Hockey is a sport filled with many rich traditions. Putting small children on skates for the first time, pickup games on backyard rinks, dad's driving the Zamboni for volunteer hours, and of course throwing dead octopuses onto the rink. Wait, what?

Yes this is a real thing. Wikipedia says this "Legend of the Octopus" started in 1952 during the playoffs when the Detroit Red Wings played two best-of-seven series to capture the Stanley Cup.

Pete and Jerry Cusimano, brothers and storeowners in Detroit's Eastern Market, hurled an octopus into the rink of The Old Red Barn. The team swept the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens en route to winning the championship.

The eight legs of the cephalopod represent the eight games it takes to win the Stanley Cup.

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At the Wild vs. Red Wings game at the Xcel Energy Center on Wednesday January 22nd, a Detroit fan smuggled two dead octopuses into the stadium to hurl onto the ice at a later time. This seafood flinger waited until the final minutes to toss them onto the ice. Which means he had two sea creatures somewhere on his body for about 2 hours as he sat in a stadium chair.

I can't even imagine the stench.

The tossed octopods didn't help Detroit much, the Wild took home the win with a final score of 4-2. Maybe next time this guy should try keeping them at home and frying them in a nice garlic butter sauce.

Abbey is on 98.1 Minnesota's New Country weekdays from 2-7 PM.

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