The Colorado Avalanche damaged the Stanley Cup before it even left the ice
The awarding of the Stanley Cup to the National Hockey League Champion is like no other in sports. It is one of the few in professional sports where the players are the focal point of the celebrations. In other leagues like the NFL, the owner's receive the Lombardi Trophy first. But really what did owner's do to deserve that? It's the players who put their bodies on the line to be able to hoist the Stanley Cup. Weighing 35lbs it is by far the biggest trophy awarded in the major sports. But there is another tradition that comes along with winning the Stanley Cup, damaging it.
There have been many rumors of when and how the Stanley Cup has been damaged over the years. Stories like someone throwing it off of a balcony at a pool party, or losing it in a bar and dropping it. But hardly ever do we see it get damaged in the first 30 minutes of a team winning it. The Colorado Avalanche now hold that honor.
As everyone was getting ready for the traditional team picture, Nicolas Aube-Kubel was skating with the Stanley Cup towards the pile and caught an edge. Aube-Kubel fell to the ice with Stanley Cup in hand and ended up bending the base of the cup.
Give it to Aube-Kubel as he just rotated the Cup and acted like nothing happened. Quite the recovery. The only thing more impressive than the recovery was the reactions of his teammates.
Fortunately only the base of the Stanley Cup was dented and not the actual Stanley Cup itself. But hey, there's still time.
