Photos: Washington Capitals

 During the Stanley Cup Finals, the world got a glimpse of a Nashville tradition. Throwing catfish at things you love. In rural Tennessee, if you throw a catfish at someone, it’s a marriage proposal. With Predators fans, they want to show their undying love. A man was arrested for throwing a catfish on the ice in Pittsburgh during Game 1. He was charged with “possessing an instrument of crime” and “disrupting a meeting”. 

Throwing things on the ice isn’t all that uncommon in hockey. Starting with the Hat Trick. Throwing your hat onto the ice to celebrate a player scoring three goals started in Toronto in the 1940s. You don’t want to know what they threw on the ice when someone scored four goals.

Then we have that really weird one, the Octopus. It all started in 1952, when a Red Wings fan tossed an octopus on the ice at the beginning of the playoffs. The eight legs of the octopus resembled the eight games needed to win the Stanley Cup at the time.

Then there was the Rat Trick in Florida, starting back in 1995 when Florida Panthers right winger, Scott Mellanby, killed a rat in the locker room before a game with his stick, then scored two goals that same night, or so the story goes.

Then there are Flyers fans just throwing anything not nailed down.

While Washington is known for “Rocking The Red” and how crazy loud the fans can get, they don’t have their own, unique ice tossing tradition. While I am not advocating tossing anything onto the ice, I came up with a few ideas that Capitals fans, were they so inclined, could throw on the ice to show their pride.

Crabs

Fender Stratocaster

IKEA TULLSTA chair

Egg McMuffins

US Senators

An arcade cabinet of Street Fighter 2

A 1998 Mazda Miata

Pat Sajak

A safe

Your laundry from the week

I hope you take this list, not as instructions on possessing an instrument of crime, but rather about showing your support for your favorite team. Throwing things onto the ice is dangerous, but that shouldn’t stop Caps fans from being the loudest fans in the league. Please don’t try to sneak a safe into the game. Please don’t throw a US Senator onto the ice. Leave your IKEA chairs at home. The ice crew thanks you.

By Doug Lorman