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They’re not sure why it has to be this way, only that it has to be this way.

When the Calgary Flames take to the ice, their starting goaltender has to lead them out followed by defenceman Robyn Regehr, followed by forward Eric Nystrom, followed by assorted others in their assigned spots until, finally, defenceman Dion Phaneuf is the last man to leave the team bench – home or away. The same preordained procession for every pregame skate and the start of every period of every game, regular season and playoffs.

And it’s more than a Flames thing; it’s an all-over-the-NHL thing, probably an everywhere-in-hockey thing because, as the players are quick to say, that’s the way it is. Skating out in an established order is tradition. Everyone has a place and must stay in that place, otherwise the universe would unravel, the heavens explode and, well, they’d rather not dwell on it.

“Why do goalies go out first?” Montreal Canadiens forward Guillaume Latendresse was asked.

“Because they always go out first,” he replied.

Okay, but why?

“Because they always go out first.”

No one can say exactly how it started – with the 1945-46 New York Rangers, the 1966-67 Toronto Maple Leafs? – but somewhere along the way it became absolute law that NHL teams must find their way to the ice in the same fashion four times a night for every game they play. To flaunt that law and have someone out-wait Phaneuf as the last Flame through the gate is to poke-check the hockey gods. You stole their fire; you get to have your liver eaten by the Atlanta Thrashers.

That’s the most cited reason from hockey players who must begin their performance like circus elephants grabbing the tail of the elephant in front of them.

“The goalie goes first because it’s like he’s leading you into battle,” offered Nystrom. “It’s symbolic.” As for having to fall in behind Regehr night after night? “I just like to get out there early.”

This ritualistic, superstitious conga act comes with a series of questions. When players line up for the first time, which one goes where? Is it based on status, position, age, jersey number, Zodiac signs? Is it a money deal – the guy with the richest contract gets to choose his spot?

What if someone butts in? (“Oh, they know better,” warned Stéphane Robidas, always the second man out of the Dallas Stars’ room.)

How about a fight? Has there ever been a scrap over who goes where?

“I’ve had some little arguments with guys who want to be the last one,” said Montreal defenceman Hal Gill, who at 6-foot-7, 250 pounds doesn’t do anything little.

“It could go to a fight, but it probably goes to games played,” joked Calgary centreman Craig Conroy, who signed with the Los Angeles Kings, then was traded back to Calgary only to lose the guy who used to skate out in front of him. “I used to follow Adrian Aucoin. Now that he’s not here I follow Aaron Johnson. Why? I’m not sure.”

Edgar Laprade wasn’t sure why he did it, either. The shifty centreman played for the 1945-46 Rangers and is one of the Hockey Hall of Fame’s oldest living members. (The others are Milt Schmidt, Emile Bouchard and Elmer Lach, all of whom are 89 or older.)

Laprade said when the Rangers of his day took to the ice they were lead by Chuck Raynor, the starting goalie. As for Laprade, he had to be last, no exceptions.

“It was just something I started,” insisted Laprade. “I had to be the last guy out of the dressing room and the goalie went out first because he wanted to get to the crease and start fussing around.”

So there you have it: a hockey tradition that lives on despite the fact it has no definitive origin, no conclusive benefit and can’t really be explained – kind of like Coach’s Corner or being a goal judge in the age of instant replay.

“It is a little comforting,” Montreal’s Josh Georges said of his routine. “I know I’m going to get up, give [teammate Brian Gionta] a high-five, take a right out into the hallway and follow this other guy.”

That other guy would be Roman Hamrlik with Jaroslav Spacek close by. “They’re usually talking in Czech so I don’t really know what they’re saying,” Georges said.

Best bet: They’re agreeing goalies go out first “because they always go first.”

With reports from Sean Gordon in Montreal and David Shoalts in Toronto