Tuesday, May 03, 2005

Stanley Cup time - who gets it?

The Stanley Cup does NOT belong to the NHL or any other professional sports team. It was given by Lord Stanley, Governor of Canada, in 1892 to the top amateur sports hockey team. They were several provisos, which should be honored today, in spite of the NHL's claims, some of which are these;
  • The Cup acted as the league championship of the league that the champion belonged in.
  • The Cup was not the property of any given team at any given time.
  • Challengers for the Cup must have won their league championship. (This effectively eliminates the present World Championship winner if Canada wins, as it is not a league)
  • The Cup trustees have the final say on disputes should there be any on who the Cup holder should be.
The Cup was originally presented in 1893 to the Montreal AAA, the champion of the Amateur Hockey Association, the top hockey league of Canada at the time. (Vancouver Millionaires won it in 1915)
So, shouldn't the winners be an amateur team, CURRENTLY playing for a league championship? Perhaps a Junior team? Maybe another league? The NHL and their spoiled millionaires should have NO permanent claim on the Stanley Cup, it should be awarded this year as in any other year, to the best team playing in a league in Canada today.
Maybe the trustees will step forward, have some guts and award it this year. Wouldn't it be great to see the Memorial Cup champions with their names on the silver trophy? I'll bet even NHL players would love that.
Go KELOWNA!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Cup

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