FLORIDA PANTHERS LOSE THE STANLEY CUP. FOR A GOOD REASON
The Florida Panthers had to give up possession of the Stanley Cup for a couple of days.
But it was for a very good reason: Their names are being hammered into it.
According to NHL.com, Phil Prichard, the ‘Keeper of the Cup’ packed up the Stanley Cup after a late night out following Sunday’s championship celebration in Fort Lauderdale.
On Monday, Prichard flew the Stanley Cup to Montreal where he handed it off to Louise St. Jacques who will painstakingly hammer the names of 52 players and staff into the silver.
Per Dave Stubbs’ story at NHL.com, St. Jacques had to disassemble the trophy and then repair “any damage and polishing its silver and nickel alloy.”
The Panthers had to present a list of their 52 names, which had to be approved by the NHL’s Colin Campbell, and then St. Jacques goes to work in Old Montreal.
Campbell’s son is former Panthers forward Gregory, whose name is on the Cup with the 2011 Boston Bruins.
Gregory Campbell is now an assistant general manager with the Panthers, so, his name will go on the Stanley Cup a second time.
The Panthers will have their names put on the bottom band of the Cup next to last year’s champion Vegas Golden Knights.
Florida will be the seventh team on the bottom band which started with the 2018 Washington Capitals.
A total of six more teams will join that band until it is filled up, and, in 2031, it will move up one spot on the Stanley Cup.
The top band is currently occupied with the 13 teams starting with the 1966 Montreal Canadiens and ending with the 1978 Canadiens.
That band will be retired to the Hockey Hall of Fame when the Cup champion in 2031 is crowned.
Per NHL.com, this is the second straight year that St. Jacques has put the names on the Cup so close to a team winning.
Last year, Vegas team president George McPhee suggested that the names be put on the Cup in the summer — before players get their day with it.
So, if Sasha Barkov takes the Cup home to Finland as expected in a few weeks, he will do so with his name on it.
And most of his Florida teammates.
“What George did is amazing,” Pritchard said of McPhee. “It gives winning players and staff the opportunity to see their names when they have their day with the Cup. I think George started an instant tradition last year. It’s a natural, a no-brainer.”
The Panthers, meanwhile, should get the Stanley Cup back next week.
With some new additions to it.
And, fewer dents.
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2024-07-05T16:16:52Z dg43tfdfdgfd