Stanley Cup

The Stanley Cup, originally referred to as the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup, is awarded each year by the National Hockey League to the champion of its playoff tournament.

Playoff games of note

1919 flu epidemic: Stanley Cup not awarded

During the 1918-19 Stanley Cup playoffs between the Montreal Canadiens and the Seattle Metropolitans, several Canadiens players contracted Spanish influenza, part of a worldwide epidemic. The finals were cancelled after five games. The final game was never played, because Montreal players Joe Hall, Manager Kennedy, Billy Coutu, Jack McDonald and Edouard Lalonde were hospitalized with influenza. Joe Hall died four days after the cancelled game, and the series was abandoned, remaining tied at 2-2-1. At that time, it was the only year for which the Stanley Cup was not awarded until the labor stoppage of 2004-2005.

Related Topics:
1918-19 Stanley Cup playoffs - Seattle Metropolitans - Spanish influenza - Joe Hall - Billy Coutu - Jack McDonald - Edouard Lalonde - 2004 - 2005

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1927 Stanley Cup brawl

In Game 4 of the 1927 Stanley Cup, Boston Bruins defenseman Billy Coutu started a Stanley Cup brawl, apparently at the request of coach Art Ross. Coutu punched referee Jerry LaFlamme. As a result, Billy Coutu was the first player to be suspended from the NHL for life. On October 8, 1929, the suspension was lifted so that Coutu could play in the minor leagues. He never played in the NHL again.

Related Topics:
Billy Coutu - Art Ross - Jerry LaFlamme

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2004-05 lockout

A labour dispute between the NHL's owners and the NHLPA, the union that represents the players, forced a lockout that began on September 15, 2004, leading to the cancellation of the 2004-05 season and Stanley Cup Playoffs on February 16, 2005. A fan site known as Free Stanley was also launched in hopes of having the Cup be given to the best hockey team in Canada; they called for a return to the "challenge cup format" previously used in competing for the Cup. Some satirists even joked that every man, woman, and child deserves to claim the Stanley Cup as their very own virtual t-shirt ("I won the 2005 Stanley Cup"). A group in Ontario known as Justice for Stanley also filed an application with the Ontario Superior Court requesting a ruling on the terms of the Stanley Cup trust; they claimed that the trustees must award the trophy regardless of the NHL lockout. Governor General Adrienne Clarkson stated early in the dispute that the Cup should be awarded to the top women's hockey team since the lockout cancelled the NHL season, but on March 10, 2005, she announced that she would instead create a new trophy for women's hockey. Details of how the competition will be organized and the trophy awarded have not yet been announced. An annoucement on July 13, 2005 detailed the ending to the lockout. The players and owners agreed to a ratifacation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement in a twenty-four hour period on July 21 and July 22 of that year. On October 5,2005, the NHL will start the new and improved 2005-2006 season with new rules and ones from the past and a new shield

Related Topics:
Labour dispute - NHLPA - Union - Lockout - September 15 - 2004 - 2004-05 season - February 16 - 2005 - Adrienne Clarkson - March 10 - July 13 - Collective Bargaining Agreement - July 21 - July 22 - October 5

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