THUNDER BAY – Editorial – The current lockout of National Hockey League players presents a real opportunity. It is time that Lord Stanley’s Mug was awarded the way the revered trophy was mean. The Stanley Cup is not the property of professional hockey, it is a Canadian trophy that is supposed to be awarded to the champion hockey team in Canada.
With the owners of professional hockey teams more focused on their wallets and bank accounts, having locked out the players, now is the perfect time to take back the Stanley Cup.
“I have for some time been thinking that it would be a good thing if there were a challenge cup which should be held from year to year by the champion hockey team in the Dominion (of Canada). There does not appear to be any such outward sign of a championship at present, and considering the general interest which matches now elicit, and the importance of having the game played fairly and under rules generally recognized, I am willing to give a cup which shall be held from year to year by the winning team. I am not quite certain that the present regulations governing the arrangement of matches give entire satisfaction, and it would be worth considering whether they could not be arranged so that each team would play once at home and once at the place where their opponents hail from”.
The current labour dispute offers the perfect opportunity to have the Stanley Cup return home to Canada and stay here, awarded to the top team in Canada.
That might not make Brian Bettman and the team owners of the National Hockey League® all that happy, but honestly who really cares what they think?
Its not like they seem all that worried about hockey fans anyhow.
Brian and the boys can reach into their hand tailored suit pockets, grab some bills of their own, and create a new trophy for the NHL®,
For fans of Canadian hockey, the spectre of the Stanley Cup being contested in Canada would likely bring more fans out to support the teams in their communities.
For history buffs, the Stanley Cup was awarded to the Kenora Thistles back in 1907. The challenge cup error was a little like the ‘wild west’ of hockey, but such was the way of the game back then.
Today, the Stanley Cup deserves better than it is getting as team owners lock out the players and fans and sit back smugly acting like they know best.
Taking the Stanley Cup back might be the best thing for hockey in Canada, and hey, its our game anyhow!
James Murray
