A surprise guest showed up for one of our flights today…

The Stanley Cup is the oldest existing trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoff winner. Named after Lord Stanley of Preston, who was the 1892 Governor General of Canada.  He was infatuated with the game of hockey and donated the cup to Canada’s amateur hockey club.  It was first awarded to the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association in 1893.  The original cup is known as the “Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup” it was awarded until 1970, and is now on display in the vault room of the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.  The presentation cup is the well-known trophy awarded today.  There is a third cup, which is a replica of the presentation cup, it is used as a stand in at the Hall of fame when the presentation cup is not available.  The NHL gives the championship team each year one-hundred off season days with the cup to do with it as they please.  It has had two babies baptized in the bowl, it has also been in an active war zone in Afghanistan to boost morale for Canadian and American troops.  The Stanley Cup has a legendary history of travel and celebrations around the world that any traveler with a wanderlust spirit would envy. You can follow the cup from the Stanley Cup journal on the Hockey Hall of Fame website.