With the Washington Capitals winning their first Stanley Cup this past postseason, the boys in Red adopted a never before seen tradition as they passed Lord Stanley around: the patented Washington Capitals Cupstand. This activity is exactly as it sounds for anyone who may have missed, the Cup is filled with beer (or some other type of beverage, usually alcohol) and the player is held up by their legs, sticking their face in the cup and gulping down some of its contents. 

Most notoriously, Alex Ovechkin has done a number of Cupstands, including on at a Washington Nationals game, and one in a fountain around the city of DC. The Great Eight and Braden Holtby even got Jimmy Fallon to do one on The Tonight Show, as seen below.

Some other notable Cupstands include T.J. Oshie, Tom Wilson, Devante Smith-Pelly, and even Nicklas Backstrom’s mother.

However it has become clear now, as stated by Philip Pritchard, the NHL’s official “Keeper of the Cup”, that the NHL has respectfully request that players and staff refrain from performing Cupstands, for fear of damaging the hardware. While no official banning has been placed over the Cupstand, it is heavily implied that once the Capitals return the Stanley Cup, and official end will be put to party trick.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bj0aJ9bhlGd/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=15fboualk8ecm

“We’ll see what happens as we move forward with the Cup,” Pritchard told the newspaper. “At the end of September, the Cup is going in to get engraved and updated and cleaned and everything, so we’ll see how it is because we have to take it apart then and everything. We’ll know probably more then, in early October, once it’s back for the home opener. Our biggest thing is respect for it.”

While some might feel as though this tosses a wet blanket on the Capitals well deserved celebration, the point here it to look out for Lord Stanley’s best interests. The Capitals don’t want to taint their reputation as champions by returning the Cup in less than pristine condition. A lot of buzz came about shortly after the celebrations began about the Cup having been bent. While it was an easy fix, it is very possible the bending came as a result of the players’ weight resting on one side of the cup during the stand.

Now we are wondering if saw horses were League-mandates. pic.twitter.com/E0kPqPbUCx

— NoVa Caps (@NoVa_Caps) September 4, 2018

This isn’t to say that the Washington Capitals are the only team who have had an… interesting run with the Stanley Cup. For a list of Lord Stanley’s misadventures, click here.

What are you thoughts on the league considering putting an end to the Cupstand? Do you think it is justified, or do you think their being unreasonable? Sound off in the poll below!

By: Chris Laroche