Puck Daddy Summer Series: Weird Detroit Red Wings

[Ed. Note: Some lists chronicle the best in hockey. Others the worst. Others the most memorable or greatest or essential. What Puck Daddy’s 2016 Summer Series seeks to do is capture those indefinable, quirky, oddities that occur every season. Moments that defy prediction or, in some cases, logical explanation. Welcome to WEIRD NHL.]

By: Kyle M., managing editor at Winging it in Motown

1. Kris Draper’s kid took a dump in the Stanley Cup

Yep, it happened. Kris Draper’s daughter, Kamryn, took a big ol’ steamy deuce in Lord Stanley’s Mug. The same trophy you see your favorite athletes drinking champagne and eating cereal out of as celebration to winning hockey’s greatest honor.

Kevin McGran was the one to report the full story about Draper’s day with the Cup, and all the poopy details were snuck into the closing paragraphs:

“A week after we won it, I had my newborn daughter in there and she pooped in the Cup,” said Draper. “That was something. We had a pretty good laugh.”

Let this be a lesson to all of you young hockey players who will win a Stanley Cup some day – a child once defecated in there…

So, maybe just drink straight from the bottle.

2. Dominik Hasek sent Marian Gaborik into liftoff

Anyone who watches hockey can recall this glorious moment. If you can’t, don’t worry. Let’s relive it:

This is perhaps one of my most favorite moments as a Red Wings fan. I remember half-ass watching the game because it was a blowout, I was staring at my homework and brought my attention back to the broadcast when Ken Daniels screamed at the top of his lungs in reaction to Hasek sending Gaborik into the stratosphere.

Hasek was one of – if not the most – exciting goalie to watch because of his unconventional style, and ability to make ridiculously acrobatic saves on nothing more than pure instinct. Hasek claimed to have been going for a pokecheck on this play, which is hilarious seeing that he trucked towards Gaborik like he was shot out of a cannon.

Hasek received a two-minute minor for tripping, while Minnesota brass called for a match-penalty for intent to injure. Hasek preserved his shutout in a 5-0 win. Luckily for Gaborik, he didn’t land on his head.

3. Steve Yzerman kisses Martin LaPointe on Kisscam

Everyone knows Steve Yzerman as one of the greatest to have played the game, and not to mention a damn good general manager. What most people don’t know about Yzerman is that outside of the stern personality, and dashing handsomeness, he won’t hesitate to have some fun with his friends.

During a game, Brendan Shanahan and Martin LaPointe found themselves on the Kisscam as a “haha” moment for the fans. The awkwardness between the two was entirely cringe-worthy, but what came next was etched into Red Wings history as one of the team’s most memorable non-hockey moments:

Steve Yzerman comes out of nowhere and plants a kiss on LaPointe’s cheek. Something that no fan, player, or hell, anyone was expecting. This is my go-to video if I ever need a smile.

Yzerman is the best.

4. Niklas Kronwall scores on Jonathan Quick off of the safety netting

This one is great because it distracts Kings fans from searching for Axe Body Spray at bulk-price to be mad about hockey.

In the closing seconds of a 2-1 game in which the Kings were certain to have locked away with a win, the Red Wings scored this ultra-weird, and ultra-illegal goal on the power-play with an empty net. This goal tied the game, and helped the Red Wings earn a shootout win later on. Here’s the full play:

Even Kronwall thought the goal shouldn’t have counted when asked about it in a post-game media scrum, which makes it even funnier.

In the video, you can clearly see the puck smack the netting. This goal never counts if the netting was a lighter color, as it would have made the puck’s impact with the net make it far more visible, which would have led to the playing being blown dead.

From a fan perspective, I don’t really care. My team could score by one of the refs picking up the puck and throwing it into the net – I’d still cheer.

5. Gordie Howe gives Lou Fontinato a facelift

I figured it wouldn’t be right without mentioning a story about Gordie Howe, a legend who was recently taken from us. While it’s not exactly weird, it’s certainly the ultimate bad-ass story about Gordie Howe absolutely wasting one of the league’s biggest goons at the time, Lou Fontinato, who also passed away this July.

I assume that all of us weren’t around to witness this fight, but skipping all of the detail and narration, the moral of the story was that Gordie Howe was a certified ass-kicking machine.

Howe’s arms were compared to pistons in a motor, giving Fontinato vicious blow after vicious blow, leaving his face severely busted and broken.

The crazy part? Fontinato finished the game.

I suppose I’ll let the photos do the talking:

Don’t toy with Mr. Hockey, folks.

Previous Weird NHL Posts: Anaheim | Arizona | Boston | Buffalo | Calgary | Carolina | Chicago | Colorado | Columbus | Dallas

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About the author: Kyle M. is one of two managing editors for Winging it in Motown, a Red Wings community on SB Nation. He’s been a Red Wings fan since birth raised in the city’s suburbs. Follow him on Twitter: @KyleWIIM.