What pops into your head when you envision the late spring season? Is it afternoons spent poolside? How about catching up with your hometown friends at your favorite ice cream shop? What about...hockey? Yes, the National Hockey League’s post-season is in full swing, and there are only four remaining teams contending for the prestigious honor of being the 2017 Stanley Cup Champions (the Nashville Predators, Anaheim Ducks, Ottawa Senators, and Pittsburgh Penguins). Here are 8 pretty interesting facts you should know on hockey’s most beloved trophy, and this year's playoffs!
- The Stanley Cup goes WAY back. It is actually the oldest trophy that is still awarded to a professional sports franchise, as the Stanley Cup was first awarded in 1893 to the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association, a hockey club, by Lord Stanley, according to the National Hockey League.
- Who is this Lord Stanley? Glad you asked! Lord Stanley of Preston was an Englishman who was appointed the Governor General of Canada by Queen Victoria. He became interested in hockey when he attended the Montreal Winter Carnival where a hockey match occurred, and Lord Stanley became intrigued. He then decided that there was a need for a symbol in which all Canadian hockey teams could compete for and the best could win, and the Stanley Cup was born. The idea was brought up at the Ottawa Amateur Athletic Association dinner in 1892, and it was heartily approved. The original Stanley Cup was shortly after purchased and was awarded the following year, says the Hockey Hall of Fame.
- There are actually THREE Stanley Cups. Yes, you heard me, three! The original Cup as purchased by Lord Stanley was retired in 1963 because there were concerns over preserving it and how fragile it was. Today, the Cup that you see hoisted by victorious players is referred to as the “Presentation Cup,” but there’s also the Replica Cup, that sticks around at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto for adoring hockey fans to fawn over.
- No more amateurs allowed! The first few years that the Cup was awarded, it was to amateur teams. That changed in 1910 when it was decided that no amateur teams were allowed to even contend for the Cup.
- HABS have the right idea! The Montreal Canadiens, sometimes referred to as simply the Habs by fans, have won the prestigious trophy more than TWENTY times...the most out of any NHL team. Wow! 2016-17 simply wasn’t their season, as this year, they lost to the New York Rangers in the first round and were eliminated from the playoffs. Better luck next time?!
- Canada is THIRSTY for the Cup. The last time any Canadian NHL league won the cup was when the aforementioned Montreal Canadiens beat the Los Angeles Kings in the 1993 Stanley Cup Finals, meaning Canada has experienced a 24 year Cup Drought. Can the Ottawa Senators bring the Cup back to Canada this year?
- A new champion? Out of the four teams still currently competing (as of May 19) in the 2017 playoffs, only one team has never lifted the cup. Any guesses on who it is? If you guessed the Nashville Predators, you’re correct!
- Will Stanley Cup history repeat itself this season? Back in 2007, when the Anaheim Ducks lifted the Cup (the only time they ever have, by the way!), their competition was none other than the Ottawa Senators. Currently, both of these teams have the possibility of playing each other again, depending on if the Ducks beat the Predators, and if the Senators beat the Penguins. Could history repeat itself, and could the Ducks emerge victorious, leaving the Senators to be the runner-up again? Time will tell.
Happy hockey-watching, and may the best team win!
