Fans should tip their cap to new Colorado Avalanche postgame tradition

It’s a big hat. It‘s funny. Norm MacDonald was a funny guy, and when the Colorado Avalanche debuted their new player of the game “trophy,” he immediately came to mind. If anyone in Avalanche nation hasn’t seen it yet, it’s an outlandishly oversized Avalanche hat, similar in size to the one Turd Ferguson wore on celebrity jeopardy on Saturday Night Live in the nineties.

The tradition was started earlier this season by captain Gabriel Landeskog, and the oversized hat goes to the player of the game, as voted by the previous night’s recipient, during Avalanche victories. It’s given out in the locker room post-game. It’s taken on a life of its own as photos of players wearing it have been spread across social media.

Being able to don the lid has seemingly galvanized the Avs, as contributions are coming from far and wide. The hat has most likely elevated play team wide – who wouldn’t want the opportunity to wear it?!

Last night’s winner was Ivan Ivan, who saw some powerplay time and scored his first ever NHL goal. Ivan got the opportunity with Ross Colton on the mend and took advantage of his chances. He was chosen by the previous night’s winner, Justus Annunen, who easily could have received the hat again, as he was stellar in the Avs victory.

It appears the hat cannot be worn by the same player consecutively, as no player has repeated wearing it thus far. Other winners include Ross Colton and Nathan MacKinnon.

It seems this victory hat has taken on a life of its own. While scouring Avs twitter, the team has been very clever with their posts about who earned the hat that night. This hat has an opportunity to not only galvanize the players, but also generate some interest from the fans as well. Sometimes funky, unique things like this can provide momentum to a team and a fan base.

Since the Avalanche turned their luck around and earned a victory, they’ve been playing well, winning four straight games. A team typically plays better when the players get along. The opportunity to wear the big hat has a chance to become a fun carat to strive for and has helped the Avalanche get on a run.