The octopus has eight legs and the 8 is the number of games needed to win a SC trophy back in the days when there was a handful of teams.
Now that the playoff format has changed - I think you need to win 12? - the octupi still represents a successful run at the trophy and people think that tossing an octopus on the ice after a goal is the reason to do so, but it's totally a different meaning.
The ban has been in effect for the SC series in different cities for years!
http://proicehockey.about.com/od/his...it_octopus.htm