A few fun facts about the Stanley Cup now that the Panthers have won it (again)
Some stuff you might want to know about the Stanley Cup, first awarded in 1893, most often won by the Montreal Canadiens and won the past two seasons by the Florida Panthers.
▪ There is only one Stanley Cup. A display version stands in at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto when the real Stanley is on the road.
▪ The Cup travels a lot. The NHL estimates it’s on the road 300 days each year. Each player, coach and staffer on the winning team gets a day with it. The Cup also makes a number of charity and promotional appearances.
▪ The Cup travels with Phil Pritchard, an NHL employee. Pritchard handles the Cup with white gloves and cares for the Cup better than some kids care for elderly parents.
▪ The captain lifts the Stanley Cup first after accepting it from the NHL president or, since 1993, commissioner Gary Bettman. Then, the captain hands it off to a teammate who skates with it for a lap or so before handing the Cup to another teammate and so on.
Tuesday night, after Game 6, the Panthers decided to let the players who weren’t with the team for last year’s Stanley Cup title skate with it first. So, Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov handed the Cup to defenseman Nate Schmidt, who handed it to Seth Jones, who handed it to Tomas Nosek....
▪ Each player on the Cup-winning team who has played 41 regular-season games or one Stanley Cup Final game will have his name engraved on the Cup.
▪ The Cup is 37 pounds of sterling silver. Players often say it feels lighter when they’re hoisting it.
This story was originally published June 18, 2025 at 1:03 AM.
