As you can imagine, there are plenty of stories when it comes to the Stanley Cup, particularly since players have been given the privilege of spending the day with it.  So, I’ve picked out a few of my favorite Stanley Cup tales of misadventure.

1905: A player from the Ottawa Senators attempted to drop kick the original cup across the Rideau Canal.  The attempt failed and the Stanley Cup was not retrieved until the next day.

1906: After several players from the Montreal Wanderers left the Cup at a photo studio, officials found out that the photographer’s mother was using the Cup as a planter for her geraniums.

1924: En route to celebrate their win at manager Leo Dandurand’s home, several members of the Montreal Canadiens left the Cup on the side of the road after changing a flat tire.  Luckily, it was recovered exactly where they left it.

1925: Owner/manager of the Victoria Cougars, Lester Patrick, found the Cup in his basement with the names of his two children, Lynn and Muzz Patrick, scratched onto the Cup with a nail.  The two kids names were properly engraved in 1940.

1940-41: The mortgage of Madison Square Garden was burned in the Cup.  Many fans and players felt that this desecrated the Cup and resulted in the Curse of 1940, which resulted in the New York Rangers waiting 56 years for their next Stanley Cup win.

1962: During an after party for the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Cup was dropped into a bon fire and severely damaged.  All repairs were at the team’s expense.

1987: Mark Messier, while playing with the Edmonton Oilers, took the Cup to his favorite club and let fans drink from it.  It ended up getting a few dents in various places that were repaired at a local automotive shop before being shipped back to the Hockey Hall of Fame the next day.

1991: At a party, several members of the Pittsburgh Penguins decided to see if the Stanley Cup floats by throwing it into Mario Lemieux’s pool.  This was again tested in 1993 by the Montreal Canadiens in Partick Roy’s pool.  The definitive answer is: No, the Stanley Cup does not float.

2003: The Cup was due to make its first appearance in Slovakia, though it was accidentally left behind in Canada.  It was promptly put on the next flight out of Toronto.

2008: During a party for the Detroit Red Wings, the Cup fell from a table at Chris Chelios’ Chili Bar and was dented.  Though the dent was smoothed out, it was later revealed that the damage was much more severe than what was originally released.

Triva

• There are 16 misspellings on the Stanley Cup, including Jacques Plante of the Montreal Canadiens being misspelled five times.
• There are 12 women with their names engraved on the Cup, the first being Marguerite Norris, owner of the Detroit Red Wings, in 1954
• The Montreal Wanderers were the first team to engrave their team roster into the Cup in 1906.
• The Montreal Canadiens have won the Cup 24 times, making them the NHL franchise with the most Stanley Cup wins.
• Henri Richard’s name appears on the Cup an astounding 11 times, making him the NHL player with the most Stanley Cup wins.
• The Cup first left North America in 1996 when it made a trip to Sweden with Peter Forsberg.
• In April 2006, 114 years after it originated, the Cup returned to London where it was made.