In light of the incredible Stanley Cup series we just witnessed, I thought it would be appropriate to address the question of “who gets their name on the Stanley Cup?”

Newcomers to the game may not understand the qualifications one has to meet in order to be considered for a name engraving on the greatest prize in all of sports, so allow me to break it down for you.

Photo by: Alexey Chernyadyev

Players

1. Players appearing in 41 games or more for a club that wins it all will have their name engraved on the Stanley Cup.
2. Players that appear in at least 1 game in a Stanley Cup Finals matchup will have their name engraved on the Stanley Cup. Note that dressing for a game and being in the lineup is constitutes that 1 game. Therefore, if a player dresses for only 1 game in the Finals and logs only 2 minutes of ice time, it still qualifies him.
3. If a player that had a significant impact on a winning team’s season does not meet the requirements of having their name etched into the Stanley Cup, the club can petition the National Hockey League to allow them to add a name or two. This is common for players that suffer long-term or season ending injuries.

Coaches/Staff/Executives

1. Coaches, staff and executives are eligible to have their names engraved on the Stanley Cup if the team that they work/coach for wins it all. This includes President, Vice President, etc.

The Stanley Cup is truly the most unique piece of hardware in all of professional sports. After the Stanley Cup is won, each member of the winning team is allotted a certain amount of time to spend with the Cup. Some players will take it back to their hometown and put it on display for friends and family. Others will go to more extreme measures to ensure that the time they spend with the Cup is the most memorable experience of their lives. Players have baptized their children in the Cup, eaten cereal in it and even climbed a mountain with it.

After 13 years of engravings, the bottom portion of the Stanley Cup is removed and placed in the NHL Hall of Fame to make room for future champions.

Finally, there are all sorts of oddities that surround the Cup including misspelled names and a person known as “Ass Man.” Check out the following article for further oddity readings: Stanley Cup Mysteries

Tags: Hockey 101, names on the cup, NHL, Stanley Cup