Tampa ups the ante on post-game celebrations
The Broadway hat. The vintage jacket. The star-of-the game belt.
They are all trinkets NHL teams use to recognize the best player of the game as chosen by his teammates. Then the Tampa Bay Lightning upped the ante this year by using two objects: a camouflage jacket and a toy rifle.
According to The Tampa Tribune, Tampa's ritual was likely created by coach Jon Cooper, who used the practice when he was coaching in the American Hockey League. Players award the objects in a brief post-game ceremony to either two players or two groups of players who performed the best.
"Neither one means more than the other,’’ center Tyler Johnson told The Tampa Tribune. "They’re both the same, and the guy who gives them out is always the guy who won it the last game. I have no idea where it all started. I just know it’s something I’ve always done with Coop."
The Lightning hope to have four more of these ceremonies, as they only take place after a win. Four more wins would grant the Lightning a Stanley Cup championship.
(h/t The Tampa Tribune)
Photo credit: Jay LaPrete/AP Photo
