Moments after locking up Colorado’s third NHL championship with a 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final, the Avalanche hit the ice to celebrate with Lord Stanley’s Cup. Unfortunately for the iconic trophy, it didn’t take long for the Stanley Cup to hit the ice as well, literally.
Skating toward his teammates with the trophy to pose for the customary team photo with the Cup, Nicolas Aube-Kubel lost his balance and fell to the ice with force. Aube-Kubel was fine. The Cup…not so much.
While it is not uncommon for the Cup to suffer some dings and nicks while players celebrate, it usually takes a little while for the damage to begin. Known for their speedy offensive attack, the Avs wasted little time in inflicting some punishment on their new toy.
“I don’t even know if they had it five minutes and there’s a dent in the bottom already. Right in the middle of the team photo,” the Hockey Hall of Fame’s Keeper of the Cup, Phil Pritchard, told Denver television station KDVR. “I guess it’s a new record today. Five minutes into the presentation it’s happened. It’s the first time it’s ever happened on the ice. It’s the third time the Avalanche have won it. I guess we will have a little chat with them soon and we’ll go through the process of how we’re going to repair it, but the Stanley Cup tour will go on.”
During their time with the Stanley after winning it all following the 2018 season, the Washington Capitals also bent the trophy’s rim by doing Cup stands, which is awesome.
“It happens every year, the bowl gets damaged — basically it gets ‘out of round’ if you know what I mean,” Pritchard told Caps blog RMNB at the time. “It happens because it is a 125-year-old trophy and not designed for guys to hoist like [they do]. It is nobody’s fault, it just happens every year. It has become part of the lore of sports’ greatest trophy.”
With the Avs set to celebrate their win with a victory parade in Denver on Thursday, more bumps and bruises are probably on the way for the Cup. And hopefully more Cup stands.
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