The Florida Panthers handled the Oilers but maybe were a bit too loose when handling the Stanley Cup.
One of the most decorated prizes in all of sports took some damage in last night’s celebration as the Panthers captured their second consecutive Stanley Cup. The source of these cuts is not clear but they were suffered on the ice while the celebration was going on.
During the annual tradition of the winning team passing the Stanley Cup after winning it, cuts on the famed trophy were picked up by cameras.
The base of the trophy also appears to be bent. Photos of the damage were snapped from the team’s impromptu celebration at the Fort Lauderdale bar Elbo Room on Wednesday morning.
The Panthers further damaged the trophy on Wednesday morning as images surface of a dent on the bottom of the cup.
Colorado Avalanche Cup Drop
This is not the first instance where the Stanley Cup has been damaged on the ice when three years ago, the Colorado Avalanche dented the cup. Former Avalanche right wing Nicolas Aube-Kubel was carrying the trophy and lost his balance while making his way to his team picture, which caused a dent at the bottom of the trophy.
The Stanley Cup has been damaged before in many instances, but the Avalanche’s moment marked one of the most recent memories of players not exactly handling with care until the Panthers followed behind soon after.
More Stanley Cup damage history: Mark Messier parties with the Cup
The Edmonton Oilers won the Stanley Cup back in 1987 and eventual Hall of Famer forward Mark Messier decided to go out clubbing and partying with the trophy.
The trophy received lots of damage during its time with Messier and needed to be repaired before going back to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.
The table is the culprit
The Boston Bruins captured the Stanley Cup in 2011 and took the trophy to each players hometown as Bruins tradition. On Micheal Ryder’s day, he took the trophy to a media event in St. Johns, Newfoundland.
Ryder placed the trophy on a table next to a podium and was stunned when the table collapsed which dented the cup on its fall.
A horse’s snack
When the New York Rangers won the Stanley Cup in 1994, they took the cup to Belmont Park to celebrate with the Kentucky Derby winner: Go For Gin.
The horse was in its stable when Eddie Olczyk used the cup to feed the thoroughbred oats. The cup was damaged when Go For Gin started eating. Olczyk is now TNT’s top NHL game analyst and a horse racing analyst for NBC.
Other trophy injuries: Wisconsin Badgers 2020
In December 2020, after the Wisconsin Badgers defeated the Wake Forest in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, 42-28, the team appeared to have shattered the trophy. Each player on the team denied who may have caused the trophy’s demise but former Badger Scott Nelson pointed to former badger Graham Mertz.
Alabama’s $30K accident
In 2012, the Alabama football team won the 2012 national championship and were presented with “The Coaches’ Trophy.” During the Crimson Tide’s annual A-Day scrimmage, a father of a player created a huge accident. Carelton Tinker, the father of Crimson Tide’s long snapper Carson Tinker, tripped on a rug that was underneath the trophy’s display case and caused the trophy to fall and shatter.
Pete Weber’s most embarrassing moment
In 1991, famous bowler Pete Weber defeated Mark Thayer to win the U.S. Open championship. The eagle trophy was handed to Weber after his win and when he held it over his head. The eagle fell and broke on the bowling alley floor.
Weber called it his most embarrassing moment of his career in a Sports Illustrated interview.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Stanley Cup damage: NHL champion trophy banged up after Florida Panthers clinched title
Reporting by Niles Garrison, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
