Throw the snake" initiative, in lieu of the Red Wings octopus throwing tradition. The Jobing.com arena had to put out a warning to anyone who was going to throw snakes on the ice after the commotion about this. Yet it's okay for a fan from another team to throw cephalopods onto the ice? Believe it or not, throwing objects that aren't after special occasions (such as hat tricks) are against the rules- per rule 63.3 a bench minor will be assessed for objects thrown on the ice. So why is everyone complaining?

Because of tradition. A tradition that was started 52 years ago and isn't nearly as relevant with an additional two playoff rounds as expansion has increased the amount of teams from 6 to 30. What does the octopus represent now? Winning two rounds and getting swept in the conference final? If tradition is so important, why don't other teams start traditions involving stuff thrown on the ice. For example, why don't Coyotes (and Thrashers) fans throw snakes on the ice as a tradition? The zero appendages the snakes have symbolize the zero NHL teams present in Winnipeg.. Or why don't Panthers fans make it a tradition to throw number shaped birthday candles on the ice, because it symbolizes their mediocrity? All scenarios are against the rules regardless of tradition. I can understand tradition being taken away is a bad thing- but if it's a tradition that is illegal it's not that bad.

In all seriousness, this is a pretty stupid discussion. Letting the Red Wings throw stuff on the ice and not letting everyone else throw stuff on the ice is more or less a double standard. And if I recall correctly, double standards are bad things. So I actually agree with the NHL here and their decision to try and start a crackdown on the octopus throwing.