NHL Playoffs 2012: 5 Things You Didn't Know About the Stanley Cup

With the Stanley Cup finals coming up, it is time to talk about the coveted trophy everyone is fighting for.

Despite its rich history and unheralded fame, there are numerous nuances about the cup that many people are unaware of.

While there are more facts and stories to be told, here is my list of five things that you may not know about the Stanley Cup.

Cup wasn’t always this big

The Stanley Cup wasn’t always as big as it is now.

According to the Hockey Hall of Fame, the original Stanley Cup was a large bowl that was only seven inches tall and was purchased for only 10 guineas (roughly $50).

The current version is 35 inches tall and weighs 34 pounds.

It looks a lot more impressive when players lift the large cup overhead rather than a what looked like a silver mixing bowl.

The Stanley Cup Is Really Old

The Stanley Cup has the distinction of being the oldest trophy competed for by professional sports teams in North America.

Originally purchased in 1892, the cup was created for the championship hockey club of the Dominion of Canada.

It wasn’t until 1927 until the NHL was the sole owner of the Cup. That year, the Ottawa Senators defeated the Boston Bruins.

Team with most trophies

The Montreal Canadiens are the New York Yankees of the NHL.

The Canadiens have hoisted the Stanley Cup an NHL-record 24 times.

There are 12 current teams that have never won the Cup.

The teams that have failed to win the Cup are the L.A. Kings, St. Louis Blues, Buffalo Sabres, Vancouver Canucks, Washington Capitals, Phoenix Coyotes, San Jose Sharks, Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators, Winnipeg Jets, Minnesota Wild and the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Interesting Things the Cup Has Experienced

Kidzworld.com reports that in 2003 following the New Jersey Devils winning the Stanley Cup, goaltender Martin Brodeur took the cup to a movie theater and ate popcorn out of it.

In 1996 after the Colorado Avalanche won the cup, defenseman Sylvain Lefebvre had his child baptised bowl of the Stanley Cup.

There are numerous other wild stories that the Cup has experienced.

Current Cup Format

While the current version of the Stanley Cup is much larger than the original version, it is still too small to contain the entire list of champions.

There are five rings on the cup and each ring can hold 13 winners. Once the bottom ring gets filled, they remove the oldest rings and start a new ring.

Rings that have been removed are sent to the Hockey Hall of Fame.