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Time Marches On, Even for the Stanley Cup |
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Follow Paul on Twitter: @paulstewart22
In the last few days, there has been a lot of lamenting of the fact that the names of Gordie Howe, Rocket Richard and Bobby Hull will soon come off the Stanley Cup as the ring containing their respective Detroit, Montreal and Chicago championship teams are removed to add a new ring to the already gargantuan trophy.
This is a hockey tradition. The players who won the Cup understand and accept this as a fact and part of its lore, not to mention the common sense way to handle the history of this trophy.
I have no problem with it. My late grandfather, Bill Stewart, no longer has his name on the "active" Cups (plural because there are actually two identical and equally "official" versions), either, for coaching the Chicago Black Hawks to the 1937-38 championship. However, when a ring of the Cup is retired, it remains on permanent display at the Hockey Hall of Fame to be admired by all. That's hardly a case of history being forgotten. Instead, it is carefully preserved.
I would, however, like to see some of the standards changed for who gets his name on the Cup.
I think the ONLY people who really should go on are the active players, the coaches, the trainers, the GM and the owner. That's it. That leaves room for a few more players who made contributions along the way that year but did not not meet the "automatic" criteria of having played in at least 40 regular season games and/or one game in the Final. Better to add those guys than all the strap hangers that some teams add to their list for inclusion.
It has gotten a bit better but there is still room for improvement. For example, Don Awrey dressed in 72 regular season games for the Montreal Canadiens in 1975-76 but he was injured and did not appear at all in the playoffs. As a result, his name was omitted from the Cup. That was BS and should be retroactively fixed, just as former Edmonton Oilers owner Peter Pocklington's father's name was retroactively Xed out of the 1983-84 inscription.
Even now, there are worthy players who technically fall through the games played cracks of automatic inclusion but, in reality, miss out because their space on the Cup is taken up by some scout, corporate suit, team doctor, guy who stocks the locker room with water bottles and gum or, in the case of the 1966-67 Toronto Maple Leafs, the mascot. If there is room for them, there is room for more of the guys who sweat, bleed and do their part on the ice along the way.
A good example in current Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Mark Streit, who came over at the trade deadline and later contributed two points in three playoff games but did not appear in the Final. There's room on the Cup for the names of a few unathletic company suits who work for Mario Lemieux but there is no room for a player who has had a fine NHL career including some contributions to a new team during a Cup winning season, is one of the universally respected representatives of the sport off the ice, a hockey icon in his native Switzerland but never previously had the good fortune of playing on a Cup winner while in his NHL prime? That doesn't seem right to me.
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Paul Stewart holds the distinction of being the first U.S.-born citizen to make it to the NHL as both a player and referee. On March 15, 2003, he became the first American-born referee to officiate in 1,000 NHL games.
Today, Stewart serves as director of hockey officiating for the ECAC.
Blogger •Former NHL Referee • 
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