Throwing sea creatures on the ice is a storied tradition in the NHL. We've had octopi in Detroit for decades. We've had a shark eating an octopus in San Jose. Nashville Predators fans have thrown catfish on the ice now and again for the last few seasons.
During Thursday night's Vancouver Canucks home game against the Minnesota Wild, the tradition continued, as someone felt it necessary to throw a large salmon onto the rink:
That's referee Frederick L'Ecuyer getting all creeped out by the dead fish, prompting this instant-classic line from the Wild booth:
"Oh, just pick it up. It's just a salmon, for cripe's sake. You act like it's poison. It's just a salmon!"
So this is symbolic of … what, exactly? The Canucks always swimming upstream in the playoffs and eventually getting smoked?
If you're keeping score at home, that's two fans who perform acrobatic taunts in green body suits; two fans who show up as the Hockey Luvin Homos; one salmon thrown on the ice; and a potential Selke winner who enjoys lingering in the background of his teammate's interviews. Strange things are afoot in The Big Smoke …