Ann 2NHL Traditions & Superstitions Part I: The Playoffs Beard
June 8th 2008 00:57
This is the first part of a series of posts on the NHL's traditions and supertitions. I decided to start with the playoffs beard since it's the most popular phenomenon among players and fans. Other posts will deal with some teams' traditions and goalie superstition.
When a team gets qualified for the playoffs, most players, if not all, decide to put down the razors for the rest of the campaign. It's a tradition that seems to have started in the 1980s by the New York Islanders. More and more players adopted the trend in subsequent years with their fans quickly following suit. The beards come in all shapes in sizes, from Guy Carbonneau's moustache and Sidney Crosby's peach fuzz, to Scott Niedermayer's old man beard and Mike Commodore's red afro and beard. There are several meanings behind the beard, most of them evoking the sense of virility. It helps to separate the men from the boys when the “real” season starts and also serves to show the warrior mentality that is prominent in the playoffs.
The beard isn't the only hairstyling going on in the playoffs. Indeed, in 2008, Washington Capitals defenseman Mike Green started the mohawk craze among his fans after cutting his hair in mohawk style. Most of the Montreal Canadiens players completely shaved their heads during their playoffs run. The only expections were Carey Price and Maxime Lapierre who opted for a mohawk cut. The Kostitsyn brothers and Alex Kovalev were the only players who didn't participate in the ritual, choosing to keep their long and soft Slavic hair intact. When asked why he wouldn't cut his hair, Kovalev responded, “The way I see it is we can't all be Indians. Somebody has to be the chief.”
When a team gets qualified for the playoffs, most players, if not all, decide to put down the razors for the rest of the campaign. It's a tradition that seems to have started in the 1980s by the New York Islanders. More and more players adopted the trend in subsequent years with their fans quickly following suit. The beards come in all shapes in sizes, from Guy Carbonneau's moustache and Sidney Crosby's peach fuzz, to Scott Niedermayer's old man beard and Mike Commodore's red afro and beard. There are several meanings behind the beard, most of them evoking the sense of virility. It helps to separate the men from the boys when the “real” season starts and also serves to show the warrior mentality that is prominent in the playoffs.
Commodore's hair didn't go unnoticed in the 2006 playoffs
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