NHL Introduces Stanley Cup Spin-Off Product Lines
The Stanley Cup is one of the most beloved trophies in all of sports.
Most sports create a new trophy every year, but the Stanley Cup is the same.
The NHL even has a special “Keeper of the Cup” who is tasked with taking care of it as it winds its way through the hockey world.
Like the sport it represents, the Cup is inclusive and friendly. As a result, people have done some strange things with it, and the NHL is taking advantage.
For example, after the Los Angeles Kings won the Cup in 2014, several players took pictures with their babies sitting inside the Cup bowl. Now hockey fans can go online and buy Stanley Cups Baby, a replica Cup complete with blankets and a pillow, perfect for placing baby in while the family watches hockey on TV.
In fact, two different babies have been baptized in the Cup over the years. Working with various religious organizations, the NHL has now installed Stanley Cup Baptism Basins across Canada and the US. A baby is dipped in Molson Golden Ale and then wrapped in an appropriate team blanket.
100 Days
The winning team is given 100 days each year to do with the Cup what they will. In turn, each team gives each player one day for them to do what they want with it, within bounds set by the “Keeper.” In 1991, Pittsburgh Penguin Phil Borque decided to see if the cup would float in Mario Lemieux’s pool. It did not. The NHL now offers Stanley Cup Inflatables, a line of inflatable floats for the whole family.
After winning the Cup in 1905, the Ottawa Hockey Club partied a little too hard, kicked the Cup into the city’s Ridieu Canal and forgot about it. They realized it the next day and dove in the water to get it back. The NHL proudly sells the Stanley Cup Fishing Boat Anchor, perfect for keeping you in place while you knock back Molsons and fish for Northern Pike.
Getting Jacked
The Montreal Canadiens have won the Cup more than any other team. Maybe that’s why when they won in 1924, and removed the Cup from the car to change a flat tire, they forgot it on the side of the road. The NHL now offers Stanley Cup Tire Jacks, a fully functioning tire jack that looks like a collapsed Stanley Cup. When you turn the crank, it begins to expand and lift the car off the ground.
Speaking of Montreal, the Montreal Wanderers forgot the Cup at the home of a team photographer in 1907. His mom made it into a flower pot. This inspired the new line of Stanley Cup-shaped pots, planters, and window boxes for the hockey fan with a green thumb.
Dance Dance
The Cup has also visited many bars and nightclubs. The Edmonton Oilers once took the Cup to a strip club after their win in 1987. The same thing happened when the New York Rangers won in 1994. That’s why the NHL has introduced the Stanley Cup Dancing Stage. Dancers do their routines while moving around inside a giant replica Stanley Cup bowl. The curved edge makes it much easier for drunk patrons to throw money in without dropping it on the ground.
These are just a few of the innovations the league has created. The NHL is constantly testing new Stanley Cup concepts based on actual experiences of the Cup itself.
