Whose Stanley Cup Is It Anyway?
Frustrated NHL fans are rallying around a movement to pry the Stanley Cup from the NHL's greasy little hands.
The Free Stanley campaign began with three men in Edmonton, who believe the trophy should not spend a year gathering dust.
A 1947 agreement gives the NHL control over the Stanley Cup until the "dissolution or termination" of the league. A season-long coma doesn't count.
But did the trustees of the Cup have the legal right to sign that deal in the first place? The Stanley Cup pre-dates the NHL by more than three decades. It was originally intended to honor "the leading hockey club in Canada." It did not fall into the NHL's lap until 1926, when the league emerged as the top hockey league in North America.
If the Stanley Cup was up for grabs, who should play for it?
Clarkson's might be the most legitimate voice in this debate, as the trophy originated with one of her predecesors - Lord Stanley of Preston. That gives her as much right to an opinion as, say, Gary Bettman.
An alternate contest for the Stanley Cup would be another monument to the NHL's Year of Shame. For that reason alone the league will make sure it never happens. But Free Stanley is a commendable idea. Any true fan would agree that the NHL has forfeited its right to the big trophy, in spirit if not in law.
More calls for a Hockey Revolution:
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