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Strange Misadventures of the Stanley Cup

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Mark Messier, who has a reputation of getting pretty rowdy with the cup, reportedly let fans drink from it. Stanley graced another strip club after the Rangers took the cup in 1994. After a wild night in New York City, it was the one time the strip club clientele wanted to touch something other than the dancers.

The Flower Vase — In 1906, members of a Montreal club took the cup to a local photographer. Pictures were taken but the cup was forgotten. It wasn't until weeks later that hockey officials found that the photographer's mother was using the cup to plant geraniums, which were decorating the studio window.

Drop-Kicked Into a Canal — In 1905, some Ottawa Silver Seven players, reveling in their championship, decided they could punt the cup over the Rideau Canal on the Ottawa River. The water was frozen, and at the time the cup didn't have so many rings around the bottom, so it wasn't much larger than a football. The trophy was recovered the next day on the ice.

Stranded at the Side of the Road — In 1924, some Montreal Canadiens left old Stan for roadkill. They were en route to the team owner's house for a victory party and pulled over to fix a flat tire. They didn't realize until after they arrived that they had left the cup roadside. After a frantic ride back, they found it untouched, a mile and a half from the party site.

Bowling Alley Trophy Case — In the early 1900s, a member of the Montreal Wanderers who operated a bowling alley supposedly stuck the cup in a trophy case, heaping gum and cigars in the chalice to impress the clientele and, presumably, to boost sales.

Junk Drawer — When the Ottawa Senators won in 1927, King Clancy supposedly found the Stanley Cup to be a handy holder for junk mail, stray pencils, chewing gum, even cigars.

Meet My Silver Lover — Did they need a new teddy bear? Were they looking for love in all the wrong places? Players regularly take the Stanley Cup to bed for reasons that might best be left unspoken. New York Islander Bryan Trottier once said, "I wanted to wake up and find it right beside me. I didn't want to just dream of this happening." In another act of strange intimacy, Stanley took a shower with Steve Yzerman of the Detroit Red Wings.

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