The grand(?), new tradition of Stanley Cup “keg stands” might just begin and end with the Washington Capitals.
The Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan reports that esteemed Keeper of the Cup Philip Pritchard is “advising” the Capitals to discontinue the practice, out of not-so-unreasonable fear that the activity might damage Lord Stanley’s chalice.
“We ask them politely not to do it,” Pritchard said. “We’re trying to preserve the history of the Stanley Cup. We don’t want any unnecessary damage to it or a person, in case they drop the person or he presses too hard or something.”
Under normal circumstances, I would file this under “The NHL loves nothing more than killing fun.” Already in that Trapper Keeper: eliminating the spin-o-rama, ignoring obstruction for a decade and generally shrugging their shoulders at scoring issues, and taunting the universe by only calling delay of game penalties in far too many playoff games.
Honestly, though? In this case, it makes sense. The Cup has been soiled by babies, used to eat a wide variety of treats hopefully after being properly sanitized from said baby attacks, and has been the glorious transporter of booze for ages. It’s also been in the bottom of Mario Lemieux’s swimming pool, and spooned in bed by both Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby.
(Let’s not forget Phil Kessel’s Stanley Cup full of spite and hot dogs. That might be the pinnacle.)
Really, with all of that in mind, it’s actually kind of shocking that Pritchard told Khurshudyan that the keg stand gimmick is a Capitals creation. Is this because the NHL needs more NCAA talent? There are a lot of burning questions here, folks.
If this is really it for SCKS (an abbreviation I definitely didn’t just make up right now), it seems like it was already quite the run. Some stars shine brightest, but not the longest, or however that cliched saying goes.
Anyway, in case this is it for the tradition, let’s remember it fondly. Maybe pour one out for the celebration. You can see the Capitals take the Stanley Cup keg stand to Jimmy Fallon in the video above this post’s headline, and more examples below:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bj0aJ9bhlGd/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=embed_loading_state_control
7' 1" (2.14 metre) Referee does keg stand at @Djorre00 #StanleyCup party. I think it has to be a world record! @NHL @Capitals @HockeyHallFame pic.twitter.com/LYpvbvEsUx
— Philip Pritchard (@keeperofthecup) August 11, 2018
*Sigh* You were too beautiful for this world, SCKS. Maybe the Capitals can plan another innovation if they repeat?
Well, I guess there’s one bright side: guzzling from the Stanley Cup in a more traditional, upright position probably means losing less booze, right?
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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.