Many who have been privileged to have won the Stanley Cup would tell you that its value is incomparable to anything else in the world. It is a championship trophy that is awarded to the winner of the National Hockey League playoff each year. So determining the value of the trophy of the Stanley Cup worth is something that many have tried to truly understand.
First established in 1893, the NHL trophy is the oldest trophy in any professional sports franchise in North America as well as one of the most important.
Stanley Cup worth
The original cup donated by Lord Stanley was worth the equivalence of $50 back in 1892 and many put its worth today at about $650,000.
If you look at the cup from the Prize money perspective, the last 8 teams in the playoff have the opportunity to earn between $325,000 to $3 million each; the last two finalists will automatically earn $3 million each, while the eventual champion would earn an additional $4.9 million in revenue.
No team wins the Stanley Cup for the Prize money alone, rather they do it for the pride and prestige that comes with becoming winners of the trophy; the equity this adds to the team’s goodwill, brand value, international respect, and recognition is invaluable and cannot be bought, but earned.
Did You Know Facts about the Stanley Cup?
There are a few facts about the Stanley Cup that a lot of people do not really know, so let us explore some of them below:
1. Importance of the Stanley Cup
Professional Ice Hockey is a sport that has a cult-like following in North America – especially in Canada and the United States of America. The Cup is won after a playoff between the two conference champions and the eventual winner lifts this prestigious trophy, little wonder why it has the nickname – The Holy Grail. Winning this cup announces you as the best amongst the best in professional ice hockey, and it is also the most prestigious sports trophy in North America.
2. What is the Stanley Cup made of?
When Lord Stanley first donated the cup, it was made of Silver and wasn’t as intimidating as the present-day cup. The original cup was 18.5 centimeters tall and 29 centimeters in width; today the cup stands at an imposing height of 89.5 centimeters and weighs almost 16 kilograms.
3. More than one Stanley Cup
Unlike some other major sports that have only one copy of their trophy, the Stanley Cup actually has 3 different versions of it available.
The first version available is the original trophy given by Lord Stanley and given to the winner of the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup from 1892. The second is the authenticated Presentation Cup created in 1963, while the third cup is the Permanent Cup that has the misspelled names on it corrected and is on display in Toronto, Canada at the Hockey Hall of Fame.
4. Nicknames of the Cup
The Stanley Cup has several nicknames it has gotten over the years chief of which is the Stovepipe Cup – and is so named because of the uneven height of the bands added to the Cup every few years, where the names of players, coaches and a few other personnel of the winning team are engraved each year. Other nicknames include The Holy Grail, Lord Stanley’s Cup, or simply The Cup.
5. Spelling Mistakes on the Cup
One would’ve expected the engravers of the Cup to be meticulous in their work, but they made some mistakes with player and team names while engraving them on the cup – which was left as-is for some time.
For instance, the winning team, Boston Bruins was engraved as Bqstqn Bruins on the Cup in the 1971-72 season, and in 1980-81 season, the New York Islanders was incorrectly spelled as Ilanders.
6. Cup Legends and Traditions
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Almost every major trophy has legends and traditions associated with it and the Stanley Cup is no exception. The main tradition dates back to 1896 when the Winnipeg Victorias won the cup and the team drank champagne from it to celebrate their victory. This tradition has continued over the years and is still practiced to date.
7. Top 5 teams to have won the most cups?
The Montreal Canadiens hockey team has won the most Stanley Cups – this they have done a record-setting 24 times. The nearest team to matching their feat has only won it 13 times, and that is the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Detroit Red Wings have won it 11 times, while both the Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks have won it 6 times each.
8. Source of Inspiration
The Stanley Cup has “toured” various military formations around the world starting with a tour of an Air Force base in Tampa, Florida where it was said to have greatly inspired the Canadian and American troops, and their allies in NATO. It has also provided succor as well as being a source of inspiration for victims and survivors of tragic events.
See Also: 10 Most Expensive Stadiums In Sports: Cost Of Construction, Capacity, Facts
9. Weird Ceremonies done with the cup
Some very few lucky players (and their family members) have used the privilege of being in possession of the cup to christen their baby or cousin right in the Stanley Cup; players such as Sylvian Lefebvre and Tomas Holmstrom readily comes to mind.
10. Attempted theft of the cup
In 1962 when the winners of the cup, the Chicago Blackhawks, had it on display at the Chicago Stadium, one of their fans named Ken Kilander, attempted to steal the cup and walk right out the door with it. Fortunately, he was accosted by Police officers at the stadium and when he was questioned about his motive, he simply told them that he only intended to return the Cup back to its original home in Montreal, Canada.
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