TORONTO – The Chicago Blackhawks waited 77 years to win the Stanley Cup on home ice, and thanks to severe weather and bad traffic, the Cup was late to the party.
In fact, a police escort was used to help get Lord Stanley’s mug to the United Center Monday night.
The Blackhawks shut out the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-0 in Game 6 of the NHL championship series.
However, as players celebrated on ice fans began to grow restless, chanting “We want the Cup.”
The Cup eventually made its way on to the ice this time, unlike in 1938, the last time the Blackhawks won Lord Stanley’s mug on home ice.
The Blackhawks beat the Toronto Maple Leafs three games to one in that best-of-five series. However, the NHL did not expect Chicago to win the clinching Game 4, instead opting to keep the Cup in Toronto since the Maple Leafs would presumably force a decisive Game 5.
Other than being stuck in traffic (or in another city all together) here’s a look at six of the oddest adventures and misadventures for the Stanley Cup.
Margarita bowl on Jimmy Kimmel Live
Last year, Los Angeles Kings’ Justin Williams and Alec Martinez took the Cup on Jimmy Kimmel Live and decided to turn it into a giant margarita bowl.
WATCH: Justin Williams and Alec Martinez of the LA Kings make a giant margarita in the Stanley Cup on Jimmy Kimmel Live
On a curb
After winning the Cup in 1924, the Montreal Canadiens were on their way to a party at owner Leo Dandurand’s home.
En route, the team had to pull over to change a flat tire and accidently left poor Lord Stanley in a snow bank on a curb. The team noticed only after arriving at Dandurand’s house. The players rushed back to find the coveted silver bowl where they left it, untouched and undisturbed on the side of the road.
In a basement
Back in 1925, Canadian hockey legend Lester Patrick decided the best place to keep the Cup was in a cardboard box in his basement. His then-teenage sons Lynn and Muzz unsuccessfully tried to engrave their own names into the trophy, reportedly with a hammer and nails.
Fifteen years later, the brothers would have their names carved into Stanley after the New York Rangers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2.
A baptism
In 1996, Colorado Avalanche’s Sylvain Lefebvre made hockey’s “The Holy Grail” a tad more (or perhaps less) sacred after he used the Cup to baptize his infant daughter.
Ten years later, Carolina Hurricanes’ Andrew Hutchison wanted to repeat the “tradition,” but the plane carrying the Cup was delayed and baby Hutchison had to be baptized without it.
The shower
Sure, the Cup may get cleaned several times each day when players have it, but it doesn’t mean that Lord Stanley doesn’t need extra scrubbing after a day of being touched and kissed by strangers.
Back in 1997, Detroit Red Wings captain Steve Yzerman was so elated to win his first Stanley Cup after his team defeated the Philadelphia Flyers that he took the Cup into the shower and simultaneously made hockey’s most sought-after trophy into the world’s most invaluable soap dish.
As a diaper…and pitcher
Mmm…beer.
After the Detroit Red Wings won the trophy in 2008, centre Kris Draper placed his newborn daughter Kamryn in the Cup.
Not a big deal, until you read what happened next:
“She pooped in the Cup…We had a pretty good laugh. I still drank out of it that night, so no worries,” Draper said in an interview.
– with files from The Associated Press
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