TAMPA — As soon as Lightning center Cedric Paquette capped off his first NHL hat trick Thursday night, dozens of hats were tossed from the stands onto the ice at Amalie Arena.
It's a long-standing tradition, occurring in arenas all over in hockey. So what happens to those hats that fans blissfully throw away during the celebration?
Turns out, they're often put to good use. In the past, the Lightning has given them away to places such as Metropolitan Ministries and Moffitt Cancer Center, said Bill Wickett, executive vice president of marketing and communications. This year the Lightning has had four hat tricks — Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov and Tyler Johnson had the others — with the hats stored in a closet in the bowels of Amalie Arena.
Justine Burke, director of communications for Metropolitan Ministries, said the charity that helps the homeless in Tampa received hats from the Lightning on one occasion and they were put in the clothing closet in the group's outreach center, free to those in need. The center serves 25,000 people a year.
"During Florida cold weather, some of those hats come in handy," Burke said. "Or block the sun on a hot day."
And for those fans who need to replace the caps they toss away? On a hat-trick night, the Lightning offers season-ticket holders 50 percent off new hats and other fans 15 percent off.