From one home to another: Montreal repairs Stanley Cup, prepares to send it back to Tampa
Montreal has done a lot of heavy lifting this NHL playoff season.
A star-striking team brought joy to fans when it seemed like everyone was betting against them.
The Habs fought tooth and nail against the strongest, or at least most successful, team in the League.
Even in defeat, the city embraced their players. When the winning team brought their ice-hockey trophy to a summer-state parade and dented it, Montreal was there to make repairs.
But all things, good or bad, must come to an end -- and as of Wednesday, the dinged-up Cup was right as rain, and ready to return to the sunshine state.
“[I’m] ready for my celebration tour,” wrote the official, personified, Stanley Cup on social media Thursday.
The team-who-shall-not-be-named that won the trophy put a sizable dent in the basin of the cup during a raucous celebration party.
It’s unclear exactly how the cup was dented.
“My understanding is one of our players was presenting it to our fans, showing it off, and dropped it,” confessed the winning team’s General Manager Julien Brisebois early this week.
It’s far from the first time the cup has been bruised, and probably not the last – the cup was damaged in 2018 when then the Washington Capitals players did "Cup stands" (think kegstands) after winning the first NHL title in franchise history.
“This thing has been in swimming pools, it’s been drop-kicked, dented, scratched,” said NHL.com columnist Dave Stubbs.
It even has battle wounds from its time in Montreal.
Maurice “‘Rocket’ Richard dropped it on Montreal Forum ice with Guy Lafleur and Jean Beliveau,” said Stubbs. “It gets banged up and that’s all part of the celebration.”
Still, Montreal fans expressed their disappointment with the cup conduct this time around.
“It shows a lack of respect,” one woman told CTV News. “I think we would’ve treated the cup with more respect here in Montreal.”
And that we did. Just days after the Habs lost the cup in Game 5, the trophy will return to the winning team for at least another year.
-- With files from Matt Gilmour and The Associated Press
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.