Someone Needs to Hoist The Cup!

The Stanley Cup was the creation of Sir Frederick Arthur Stanley, lord of Preston. Who was Governor General of Canada in 1888. He was a big fan of hockey and he wanted to give out a trophy to the winner of the amateur hockey league. The trophy, which started out as a punch bowl, has now become one of the biggest icons in pro sports today. What is unique about the Stanley cup is that every player on the winning team gets to take the cup home to celebrate with. Stories about where it has been over the years are quite interesting to read.  Since the NHL teams have been awarded the Stanley cup since 1926 it has always been assumed that the NHL owns the cup.  What most people don’t know is that it is actually controlled by trustees and not owned by the NHL. The trustees can decide to give the cup to another league if the NHL season is cancelled.

As I mentioned in my last blog its very possible that the NHL will not have a season this year and there will be no NHL team to award the cup to.  I think they should give out the Stanley Cup to another hockey league.  It would be cool to see a different league like Canadian Hockey League (CHL) or Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) get the cup instead of just putting it on a shelf for a year. Lord Stanley enjoyed watching hockey and he would want “The Cup” to be presented each year to a deserving hockey team who share his passion for the sport and are not busy arguing over money. It would be good message to the NHL, seeing the plaque for 2013 with players names from a different league, inscribed on it. That message would be that the best “players” are the ones who “play.”

~Will DePalma