The Stanley Cup had been in the possession of the Avalanche for just a few minutes before disaster nearly struck inside Amalie Arena.
After defeating the two-time reigning champion Lightning in Sunday’s Game 6 to win the series 4–2, the Avalanche celebrated fervently in front of the away crowd. However, as the Colorado players began to position themselves for a team photo on the ice, forward Nicolas Aube-Kubel tripped and fell while skating with the Cup to get into the picture.
The team let out a collective gasp as the Cup collided with the ice, resulting in a clear dent on the bottom of coveted trophy.
It’s not the first time that the Cup has been damaged as plenty of championship celebrations have led to the Cup needing some significant repairs. Nevertheless, Phil Pritchard, the Hockey Hall of Fame’s keeper of the Cup, said Monday’s fumble might’ve set a record for the fastest damage ever done to the historic trophy.
“I don’t even know if they even had it five minutes and there’s a dent at the bottom already,” Pritchard said. “Right in the middle of the team photo. It’s the third time the Avalanche have won it. I guess we have a little chat with them soon and go through the process of how we’re going to repair it and that. But the Stanley Cup tour will go on.”
Aube-Kubel will surely bear the brunt of jabs from his teammates in the years to come, but as Pritchard said, the Cup has endured its fair share of hardships over the course of history. Hopefully, the Avalanche can make it through the next week or so without making the damage much worse.
