Nick Horvath boasts of throwing the last octopus during the final Red Wings game at Joe Louis Arena in April and now the first during Thursday’s home opener at the new Little Caesars Arena.

A toss into the trivia books may have cost one of Windsor’s biggest Red Wings fans more than he anticipated.

Nick Horvath, 30, boasts of throwing the last octopus during the final Red Wings game at Joe Louis Arena in April and now the first during Thursday’s home opener at the new Little Caesars Arena.

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But that claim to fame may have earned him a ban from the Wings’ new home.

The devoted, life-long fan — Horvath has been to hundreds of games and has kept all the ticket stubs — was manhandled out of the arena after he lobbed an octopus onto the ice as the Star Spangled Banner was coming to a close.

“I made it about half way across the width of the ice,” Horvath said Friday. “It was massive … with two great big eyeballs.

“Everyone started going nuts. Everyone’s loving you, they’re high-fiving you. You’re going nuts,” he said of the experience.

But that joy was short-lived. Security guards grabbed him and whisked him away to be questioned by Detroit police who presented him with a court summons for a misdemeanour charge.

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“People were booing security and shouting, ‘Let him go,’” he said, while another fan, who also threw an octopus on the ice, managed to get away.

Photo by Dan Janisse / Windsor Star

Horvath snuck the dead creature into the arena under his clothing.

He wrapped the octopus in plastic wrap, moulding it into the shape of a football. He placed it on his stomach and had a friend wind more plastic wrap around his body to hold the octopus in place.

“I put my shirt on and my jersey and you can’t even tell … you (can’t) see anything,” he said. “This last one was pretty big so I looked like I had a beer belly.”

The tradition of throwing a dead octopus on the ice dates back to the 1952 playoffs. Legend has it that the eight arms symbolize the number of playoff wins needed for the Red Wings to win the Stanley Cup.

The ritual has continued over the years. Today, the team’s unofficial mascot is a purple octopus named Al. During playoff runs, two of the mascots are hung from the rafters to symbolize the 16 wins now needed to take home the Cup.

Officials, over the years, have mostly looked the other way when fans tossed the soft-bodied molluscs.

“At the Joe, even back in the day … they embraced it for a long time,” Horvath said. “All of sudden here, it was a big deal. I don’t know if they’re trying to make an example of me.

“I just want to keep the tradition going especially at the new arena,” he said. “I wasn’t trying to disrupt anything, just keep it going.”

Horvath, who has Red Wing tattoos on his chest and arms, spoke of his allegiance to his team. “I’ve pretty much devoted my life to this team,” he said. “Any big games, playoffs — don’t even call me because I won’t answer my phone. I watch every single game.”

Recently, the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals pleaded with fans to consider ending the Detroit tradition, saying, “Octopuses are intelligent, sensitive animals who use tools, communicate with one another, form romantic bonds, and deserve our respect.

“We hope the new stadium will usher in a new era of compassion for them.”

PETA representatives handed out soft toy octopuses before Thursday’s opener against the Minnesota Wild.