In today’s world it’s very tough to keep secrets, especially when members of the press are present as news happens. Thus it is that we have new information regarding how Lord Stanley’s Cup was dented by the Detroit Red Wings at Cheli’s Chili Bar in Detroit. Here’s what James Duthrie wrote onthe Ottawa Citizen’s website:
“(Chris) Chelios was atop the bar, Coyote Ugly style, Cup in hand, with the packed crowd cheering madly. At some point there was an attempted handoff to Brett Lebda. Whether it was the chaos of the crowd, or the…umm…content of the blood, balance was lost. Down went Lebda. Down went Stanley.
And no, the dent wasn’t “slightâ€. In fact, it needed emergency service. Mike Bolt, the Keeper of the Cup, was taken to Joe Louis Arena, where Stan, like a forward who took a puck in the eye, was placed gently on the trainer’s table in the Red Wings dressing room, and operated on. Bolt had to use a hammer to carefully pop the dent out, a procedure that resembled neurosurgery in its intricacy. One of the bands that contain all the names popped off at one point.
The Detroit Free Press then asked Brett Lebda and Chris Chelios about the dent and Duthrie’s account and here’s what they had to say:
Lebda:Â “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I didn’t drop it. That’s a bad rumor going around.”
Chelios: “I’m not saying nothing. I looked at the Cup today — there’s no dings in it. There’s nothing wrong with it. So it’s a rumor. A bad rumor.”
Only in the NHL would players be partying with the championship trophy at a Chili Bar and allegedly damage the trophy to the point that a hammer is required to fix it. If what Duthrie says is true I would hope that Mike Bolt keeps a close eye on things, and a toolbox nearby, when Chelios and/or Lebda get their day with the Cup later this summer.
