Stanley goes to court

[bluemeanie]

Hockey fans file Cup claim

TORONTO (CP) - A group demanding that the Stanley Cup be awarded this year filed a claim against the NHL and the trophy's trustees in Ontario Superior Court on Wednesday.

Led by Torontonians David Burt and Gard Shelley, the group of recreational hockey players called the Wednesday Nighters wants the court to clarify the terms under which Lord Stanley donated the Cup and how it is to be awarded today.

Toronto lawyer Tim Gilbert is leading the application, which is scheduled to be heard July 18 although he hopes to have the date moved up to sometime in May.

He hopes to convince the court that Lord Stanley's intention when he donated the Cup in 1892 was to have teams compete for the trophy every year and that the cancellation of the NHL season should not prevent that from happening.

Gilbert hopes the court will force Cup trustees Brian O'Neill and Ian (Scotty) Morrison to find teams to compete for the famous trophy this year.



With the matter before the courts, O'Neill declined to comment Wednesday morning but did say the claims would be contested.

"You always have to," he said from his Montreal office. "There had been talk of if it so it's not really a total surprise."


I think Bettman and Goodenow should arm wrestle for it.

[a4l]

It will be very interesting to hear what the court has to say.
If they go against the NHL then a "flap will ensue."

[Iced Tea]

CBC television had a story on this after the group initially made the claim. It was interesting to hear the background and true ownership of the cup. From what I understood, the NHL doesn't own the cup yet it has been all but given to the NHL. The two stewards of the cup found the challengers' claim to be a joke because of the long history of giving the cup to the NHL champions. It will be interesting to hear what happens in court.

[a4l]

I believe that there is some question as to whether the stewards who originally "awarded" it to the NHL over-stepped their authority.

[flyerfan2]

I'm not suprised this was filed as it has been mentioned before,I'm also not suprised it wasa group from the centre of the hockey universe that filed this claim. :rolleyes: :shrug:

[The Insider]

I'm actually surprised that this hasn't been done before. I mean can you imagine a team like Chicago or Toronto finally wins it all and some group has won the rights for the cup? If these guys do win the cup(and that is a huge if) it will forever end the legacy of the trophy and will make the NHL look like some kind of circus. I would have loved to see the cup handed out this year, but it isn't going to be and now that we know that, let's hope it stays that way.

[nhldave]

Much ado about nothing.