The National Hockey League needs to do more to encourage better coverage of hockey games. With so many other sports with national coverage, the NHL is sometimes forgotten. However, this year, there is a race for the Stanley Cup, and only one is ready to win it. But which team will that be?
Right now, bookies are showing that while the Philadelphia Flyers were on top just a few days ago, the odds now swing between the Flyers and other potential contenders such as the Ottawa Senators as the teams to watch in the race. for the title. Stanley Cup this year. Of course, all NHL information and statistics change daily, but the odds are the best current indicator of which team is indeed a contender for the 2006 Stanley Cup.
However, the 2006 Cup race did not simply begin with the end of the 2005 playing season and the year’s Stanley Cup win. It began more than 100 years ago in 1892, at an Ottawa Amateur Athletic Association dinner. A speech was made stating that a challenge cup would be a good idea and that this contest should be held from year to year for the Dominion of Canada teams. At the time, that was a grand total of three top teams. You may be right in assuming that the National Hockey League has seen tremendous growth since then.
Lord Stanley purchased a silver cup that by today’s standards would only be worth about $50 and appointed Sheriff John Sweetland and Philip D. Ross as trustees of the cup. This Stanley Cup is the same cup that the two men were trustees of all those years ago.
Each year’s Stanley Cup winners are tasked with holding the Cup and returning it in good condition to the trustees at the end of the year so that it can be given to the next Cup winner. The Cup will never become the exclusive property of a single team, regardless of how many times that team may win the trophy, but each year the winning team’s club name and year are engraved on the silver ring affixed to the Cup.
That first year, the Stanley Cup was taken by the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association (AAA) hockey club as the winners of 1894. Unfortunately, Lord Stanley never witnessed a championship game or even the presentation of the trophy that had bought because he returned to England, his native land, in the middle of 1893.
Hockey’s popularity grew so rapidly that by 1895 almost every city in Canada had a team that was thriving in hockey. Ontario, Quebec and Winnipeg were no longer the only teams poised to take down the Stanley Cup. Instead, numerous teams came out and all the teams were strong contenders for the Stanley Cup. In 1896, the Montreal Victories vs. Winnipeg Victories settled with the Winnipeg team winning the Cup 2-0. Less than a year later, a rematch would ensue.
Billed as the greatest sport in Winnipeg history, even in the economy of 1896, tickets were resold for up to $12 each. Everyone wanted to see this Stanley Cup playoff game. Montreal won this match 6-5 after being down 2-0 at halftime. It was documented as the best game ever played in Canada.
While the early Stanley Cup games differed greatly from the current game, the popularity has continued to rise over the years. Originally, there were seven men on the ice for each team instead of the six we know today. Sideboards were non-existent and the players used very little sports equipment. Injuries were fairly common and much more serious than what today’s players have to deal with in their hockey games and practices.
The Stanley Cup is considered the most famous trophy in the world of sports. It is undoubtedly the oldest trophy professional athletes compete for, having clocked more than 400,000 miles in travel over the last five seasons alone. Traditionally, each winning player and member of the team’s management staff takes the Cup home for a day to share with their friends and family.
No matter how the lines move between now and this year’s Stanley Cup final play, you just don’t want to miss out as the big day approaches. This game is the Super Bowl of hockey, and it pales in comparison to many other sports when it comes to national coverage. The Stanley Cup will be viewed by millions, some of whom are not traditional hockey fans and many of whom are unaware of the story behind Lord Stanley’s huge purchase. And for a trophy-worthy sporting event that travels more than 400,000 miles to highlight the worthy achievements of a single team, it’s an event that no one should miss, especially those behind the major networks! By the way, in the humble opinion of many fans, the only real contender this year for the Stanley Cup is the Philadelphia Flyers. What do you think?