History UsefulNotes / TheStanleyCup

The Pittsburgh Penguins are the current Stanley Cup champions, winning it for the second time since 2009 and fourth time in franchise history.

* ''Series/BostonLegal'': The Cup (though likely a prop) appeared in an episode. Denny Crane (WilliamShatner) knocked it off a balcony. This was after attempting to engrave his own name into it alongside the 1970 Bruins - he claims to have loaned Bobby Orr his lucky jock strap for that Cup-winning game.

* Twelve of the NHL's 30 teams have never won the trophy, with the St. Louis Blues being the oldest of that bunch (founded in 1967-68, which means they're tied with Toronto for longest current drought). Five of them have never made it to the Finals (Winnipeg/Phoenix/Arizona, Nashville, Atlanta/Winnipeg, Minnesota, and Columbus. [[labelnote:note]]To be fair, four of these teams are the most recent expansion teams added to the league.[[/labelnote]])

** After the New York Rangers won the Cup in 1940 and paid off the Madison Square Garden mortgage shortly thereafter, the team owners burned the mortgage papers within the Cup. Many placed this sacrilege as the cause of the "Curse of 1940", in which the Rangers would not win the Cup again for more than 50 years.

** An interesting thing to note is that the curse seems to be reversed when it comes to the UsefulNotes/OlympicGames, in that which Canada national team has won Olympic gold in 2002 and 2010, while the USA has not won gold since 1980. Especially considering that when Canada won both those gold medals, both finals were against the USA. (Canada would subsequently defend the gold medal in 2014, the first time a men's hockey team has done so since the Soviets in 1988 [[note]]the "Unified Team" consisting of several former Soviet republics won the gold in 1992[[/note]] - the USA finished fourth, losing the bronze medal game to Finland.)

* There are typos in the engravings, only a handful of which have been corrected. Jacques Plante's engraved name is misspelled ''five times'', such as "Jac", "Jacq", and "Jaques". Plante, if you're not familiar with NHL stars of the 1950s, he's considered one of the best goalies ever.

* {{Badass}}: The Cup itself, given how much its survived.

The Cup itself is named for Lord Frederick Stanley (later the [[BlueBlood 16th Earl of Derby]]), the [[CanadianPolitics Governor-General of Canada]] who was instrumental in organizing Canadian hockey and donated the original Cup in 1892. Originally a silver punch bowl made in [[OopNorth Sheffield]] and purchased for [[UsefulNotes/OldBritishMoney ten guineas]] (on the order of $1200-$1300 in today's dollars[[note]]{Canadian or American, it's been years since there was a difference in value of more than a few cents between the two.}[[/note]]), the trophy has been through a lot of incredible stories, especially for a trophy.[[note]](Some of these stories apply to the original, others apply to the newer one, and others to both.)[[/note]] This is in no large part due to the unofficial tradition of each member of the winning team getting a day to spend with the trophy (most will simply take it to their hometown for photo-ops at local schools). It's shared a bed with countless players, been set on fire, gone clubbing with Mark Messier, been used to baptize infants, attended pool parties with the winning team (the trophy, it turns out, does not float), marched in a gay pride parade, and been [[GrailInTheGarbage lost on the side of the road]]. It was also attacked by Taliban grenades in 2007 while visiting Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan. The damage it's sustained is fairly significant; multiple dings and dents from being kicked into a frozen river, bar-hopping with players, and [[NoodleIncident incidents players are presumably too embarrassed to discuss with the press]].

* One name on the Cup is crossed out. Oilers owner Peter Pocklington had his father's name placed on the Cup as well as his own when the Oilers won in 1984. The NHL, not amused (there's little enough space on the cup as it is), had the name covered with "XXXX XXXXXXXXX". Pocklington [[BlatantLies insisted that it was an error on the engraver's part, mistaking a list of people to receive miniature replica Cups with the list of team names]]. Incidentally, this is the main visible difference between the presentation Cup and the Hall of Fame's replica Cup: the replica simply leaves the spot where Basil Pocklington's name was engraved blank, instead of replicating the engraving and then X-ing over it.

** The Pittsburgh Penguins' 2016 victory saw captain Sidney Crosby pass the Cup to injured defenseman Trevor Daley - not because of Daley's seniority but because [[http://sports.yahoo.com/news/mom-battling-cancer-daley-gets-cup-first-crosby-041216471--nhl.html Daley's mother had been battling cancer]], and she wanted to see her son raise the Cup. Crosby was more than happy to oblige.

* DistractedByTheSexy: A Rare inversion, during the times the Stanley Cup has been taken to Strip Clubs, it has gotten more attention than the strippers themselves.

** The Pittsburgh Penguins' 2016 saw captain Sidney Crosby pass the Cup to injured defenseman Trevor Daley - not because of Daley's seniority but because [[http://sports.yahoo.com/news/mom-battling-cancer-daley-gets-cup-first-crosby-041216471--nhl.html Daley's mother had been battling cancer]], and she wanted to see her son raise the Cup. Crosby was more than happy to oblige.

The Chicago Blackhawks are the current Stanley Cup champions, winning it for the third time since 2010.[[note]]There will be a new champion for 2016, as the St. Louis Blues knocked Chicago out in the first round.[[/note]]

** When the Detroit Red Wings won the 1952 Cup, Coach Tommy Ivan and center Alex Delvecchio's last names were misspelled as Nivan and Belvecchio.

** Pat [=McReavy]='s name is misspelled "[=McCeavy=]" as a member of the 1941 Boston Bruins on the second cup created during the 1957–58 season. His name was often misspelled as "[=McCreavy=]" on team pictures of the Boston Bruins. When the Replica Cup was created in 1992–93, the misspelling was not corrected.

** Pat McReavy's name is misspelled "McCeavy" as a member of the 1941 Boston Bruins on the second cup created during the 1957–58 season. McReavy's name was often misspelled as "McCreavy" on team pictures of the Boston Bruins. When the Replica Cup was created in 1992–93, the misspelling was not corrected.
** Justin Williams, the Conn Smythe Trophy winner of the 2014 Los Angeles Kings was spelled "JUSTIN WILLIVIS."
** Frank Selke won the cup as Assistant Manager for the Maple Leafs in 1945. He is credited as "F.J. Selke [[TheProblemWithPenIsland (Ass Man)]]". The team was later misspelled "Maple Leaes" when it won the 1963 Cup, actually one of the last times the Leafs won the trophy.

* There are three actual Cups: the original bowl (retired in 1970), the authenticated cup that is actually presented at the games (and updated accordingly), and a replica stand-in that is at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto when the authenticated Cup is out of town and up to no good.

* As it currently stands, the trophy is 90 cm (35 inches) tall and weighs over 15 kilograms (34 pounds). That's more than twice as tall and three times as heavy as the WorldCup.

* One name on the Cup is crossed out. Oilers owner Peter Pocklington had his father's name placed on the Cup as well as his own when the Oilers won. The NHL, not amused (there's little enough space on the cup as it is), had the name covered with "XXXXXX". Pocklington [[BlatantLies insisted that it was an error on the engraver's part, mistaking a list of people to receive miniature replica Cups with the list of team names]]. Incidentally, this is the main visible difference between the presentation Cup and the Hall of Fame's replica Cup: the replica simply leaves the spot where Basil Pocklington's name was engraved blank, instead of replicating the engraving and then X-ing over it.

* BadAss: The Cup itself, given how much it's survived.

** Ray Bourque's final game of his 21-year NHL career was the game he won the Stanley Cup in 2001 for the first time might be one of the best. Made all the more heartwarming via Joe Sakic's CrowningMomentOfAwesome; the Captain of the winning team is the first player to receive the Cup and does a celebratory lap of the rink with the Cup. Sakic was the Avalanche captain at the time (and had been since 1992, when they were still the Quebec Nordiques), but immediately passed it to Bourque. Gary Thorne's call of the moment is one of the most memorable in NHL history.

* Twelve of the NHL's 30 teams have never won the trophy, with the St. Louis Blues being the oldest of that bunch (founded in 1967-68, which means they're tied with Toronto for longest current drought). Five of them have never made it to the Finals (Winnipeg/Phoenix/Arizona, Nashville, Atlanta/Winnipeg, Minnesota, and Columbus. [[labelnote:note]]To be fair, four of these teams arrived in the '90s or later.[[/labelnote]])

* Twelve of the NHL's 30 teams have never won the trophy, with the St. Louis Blues being the oldest of that bunch (founded in 1967-68, which means they're tied with Toronto for longest current drought). Six of them have never made it to the Finals (Winnipeg/Phoenix/Arizona, San Jose, Nashville, Atlanta/Winnipeg, Minnesota, and Columbus. [[labelnote:note]]To be fair, five of these teams arrived in the '90s or later.[[/labelnote]])

The Chicago Blackhawks are the current Stanley Cup champions, winning it for the third time since 2010.

* Twelve of the NHL's 30 teams have never won the trophy, with the St. Louis Blues being the oldest of that bunch (founded in 1967-68, which means they're tied with Toronto for longest current drought). Six of them have never made it to the Finals (Winnipeg/Phoenix, San Jose, Nashville, Atlanta/Winnipeg, Minnesota, and Columbus. [[labelnote:note]]To be fair, five of these teams arrived in the '90s or later.[[/labelnote]])

* The 2004 Tampa Bay Lightning are the southern-most team to win the Cup. Other teams from warm cities also won: Dallas Stars (1999), Carolina Hurricanes (2006), Anaheim Ducks (2007)[[note]](though if they had won in the 2003 finals, the Cup would have the possible hilarity of "[[Film/TheMightyDucks Mighty Ducks]] of Anaheim" among its champions)[[/note]] and Los Angeles Kings (2012 - ending 45 years of waiting the title since the team inception - and 2014).

* There are typos in the engravings, only a handful of which have been corrected. Jacques Plante's engraved name is misspelled ''five times'', such as "Jac", "Jacq", and "Jaques". Plante, if you're not familiar with NHL stars of the 1950s, is considered one of the best goalies ever.

** And when the finals are between ''two'' Canadian teams ([[CaptainObvious therefore guaranteeing that a Canadian team will win the cup]]), expect the entire country to grind to a halt. (This has not happened since 1989).

*** In fact, Scott was the only member of the 2007 Ducks team that had won the Stanley Cup before. Among the notable players winning their first Cup besides Rob were Chris Pronger (who was a member of the Oilers team that lost to the Hurricanes the year before), Teemu Selanne (who had a career renaissance after returning to Anaheim the previous season), Jean-Sebastien Giguere (one of four Ducks who was a member of the '03 team that lost to the Devils {Giguere was also the Conn Smythe Trophy winner that year}), and Brad May (best known for his "May Day" overtime goal in 1993 where May's Buffalo Sabres upset the Boston Bruins).

** After the New York Rangers won the Cup in 1940 & paid off the Madison Square Garden mortgage shortly thereafter, the team owners burned the mortgage papers within the Cup. Many placed this sacrilege as the cause of the "Curse of 1940", in which the Rangers would not win the Cup again for more than 50 years.

*** And after the Rangers finally broke the alleged curse in 1994, several players took it to [[HorseRacing Belmont Park]], filled it with oats, and let that year's Kentucky Derby winner Go for Gin eat out of it.

** When the Chicago Blackhawks won it in 2010 for the first time since 1961, former Blackhawks player Jeremy Roenick was in the announcer's booth and was unable to hold back tears as Chicago was celebrating, as he was on the team the last time the Hawks played for the Cup in 1992 and was unsuccessful. He mentioned a child who he'd seen crying in the stands at the old Chicago Stadium after the Hawks had lost the last game of the finals and said that [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ec8PNGt7N0 he hoped that the child was watching now and had a big smile on his face.]] Another heartwarming moment occurred down on the ice. Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews was the first to hoist the Cup, as is traditional, and the first player he handed it off to was Marian Hossa. Hossa had bounced around the league the past few years, spending three years with the Atlanta Thrashers before ending up with the Pittsburgh Penguins, who lost to the Red Wings in the 2008 Cup Finals. Hossa then moved to the Red Wings, who proceeded to lose the Cup Finals the next year in a rematch against the Penguins. Finally, Hossa became a Blackhawk and had his moment to hoist the Cup. The microphones on the ice could even pick up Toews asking "Where's Hoss? Where's Hoss?" (not noticing that Hossa was actually standing right next to him) before giving him the Cup. Five years later, Toews followed the Blackhawks' third Cup in six years by hoisting the Cup and then handing it off to Kimmo Timonen, who had been traded to the Blackhawks mid-season after a long career with other teams and had already announced that he would retire after the season. So, in Timonen's final game, he finally was able to hoist the Cup.

** An interesting thing to note is that the curse seems to be reversed when it comes to the OlympicGames, in that which Canada national team has won Olympic gold in 2002 and 2010, while the USA has not won gold since 1980. Especially considering that when Canada won both those gold medals, both finals were against the USA. (Canada would subsequently defend the gold medal in 2014, the first time a men's hockey team has done so since the Soviets in 1988 [[note]]the "Unified Team" consisting of several former Soviet republics won the gold in 1992[[/note]] - the USA finished fourth, losing the bronze medal game to Finland.)

* The other five "Original Six" franchises (the six oldest franchises in continuous operation, all dating back to at least 1926; from 1942-67, they were the ''only'' six franchises in North American ice hockey) have all had long dry spells, most of them dating to before the 1967 expansion.