More than a trophy: The history of the bizarre ways NHL champions have used the Stanley Cup

From being used as a dog’s food bowl to being tossed off a deck into a pool, the Stanley Cup has never just been regalia to be stored in a team’s trophy case.

Unlike other sports leagues, which give their respective championship trophies to the owner first, the Stanley Cup is always given to the team captains and the rest of the team before it reaches management. This is emblematic of the trophy’s history, as it has always been an object that players had more authority over.

Soon after the Florida Panthers won their first Stanley Cup in franchise history on Monday, their celebration quickly moved to the locker room, where the Cup was used as a champagne glass. But that’s not all the Panthers players will have up their sleeve for the Cup.

A tradition starting in 1995 with the New Jersey Devils, each member of the winning team is allowed to possess the Cup for a whole day. Certainly many players have used the Cup for a wide variety of purposes beyond a keepsake.

Several players have gotten their immediate family baptized by the Cup, including former Penguins winger Josh Archibald, former defenseman Sylvain Lefebvre and former Detroit Red Wings winger Tomas Holmstrӧm. Another former Red Wings forward, Kris Draper, even used the Stanley Cup as a diaper for his newborn daughter.

The Cup has also been in numerous locations, from Europe all the way to Afghanistan. Former Kings left winger Luc Robatille even brought the Cup on a roller coaster ride at Universal Studios Hollywood.

To say that the Cup has not been handled with the utmost care would be an understatement. In fact, the trophy reportedly got lost in 1924 when Montreal Canadiens players left the Cup by the side of the road after stopping to fix a tire. Forty years later in 1964, Maple Leafs Hall of Famer Red Kelly put his son in the Cup, who later urinated in it.

But despite these abnormal stories, most players have had more subdued stories from their personal time with the Cup. Normal stories include eating cereal from the trophy or letting their sons drink chocolate milk from it.

But the more preposterous stories have allowed the trophy to possess an aura which radiates brighter than the NHL fan base.

The Cup has been featured prominently on “SportsCenter” commercials. In one commercial, Las Vegas Knights stars Jack Eichel and Jonathan Marchessault ran the trophy in a dishwasher to clean it for the 2023-2024 NHL season.

However, the Cup might have its most peculiar moments when the whole team is celebrating.

In 2021, during the Tampa Bay Lightning’s boat parade, the players on the team created a sizable dent in the trophy. Although the cause of the dent is still unknown, the Cup was sent to Canada soon after the parade to undergo repair.

While Panthers fans can certainly expect more antics with the Cup at the celebration parade and during the players’ personal days with the trophy, the bizarre celebrations have already begun.

On Tuesday, Panthers forwards Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett were seen dowsing fans with beer at the Elbo Room Beach Bar in Fort Lauderdale. Tkachuk and Bennett later took the Stanley Cup into the Atlantic Ocean, where it went for a quick swim.

The Panthers’ celebration parade will occur at 11 am on Sunday. The parade will begin at Riomar Street and go along a route on State Road A1A, and will conclude near Southeast Fifth Street.

With thousands of fans expected to flood the streets of Fort Lauderdale, one can bet that the Cup will be an integral part of the parade’s festivities.