Ice hockey is a brutal, high-speed, contact sport. Yet amid all that cutthroat competition, several lighter, funny moments have left fans and competitors in stitches. With that in mind, here are the ten funniest moments to happen in NHL history as we peek into the lighter side of professional hockey.
1. The Great Octopus Toss
The Detroit Red Wings octopus toss is one of the NHL's most iconic and entertaining traditions. This weird tradition started in 1952 when siblings Pete and Jerry Cusimano gathered up an octopus and hurled it onto the ice at Olympia Stadium. It has eight tentacles, one for each win, to claim the Stanley Cup back in those days.
Since then, the practice has developed into something that many people love to witness, often with a chuckle, and see every year. Some fans have employed creative means to smuggle their octopuses into the arena. One that's a little more fun came when one enterprising fan smuggled in an enormous 50-pound octopus and needed several staffers to carry it off the ice.
2. The Steve Smith "Own Goal"
The 1986 Smythe Division Finals is probably one of the funniest moments in playoff history and NHL history. On his 23rd birthday, Smith tried a stretch pass from deep in his zone. Instead, the puck went off goalie Grant Fuhr's leg and into his goal.
This stroke of bad luck sealed the Oilers' fate as they chased their third-straight Stanley Cup. What was so comical about this tragic scene was that this could only happen in a cartoon with its perfectly absurd setup and the perfect timing of Smith wanting his birthday cake.
Gretzky and the rest of Smith's teammates would take turns trying to cheer him up, but that moment has lived on in hockey lore as one of the funniest blunders ever. If anything, it is a reminder that baseball is and always will be the great equalizer; even the best players are bound at one point or another throughout their career in Major League Baseball to experience moments of hilarious misfortune.
3. Surprise GoalFrom Ron Hextall
In the last two minutes of game seven against Boston, with their net empty, Hextall grabbed a puck and launched another powerful slapshot all the way down to drop it into that unprotected goal. This play was so ridiculously out of the norm, and Hextall's reaction to his own amazement made this moment historicalandhysterical.
The goal Hextall scored not only demonstrated his abilities but also added some comical relief to the game. Goalies scoring, particularly in such a flashy way as Mason did tonight, is one of the coolest sights you will ever see on an ice rink.
4. The "Shoe Incident" with Mike Milbury
The Boston Bruins and New York Rangers brawled at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 23, 1979. Adding to the fun of this incident is that it involved Mike Milbury, who went into the stands and took off a fan's shoe, then beat him with it.
This ridiculous incident of a pro ice hockey star wielding the footwear of a fan as an object was so funny it had to be immortalized. His offhand "weapon" selection has become a legend in NHL circles, often pointed out with equal parts disbelief and hilarity.
5. The "Flying V" Formation
The Philadelphia Flyers' "Broad Street Bullies" era in the 1970s had a reputation for being one of the few teams that played an aggressive style. Instead, they did the "Flying V, "one of the wittiest tactical experiments in NHL history.
The Flyers tried this unconventional formation in games, taking it from the movie The Mighty Ducks. It was bizarre enough as practicality to see hemmed-up NHL players skate in the shape of a V, à la migrating geese; that image must have been perplexing and/or hilarious for spectators, let alone opponents.
Although the "Flying V" ultimately didn't take flight in terms of actual hockey success, it's still good for a laugh that an NHL team tried this. It is a reminder that even at the top level of sport, there is still room for play and experimentation.
6. The "Butt Goal" by Mark Pysyk
Do you remember the "butt goal" scored by Buffalo Sabres defenseman Mark Pysyk on Dec. 23, 2013 against the Phoenix Coyotes? In a goalmouth scramble, the puck trickled into Coyotes goalie Mike Smith's pants, and when he backed into his net with the disc in between him an ever so slightly over completely, it crossed the line.
The comedic styling of a goal being scored absurdly cemented this as one of the NHL's all-time greats. This initial feeling of bewilderment quickly turned to laughter and disbelief for players, fans, and even commentators.This just goes to show that sports, even the lightning-fast, skill-based world of hockey, can go viral through sheer blind luck and comedic timing.
7. Patrick Roy Mistakes
Patrick Roy is considered one of the best goalies in NHL history. But everyone, even legends, has their moments when they screw it up. Roy is famous for regularly trying to deke opposing players out at center ice, which is risky when the guy with the puck is your goalie.
Seeing the typically elegant and impassive Roy sliding into his crease, having misjudged how slick he was on frozen water compared to a puck, even in an earnest playoff series, felt like such relief. The loss was a nice little chuckler to illustrate that the best players sometimes get co*cky.
8. The "Fog Game"
Due to warm weather in May, an unusual but comical situation occurred during the 1975 Stanley Cup Finals between the Philadelphia Flyers and Buffalo Sabres. The heat caused the ice surface at Buffalo's Memorial Auditorium to fog over, making for some surreal, if not comical, playing conditions.
Players would skate into the fog and reappear in another unidentified location on Data Change via US-side Sports. The game had to be paused numerous times as players, referees, and fans tried to sweep the fog away by waving towels and programs.
The vision of professional athletes participating in a game of blind man's bluff on ice could be laughed at for years. It was a single game in the 1995 Eastern Conference Finals between Orlando and Indiana that has since been dubbed "The Fog Game." Rain came through the roof of The Market Square Arena, causing so much mist to form on the court.
9. The Kiss Cam Mishap
Technically, it's not an off-ice incident unless you count commercials or Kiss Cam moments; the hit gas has long been a staple of NHL game entertainment and now often provides some good laughs. There was also the time a Toronto Maple Leafs game pretended to show two people puckering up in what seemed like it would be served as kiss cam footage.
Rather than the typical platonic smooch, the dude showed up carrying a sign that read, "This is my sister." The surprise move shocked everyone, and the entire arena, including social media users at home, laughed out loud.
Although this instance does not directly or explicitly affect the actual hockey game, it conveys how hilarious something at times related to but extending beyond on-the-ice-centric issues can be a playfully entertaining treat for fans.
10. The Infamous "Shoe Polish Blast"
During a Montreal Canadiens Boston Bruins match in the 1990s, we had who might be Claude Lemieux providing one of the more idiotic diversions ever constructed on NHL ice. Lemieux, an agitator on the ice, certainly chose an outlandish incident to further his reputation.
During the game, Lemieux turned to his helmet visor and wiped some shoe polish on it. During altercations with Bruins players, he would headbutt them, and you could almost see the little black marks on their jerseys. Lemieux's ruse fooled the Bruins into thinking something was wrong with their water until they discovered his ploy after the first period.
That was far too unsportsmanlike, yet Lemieux's lack of dignity and originality made it one of the funniest incidents in recent memory. It provided a window into the depths of desperation some players would go to for an advantage, even if that meant being only in their heads.
Nevertheless, these top 10 lighthearted NHL moments prove that even a violent and intense game like ice hockey deserves to leave us laughing. These moments have broken records and new ground in hockey, becoming the stuff of legend for fans to talk about at length with a bit of a laugh. But they also remind us that hockey, above all else, is about the fun and games as much as it can be an embarrassment of inspirational riches.
