Frank The Tank | Frank Walks
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00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 It is perhaps the most famous trophy in the world,
00:09 the Stanley Cup.
00:11 For 130 years, the Stanley Cup has stood
00:14 as the ultimate goal of hockey.
00:17 There's a lot of history in this cup.
00:19 Every year, this cup gets passed down to the champion,
00:23 year after year.
00:24 It's not like the NBA, it's not like the NFL,
00:27 it's not like baseball.
00:28 There is only one Stanley Cup, and this is it.
00:32 As a part of the uniqueness of the cup,
00:34 every player's name is engraved.
00:36 Now, after a while, the names get taken off,
00:39 but they'll end up in the Hall of Fame.
00:40 They're forever part and excellence of this cup.
00:43 And every player gets to take it home one day,
00:47 and they get their day with the cup.
00:50 And there's a group of men who chaperone the cup,
00:54 and we got Howie here from the NHL Hall of Fame
00:58 as our cup chaperone.
00:59 (upbeat music)
01:01 - Hello, Frank.
01:12 - How's it going?
01:13 - Yeah, nice to meet you.
01:14 - I see the white gloves.
01:15 - Yes, sir.
01:15 - You guys come out, you've always
01:16 bring out the white gloves.
01:17 - We do.
01:18 - I mean, this thing has got so much history,
01:21 and so much uniqueness.
01:22 It's amazing just to touch it.
01:24 It's like, you can feel the history,
01:27 you feel it, just all the people who've touched it
01:30 all these years, hand it down since 1893.
01:35 Amazing.
01:36 I mean, and for all its greatness, it's got flaws.
01:42 Take for example, the 1981 Stanley Cup champion,
01:45 the New York Islanders.
01:48 (laughing)
01:49 - Very good.
01:50 You know a lot of your stuff about the Stanley Cup.
01:52 You've got a lot of history there, that's great.
01:55 - And it's changed a lot over the years,
01:57 but it's always the Cup.
02:00 And that's what it's always about.
02:01 I like how the years the Canadians went,
02:04 they actually have Club de Hockey Canadiens.
02:06 And then Montreal Canadiens was in 1993,
02:11 but like the early years,
02:13 they brought the Club de Hockey de Montreal Canadiens.
02:18 Incredible, incredible.
02:21 - So Montreal is, that's the one team
02:23 that's won the Stanley Cup the most times.
02:25 - 24.
02:26 - Absolutely, you're correct.
02:28 - And at one time it was a race between them
02:32 and the Maple Leafs, and the Maple Leafs have been
02:36 basically in the ditch for 55 plus years.
02:42 - Yes, yes, it's unfortunate for a original six team,
02:45 but there's so much competition out there.
02:47 It's a hard trophy to win,
02:48 and there's so many other good teams.
02:51 It's hard to believe they haven't even been to a final
02:53 since there was only six teams.
02:55 - True.
02:56 - That's the incredible thing about it.
02:58 I mean, the only time the Stanley Cup's in Toronto
03:01 these days is when it's at the Hall of Fame.
03:03 - Well, it's there all the time
03:05 for the fans to come and visit,
03:06 and it's always on display.
03:09 - There are technically three Cups.
03:11 - Yes.
03:12 - You got the original Cup,
03:13 which was retired around 50 years ago, I believe.
03:17 - That's correct.
03:18 - And they figured that it was too brittle.
03:20 They didn't want the Cup to break.
03:22 They didn't want it to cut the break,
03:23 so they remade the Cup, and now there's two Cups.
03:27 You have this, the Presentation Cup.
03:30 This is the official Cup.
03:31 This is the Cup that goes around, travels around,
03:34 and the players get.
03:35 This is the Cup the team gets.
03:37 This is the Cup the players get the names etched on.
03:39 Of course, you get them etched on both.
03:41 But then you have a Display Cup,
03:43 which is a stand-in and an absolute total replica
03:47 that's at the Hall of Fame at all times.
03:48 - That's correct.
03:49 Now, I see that they did this.
03:52 I'm surprised they actually did this,
03:55 put the marker that there was no season.
03:57 - Yes, so from what I hear,
03:59 Mr. Bettman wanted to put it on the Cup
04:01 so it would show the history of it,
04:03 'cause he didn't want to have two teams win back-to-back
04:06 but have a year missing,
04:08 'cause then it would create a lot more questions
04:10 about what happened.
04:10 So it just shows the history of the league
04:13 and what happened at that time.
04:14 And I think it's a good idea, I guess, to show it,
04:18 although it doesn't look the best,
04:20 it still gives the history of it.
04:22 - That's true.
04:23 Now, how many years are on each band?
04:26 - Each band holds 13, 13 winners.
04:29 - So 13 winners.
04:30 And how many years left on this band at the bottom?
04:33 - There's seven more teams.
04:35 Seven more winners are allowed on the bottom.
04:38 - So basically, the Mavericks have seven more years,
04:40 otherwise they're off the permanent Cup.
04:43 - That's correct.
04:43 - Tough luck, Toronto.
04:48 - Yep, so, yeah, it's a very unique design.
04:53 - Yes.
04:54 - You know, so it's, once you come off the Cup,
04:59 you still get enshrined into the hockey hall of fame.
05:01 - Oh yeah, they have the rings,
05:03 they're like, they're flattened and hung on the wall.
05:05 - Absolutely.
05:06 You have a lot of knowledge about the Stanley Cup,
05:10 that's very impressive.
05:11 - Oh, thanks.
05:12 Are you ready for a little walk?
05:13 - Absolutely, let's do it.
05:15 - All right.
05:16 (wind blowing)
05:18 - Okay, I'm gonna take it a little slow
05:21 because I'm on the ice and just watch my footing.
05:24 - Now that Cup goes everywhere, I mean everywhere.
05:32 I mean, how many people travel with the Cup?
05:37 - There's four of us that will do the main travel
05:40 and we have a few other people that will help out,
05:44 maybe on a weekend or a week,
05:46 depending on how busy we are.
05:48 And this year, well, actually last summer,
05:52 we had one of our full-time employees
05:55 from the Hockey Hall of Fame.
05:57 A woman, first time a female has been considered
06:02 to be as a Cupkeeper, so we've had a new addition.
06:06 Look at the Cup tonight now.
06:07 - Yeah.
06:08 - Look at this.
06:09 - Nice.
06:10 - The cold is really kind of--
06:11 - I see how it shines and then we--
06:13 - Made it frosty.
06:14 - Yeah, like it came out of the freezer.
06:17 - Right.
06:18 Look at that, that's pretty cool though.
06:21 - It is cool, I mean, I love this Cup.
06:23 It's history, it's history.
06:25 - The Cup has been to over 30 countries around the world.
06:28 Back in September, we went to Australia.
06:31 It was the first time the Cup was below the equator,
06:34 so that was pretty cool.
06:36 We've been to Afghanistan to support the troops.
06:39 - I remember that.
06:40 - We've been to Russia many times
06:42 and it's been to Japan, it's been to many, many countries.
06:45 We have been to Alaska and we have been far north.
06:48 - I think Scott Gomez took it to Alaska
06:50 when he won one of his years.
06:52 - I believe you're right, yes.
06:54 - And the Silversmiths, they've been using the same tools
06:57 for 130 years, basically.
06:59 - It could be, I'm not sure about that,
07:02 but it's probably true.
07:03 - How long has the Cup been chaperoned?
07:06 - The New Jersey Devils were the very first team
07:08 to have scheduled players' days with the Cup
07:11 and that started in 1995.
07:14 - The Cup was originally in 1893,
07:17 purchased by Frederick Stanley,
07:20 who was the Governor General of Canada.
07:23 - Yes.
07:24 - And that's kind of like Canada's voice
07:26 in the House of Commons back there in England.
07:30 And he bought it for 10 guineas,
07:34 which was approximately $50 in US money.
07:39 - Now, in the early days when there was no chaperone,
07:42 sometimes there were places
07:43 you probably shouldn't have gone.
07:45 - That's what I've heard too.
07:47 - What are some of your favorite trips you've had with the Cup?
07:50 - There's so many, it's hard to remember them all,
07:52 but I remember my first time going to Europe.
07:55 It was a lot of fun, it was in 2011.
07:58 The Boston Bruins had won that year
08:00 and I was able to go to Finland and Slovakia,
08:05 and it was just a great experience for me at that time.
08:08 But since then, I've been to probably a dozen countries
08:12 around the world.
08:13 I remember going to Russia with Alexander Ovechkin
08:16 and he put $15,000 worth of caviar inside the bowl.
08:21 So that was a very unique experience there too.
08:23 We've had a couple of first-time winners in recent years
08:27 with St. Louis.
08:28 - Vegas.
08:29 - And Vegas.
08:30 - Now, the current Hall of Fame, that used to be a bank.
08:33 - Yes.
08:34 - And when you walk and see the original Cup,
08:36 you're actually walking into a bank vault.
08:38 - Yes, you do.
08:39 - And they have the Cup on display
08:41 in the middle of this room
08:41 with this beautiful light shining in.
08:44 It's absolutely stunning how they have the Cup set up here.
08:47 - It's priceless, I would think,
08:50 because you can't replace the history
08:53 with all the players that have ever touched this Cup
08:55 and the way it's been passed around.
08:57 But there is an insurance value on it, of course.
09:00 1.5 million from what I know of,
09:03 but again, you cannot replace the history,
09:06 so it is priceless.
09:08 - Well, let me see.
09:09 If I was like an owner of the Devils,
09:12 what would I want to do with the Cup?
09:14 You know, I don't know if I'd do any crazy with it.
09:18 There's been so many crazy things
09:20 that have been done before,
09:22 so I guess you would allow it,
09:24 but one thing I'd want to do
09:27 is just go to the streets of Manhattan going,
09:32 "You can't have this, you can't have this."
09:35 "Hey, Rangers."
09:37 Yeah.
09:39 You know, MC Hammer comes out every year
09:43 to talk to Rangers and goes,
09:44 "Can't touch this, do-do-do-do.
09:46 "Can't touch this."
09:48 - You can walk around New Jersey and say,
09:51 "Look what we won,"
09:52 but instead you want to go to New York and taunt them.
09:54 (laughing)
09:56 - Do you have a favorite food
09:57 that maybe you think you might like to eat out of the bowl?
09:59 - Oh, you know, that would be good.
10:01 Put some hot dogs in here.
10:03 - There you go.
10:03 Do you have a team that you're cheering for
10:06 with the playoffs being on right now?
10:07 It's still in the round one, early stages,
10:11 but some teams are getting close to be eliminated,
10:13 but do you have a team that you think
10:15 might have a chance to get their name on it this year?
10:17 - Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing Burns win the cup
10:22 in Carolina.
10:23 - Okay.
10:24 - That's for just a player.
10:25 Otherwise, let the Canadians take it back.
10:29 One year, Edmonton, Vancouver,
10:33 especially Vancouver with Quinn Hughes.
10:36 - There you go.
10:38 Good teams to choose from.
10:39 - Come on, Canada.
10:41 You deserve a year at the cup.
10:42 I mean, the Blue Jays won in '93.
10:45 There's a couple of months after the Canadians.
10:48 The Raptors won 2019.
10:50 It's time for a Canadian team to win again.
10:53 - I like your thinking.
10:55 (laughing)
10:57 But any way you look at it,
11:00 the best team's going to win it,
11:02 so it's going to be exciting down the stretch.
11:05 - Playoff hockey, there's nothing like it.
11:07 - Absolutely.
11:07 What does Charles Barkley say about it?
11:11 - It's the greatest tournament.
11:14 It's so hard to win.
11:15 It's like every game's exciting.
11:17 You don't see many blowouts in the NHL playoffs.
11:22 The NBA, they get blowouts.
11:25 - Right.
11:26 He says the Stanley Cup, greatest trophy in sport,
11:29 and playoff hockey is like no other.
11:31 Nothing is like playoff overtime hockey.
11:34 - Yes.
11:35 - That is just not in your stomach every play.
11:39 But thank you.
11:42 Thank you for letting me touch this thing.
11:44 Let me hold it.
11:45 I mean, this is a total thrill.
11:48 I mean, just the feel, just the feel of the cup.
11:53 It's just amazing.
11:54 - It's been a real pleasure, Frank.
11:56 Thanks very much for talking about it.
11:58 You did a great job.
11:59 (upbeat music)
12:01 (upbeat music)