With the NHL Playoffs on the horizon, teams in the NHL are trying to inch their way closer to Lord Stanley’s Cup. Normally we do not talk too much about sports, but today we are going to recognize one of the greatest traditions in all of team sports that is specific to hockey. Of course, we are talking about the manly tradition of playoff beards.

I am a lifelong hockey player (goalie specifically) and the Playoff Beard is a tradition that every hockey team player is a part of, once you can grow one of course, and once you reach the post season. If you are not familiar with playoff beards, they are grown in hockey once the postseason begins, and the beards are not to be shaved off till you have either won the entire league or have been knocked out of the playoffs. This tradition, however, is one that is fairly new. Most people attribute the playoff beard to the 1980′s New York Islanders. So really, the concept of the beard has only been around for about 30 years.

The beard signifies true team unity. It is a tradition that, by the Stanley Cup, you can tell most of the participants’ ages and length in the league. It ranges from the patches being grown by rookies, to the hint of grey in some of the veterans, and there is always at least one Grizzly Adams-size beard in the mix.

This tradition would be great for team building with your workplace buddies. Tell the guys that when your business enters its busy season, everyone is to sport their Grizzly for Playoff Beard time. Then watch as your team dominates the market! Here are a few tips on growing your own Playoff Beard.

Now for a few other reasons to grow a Playoff Beard:

Vacation: No shaving until the day your tropical escape has officially ended.

Bachelor Party: Get all of your buddies to start growing it one month ahead of the festivities and your crew will be a bearded brigade ready to face the premarital debauchery.

Finals: Everyone needs a friend to help them get through the all-nighters in the library, so what better than have one attached to your face.

Surgery: Big Al can attest that after ACL knee surgery, nothing lets complete strangers know more that you are NOT interested in telling them what happened – and that you can open your own damn doors – than a beard.

End of Quarter: March 31st is around the corner and you have a number to hit. It’s time for a Playoff Beard.

Comment below and tell us some of your favorite reasons to grow a Playoff Beard.

Finally, take some time out in your day to salute a truly manly tradition… Playoff Beards.

In Beards We Trust,

-Taters