History UsefulNotes / TheStanleyCup

* 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 UsefulNotes/TheWorldCup.

The Cup itself is named for Lord Frederick Stanley (later the [[UsefulNotes/KnightFever 16th Earl of Derby]]), the [[UsefulNotes/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), 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 ([[MemeticMutation the trophy, it turns out, does not float]]), marched in a gay pride parade, been driven around at 200mph by Mario Andretti on the eve of the Indy 500, 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]].

* The Tampa Bay Lightning (2004, 2020, and 2021) are the southernmost 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 for the title since the team's inception - and 2014).

* Eleven of the NHL's 32 teams have never won the trophy, and of those eleven, five have never made it to the Finals (Winnipeg/Phoenix/Arizona, Atlanta/Winnipeg, Minnesota, Columbus, and Seattle). [[note]]To be fair, four of these teams are among the most recent expansion teams added to the league.[[/note]])

* Eleven of the NHL's 32 teams have never won the trophy, and of those twelve, five have never made it to the Finals (Winnipeg/Phoenix/Arizona, Atlanta/Winnipeg, Minnesota, Columbus, and Seattle's new team the Kraken. [[note]]To be fair, four of these teams are among the most recent expansion teams added to the league.[[/note]])

* Twelve of the NHL's 32 teams have never won the trophy, and of those twelve, five have never made it to the Finals (Winnipeg/Phoenix/Arizona, Atlanta/Winnipeg, Minnesota, Columbus, and Seattle's new team the Kraken. [[note]]To be fair, four of these teams are among the most recent expansion teams added to the league.[[/note]])

The Colorado Avalanche are the current Stanley Cup champions, winning it in 2022 for the third time in franchise history.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eE2dI4qnoiA A commercial]] for Anheuser-Busch's Bud Ice beer in TheNineties has the Cup being successfully stolen by the brand's [[EverythingsBetterWithPenguins penguin]] mascot.

* Twelve of the NHL's 32 teams have never won the trophy, and of those twelve, five have never made it to the Finals (Winnipeg/Phoenix/Arizona, Atlanta/Winnipeg, Minnesota, Columbus, and Seattle's new team the Kraken. [[labelnote:note]]To be fair, four of these teams are among the most recent expansion teams added to the league.[[/labelnote]])

* The Tampa Bay Lightning (2004, 2020, and 2021) are the southernmost 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's inception - and 2014).

* There are three actual Cups: the original bowl (retired in 1969 since it was getting worn out), the authenticated cup that is actually presented at the games and updated accordingly, and a replica stand-in that is installed at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto when the authenticated Cup is out of town and up to no good. The original bowl is, of course, on permanent display in the Hall.

* And there was a time when it was bigger than ''that''. Nowadays, each band can store 13 winning clubs' names. Decades ago, though, each band stored one per, and bands were not removed in a timely manner. The Cup became taller and taller till it resembled a stovepipe, hence the nickname "Stovepipe Cup". A 1948 redesign proved insufficient for fixing these problems, so it was redesigned again in 1957; that design is in use today - five bands, 13 clubs per band and remove the topmost one once they're all full - to keep the Cup from growing out of control ever again. It also adds a certain sentimentality to the periodic removal of the top band, as iconic names can disappear from the Cup altogether, as happened in 2018 after the Capitals won and started a new band; in the process, names like Bobby Hull, Gordie Howe, and Maurice Richard were permanently removed from the Cup.

The '''Stanley Cup''' is the trophy awarded to the winning team of the UsefulNotes/NationalHockeyLeague's end-of-season playoffs. [[UsefulNotes/IceHockey Hockey]] fans are known to proudly call it the hardest trophy to win in professional sports. While that claim is difficult to prove scientifically, given that the winning team generally has to play at least 98 hockey games (82 regular season and a minimum of 16 post-season games, assuming a full post-season sweep - which is not only highly unlikely but also unprecedented), it's certainly not an ''easy'' trophy to win.

The Tampa Bay Lightning are the current Stanley Cup champions, winning it in 2021 for the second consecutive year and third time in franchise history.

* Of all the teams in the NHL, the St. Louis Blues went the longest without winning their first Cup. Founded in 1967, they were tied with the Maple Leafs for the longest Cup drought until they won in 2019, a 52-year (and 51-complete-season) span.

* Twelve of the NHL's 32 teams have never won the trophy, and of those twelve, five have never made it to the Finals (Winnipeg/Phoenix/Arizona, Atlanta/Winnipeg, Minnesota, Columbus, and Seattle's new team the Kraken. [[labelnote:note]]To be fair, three of these teams are among the most recent expansion teams added to the league.[[/labelnote]])

* Eleven of the NHL's 31 teams have never won the trophy, and of those eleven, four have never made it to the Finals (Winnipeg/Phoenix/Arizona, Atlanta/Winnipeg, Minnesota, and Columbus. [[labelnote:note]]To be fair, three of these teams are among the most recent expansion teams added to the league.[[/labelnote]])

* ''Series/BostonLegal'': The Cup (though likely a prop) appeared in an episode. Denny Crane (Creator/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 UsefulNotes/BobbyOrr his lucky jock strap for that Cup-winning game.

** 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 [[ImplausibleDeniability 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.
** Blackhawks assistant coach Brad Aldrich, who was part of their 2010 winning team, was X-ed out in 2021 at the Blackhawks' request following revelations that he had sexually abused and harassed at least two players and another team employee during that 2010 season.

!!Related Tropes:
* AwesomeMomentOfCrowning: It is the crown for any player who gets the chance of lifting it.
* AncientKeeper: Since 1988 The Hockey Hall of Fame has employed a man by the name of Phil Pritchard with the official title of "Keeper of The Cup". Phil's, and two assistant keepers', entire job is dedicated to nothing but the Cup. Phil's duties include traveling ''everywhere'' the Cup is taken to prevent it from getting lost...again, and tracking it down in the event that it does (even if that [[NoodleIncident involves a snowy subzero sled ride through Newfoundland or hiding in bushes with players trying to surprise their families]]), thoroughly cleaning the Cup (people have used the Cup as a bathroom and eaten out of it, in that order, on the same day), caring for the retired and replica Cups and removed rings of the Cup that remain in the Hall of Fame, protecting the dignity of the Cup (I.E. ensuring there are no photos when players take the Cup to less than reputable places), and making on the spot repairs whenever players ([[NoodleIncident and in one or two accidents the keepers themselves]]) happen to dent, scratch, crush, or damage the Cup in anyway.
* AndTheAdventureContinues: It's ''the'' globe-trotting trophy. It's been almost everywhere, and it's going back out on another round of adventures for the next championship team.
** In 1969, NHL president Clarence Campbell predicted that the Cup would actually be ''awarded'' [[UpToEleven in Moscow]], implying dreams of a worldwide NHL. So far, the Cup remains confined to the US and Canada.
* AttentionDeficitOohShiny: When the cup is being toured around by the winning team, expect this reaction from the locals as they drop everything to have a glimpse of the cup. Best evidenced by one player taking it to a strip club, with it getting more attention than the dancers.
* BadassBeard: In the playoffs the players usually grow a playoff beard which means they don't shave until they get eliminated or win the Cup, thus regularly a badass beard can be beheld on the Cup-winning team.
* CanadaEh: If there's a Canadian team in the finals, it's the most important thing in the country, even to people who don't watch hockey.
** And when the finals are between ''two'' Canadian teams (therefore guaranteeing that a Canadian team will win the cup), expect the entire country to grind to a halt.[[note]]This has only happened twice to date in the post-expansion era, in 1986 and 1989. In both finals, Montreal faced Calgary, with the Canadiens winning in 1986 and Calgary triumphing in 1989. In the Original Six era, Toronto-Montreal finals occurred five times: in 1947, 1951, 1959, 1960, and 1967.[[/note]]
* 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. But then again [[CargoShip some hockey fans do find the Stanley Cup pretty sexy]]
* DownerEnding: For every team that loses in The Finals.
** The 1919 Finals, which ended up being canceled when players on both teams contracted UsefulNotes/TheSpanishFlu (which would end up taking the life of Canadiens player Joe Hall). The spot on the Cup for this final simply says 'Series Not Completed'. [[note]]The Montreal Canadiens offered to forfeit because their team was hit harder (at one point they only had ''three'' healthy players) but defending champions the Seattle Metropolitans refused to accept the forfeit, deciding [[HonorBeforeReason this wasn't how they wanted a championship]].[[/note]]
* GrailInTheGarbage: It was used as a ''flower pot'' once. The Montreal Wanderers (the 1906 champions) had their photo taken at a studio--and forgot the trophy at the studio. Weeks later, officials learned that the photographer's mother was using it to plant geraniums.
* [[HeWhoMustNotBeNamed He Who Must Not Be Touched]]: NHL players, without a single exception, will refrain from even touching the Cup until they win it. Their first actual contact will be when they hoist it over their heads after the last game of the Cup finals.
** Even the [[AncientKeeper Keepers of the Cup]], whose sole job is to care for it, refrain from touching the Cup directly without wearing white velvet gloves because they have not won it themselves...and also because they are responsible for cleaning any finger prints off it after anyone touches it.
** This applies even more to the Prince of Wales Trophy and the Clarence Campbell Bowl, the trophies awarded for the Eastern and Western Conference champions. Often, the conference champions will never touch these trophies even after they are presented them to show that The Cup is the one they want. If a team wins it on home ice, expect the fans to voice the same opinion during the presentation with "WE WANT THE CUP!!!" Of course, this doesn't work often; the first team to deliberately avoid touching their conference trophy was the Philadelphia Flyers in 1997, who were swept by the Detroit Red Wings (who did touch theirs). In fact, from 1997 through 2017, there have been nine Finals where only one of the teams touched their respective conference trophy, and the touching team is 6-3. In the 2018 Stanley Cup Finals, ''both'' teams had touched their respective conference trophy, with the Washington Capitals defeating the freshman Vegas Golden Knights 4 games to 1.
* HilarityEnsues: It's tradition that each player of the winning team gets to spend some time with the Cup. While some of them do classy things like bringing it to their home town and such, other players take it out for a night of partying or other shenanigans, occasionally ''losing'' the damn thing. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditions_and_anecdotes_associated_with_the_Stanley_Cup#Misadventures There's a reason the description above says the replica is for when the real cup is "up to no good."]]
* IconicItem: Arguably the most recognizable trophy in professional sports.
* MajorInjuryUnderreaction: Final series in sports tend to bring out the hero in injured players, but Bob Baun may be the Ur-example. In 1964, he played half of Game Six, and all of Game Seven, of the Stanley Cup final on a ''broken ankle''. I bet it didn't hurt a bit as he skated around holding the Cup over his head.
** While not a ''major'' injury, the laceration to the face of the Blackhawks' Andrew Shaw stands out amongst the most memorable sights of the 2013 finals. After initially getting stitched up and returning to the ice, the ref had to keep sending him back to the bench ''repeatedly'' because it just wouldn't stop bleeding. He skated his lap with the cup with the cut still dripping and nobody could have cared less. Over the summer he would raise almost $20,000 for charity by auctioning off his stitches.
* MundaneUtility: More than once the Cup has been used as a bowl for various foods and/or snacks. Including dog food.
** To say nothing of its regular use as a vessel for the victorious team's celebratory champagne.
** Or its occasional use as a urinal for team members.
** 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. Whether this was before or after the whole team is known to have urinated in it is unknown, but many later placed either, if not both, of these desecrations 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 [[UsefulNotes/HorseRacing Belmont Park]], filled it with oats, and let that year's Kentucky Derby winner Go for Gin eat out of it.
** At least once has a player's kid been placed in the bowl for a photo, only to have been found having used it as a potty. (Most recent incident: Detroit Red Wing Kris Draper left his newborn daughter in the bowl after winning in 2008. After a thorough cleaning, he drank out of it the same day.)
** And a few players have used the Cup as a baptismal font for their children.
** When the St. Louis Blues won in 2019, multiple players ate meals out of the Cup: Captain Alex Pietrangelo ate his grandmother's spaghetti out of it; David Perron shared breakfast with his family in it and then used it to share a poutine lunch with the public in his hometown; and St. Louis native Pat Maroon ate cereal out of it with his son, Anthony, then took it to a St. Louis bar, where everyone ate [[TrademarkFavoriteFood toasted raviolis]] out of it.
* TookALevelInBadass: The winning team. Sometimes key players.
* VictoryPose: Raising the Cup over your head and taking a victory lap around the ice with it.

** Blackhawks assistant coach Brad Aldrich, who was with the team during their 2010 victory, had his name X-ed out in 2021 (at the Blackhawks' request) following revelations that he had sexually abused and harassed at least two players and another team employee during that 2010 season.

** This applies even more to the Prince of Wales Trophy and the Clarence Campbell Bowl, the trophies awarded for the Eastern and Western Conference champions. Often, the conference champions will never touch these trophies even after they are presented them to show that The Cup is the one they want. If a team wins it on home ice, expect the fans to voice the same opinion during the presentation with "WE WANT THE CUP!!!" Of course, this doesn't work often; the first team to deliberately avoid touching their conference trophy was the Philadelphia Flyers in 1997, who were swept by the Detroit Red Wings (who did touch theirs). In fact, from 1997 through 2017, there have been nine Finals where only one of the teams touched their respective conference trophy, and the touching team is 6-3.

* 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 [[ImplausibleDeniability 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.

* In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDm5Tb1JL1E this]] late-1990s Fed Ex commercial, a competitor package company erroneously sends the Cup to a village in rural Bolivia. The Bolivians have no idea what it is, and it [[PricelessPaperweight ends up as a basket for produce]] in the village market.

* The Chicago Blackhawks were the first team to win the Cup three times since the institution of the league's salary cap (2010, 2013, 2015). The Pittsburgh Penguins matched the feat in 2017 (with their prior wins in 2016 and 2009).

* The Tampa Bay Lightning (2004 and 2020) are the southernmost 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's inception - and 2014).

* Speaking of the Penguins, they were the first to win the Cup twice in a row in the salary cap era.

The Tampa Bay Lightning are the current Stanley Cup champions, winning it in 2020 for the second time in franchise history. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic delaying playoffs until August, the cup was not won until September, the latest in the trophy's history.

* It ends up spending the night at Franchise/SherlockHolmes's brownstone on ''Series/{{Elementary}}''. Detective Bell is absolutely bewildered at the fact that he's spending the night with Sherlock tossing cards into it. Earlier, Joan Watson finds it just sitting in the bathtub.

** Some fans call it the Curse of Marty [=McSorley=].[[note]]([=McSorley=] was a defenseman for the Los Angeles Kings who were playing the Montreal Canadiens in the 1993 Stanley Cup Final. Late in the 3rd period of Game 2 with the Kings up 2-1 in the game and 1-0 in the series, Canadiens coach Jacques Demers called for a measurement of his stick, which was found to be in violation of regulations on stick curvature and [=McSorley=] got a two-minute penalty for unsportsmalike conduct, which the Canadiens capitalized on to tie the game and eventually win in overtime. It's alleged that Demers only knew about [=McSorley=]'s illegal stick because he asked an employee of the Montreal Forum about it - Demers denies this and credits Canadiens captain Guy Carbonneau for spotting it on the ice.)[[/note]] Others say it's the Curse of Saint Patrick. [[note]] After the Canadiens' star goaltender and two time Conn Smythe winner Patrick Roy was left out for ''nine'' goals in a move he believed coach Mario Tremblay meant to humiliate him, he ''immediately'' demanded to be traded, and fans view the lack of Cups as karma for letting the man who led them to two Stanley Cups go. Roy, for his part, would win two more Cups and a record ''third'' Conn Smythe with the Colorado Avalanche, the first Cup the same year he got traded.[[/note]]

* AncientKeeper: Since 1988 The Hockey Hall of Fame has employed a man by the name of Phil Pritchard with the official title of "Keeper of The Cup". Phil's, and two assistant keepers', entire job is dedicated to nothing but the Cup. Phil's duties include traveling ''everywhere'' the Cup is taken to prevent it from getting lost...again, and tracking it down in the event that it does (even if that [[NoodleIncident involves a snowy subzero sled ride through Newfoundland or hiding in bushes with players trying to surprise their families]]), throughly cleaning the Cup (people have used the Cup as a bathroom and eaten out of it, in that order, on the same day), caring for the retired and replica Cups and removed rings of the Cup that remain in the Hall of Fame, protecting the dignity of the Cup (I.E. ensuring there are no photos when players take the Cup to less than reputable places), and making on the spot repairs whenever players ([[NoodleIncident and in one or two accidents the keepers themselves]]) happen to dent, scratch, crush, or damage the Cup in anyway.

** At least once has a player's kid been placed in the bowl for a photo, only to have been found having used it as a potty. (Most recent incident: Detroit Red Wing Kris Draper left his newborn daughter in the bowl after winning in 2007. After a thorough cleaning, he drank out of it the same day.)

* The 2004 Tampa Bay Lightning are the southernmost 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's inception - and 2014).

The Tampa Bay Lightning are the current Stanley Cup champions, winning it in 2020 for the second time in franchise history. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic delaying playoffs until August, the cup was not won until September, the latest in Stanley Cup History.