Lord Stanley, his Cup, and its traditions
The Stanley Cup, the prized possession for all National Hockey League players, is handed over to the playoff-winning team's captain so they can begin the celebration of accomplishment with a hoist and a skate around the rink. If the Stanley Cup-clinching win is at home, the fans go wild. If it's a road victory, the fans still cheer, though less robustly but respectfully. It is an award ceremony unlike any other.
But what is the origin of the Stanley Cup? Who cares for it when the team hangs up its pads and goes home for the season? And what traditions do players tend to utilize when given the Cup for a 24-hour period?
In order to understand the present, a look at the past is necessary.
Lord Stanley of Preston, the 16th Earl of Derby, was named the sixth Governor General of Canada in 1888. After arriving in the country with his wife and eight children the following year, Stanley was introduced to the sport of hockey, and he and his sons quickly fell in love with the game.
In 1892, after his two sons, Arthur and Algernon, created the Ottawa Rideau Hall Rebels and urged their father to create and donate a trophy that would symbolize the champions of the sport, Stanley gifted Canada the then seven-inch "Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup."
The Cup would serve as a trophy for the best amateur hockey team until 1908, when it became exclusive for professional teams.
Only NHL teams have competed for the trophy since 1926.
The Cup has since been redesigned and taken the name Stanley Cup to honor Lord Stanley's love for the outdoors and sport in Canada. The original trophy was retired in 1969 because it had become brittle, and it is on display in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, close to the "Honored Builders" section where Stanley was posthumously inducted in 1945.
The bowl sitting atop the current trophy is an exact replica of the original bowl purchased by Lord Stanley. The original Cup featured the Cup and a one-band collar, where teams would etch their names into the base with a knife or pen.
The current design was introduced in 1958 and features the Cup sitting atop a five-band barrel, allowing 13 teams to etch their names per barrel.
When all bands were filled in 1991, the top band was removed and preserved in the Hockey Hall of Fame. A new band replaced the former band to continue allowing teams to add their names.
In order for a player to have his name written on the Cup, he must play at least 40 games for the team during the regular season or play at least one game of the Stanley Cup Finals. Other requests are made on a case-by-case basis.
Champagne, dog food and holy water have all found their way into the bowl of the Stanley Cup, due to the tradition celebrated by teams over the past 115 years.
In 1995, a tradition began in which players were allowed to possess the Cup for a 24-hour period. What they did with the Cup was completely up to them.
Brett Lebda, a defenseman for the Detroit Red Wings and resident of Buffalo Grove, said when awarded the Cup in 2008 he brought it to a local ice rink and a juvenile diabetes fundraiser.
"A bunch of people came out and took pictures with it, and I took it to places that could best do good things for the community," he said.
"The Stanley Cup is what every hockey player strives for, so when we won it, it was completely surreal. It never crossed my mind what I had planned to do with it, because it just wasn't that important at the time," he added.
Who knows what sort of traditions Patrick Kane or Jonathan Toews will add to the Stanley Cup if the Blackhawks defeat the Philadelphia Flyers in this year's Stanley Cup Finals. We'll just have to wait and see.