Nearly 35 pounds of sterling silver made quite an impression on Whitefish last Friday. The Stanley Cup made the rounds and was enthusiastically admired by huge, smiling crowds wherever it went. 

Whitefish businessman Bill Foley has owned the Las Vegas Golden Knights since 2016. A new team to the NHL, the Knights made it to the Stanley Cup Final in their first season and in 2023, the Golden Knights returned to the finals and won the Stanley Cup by beating the Florida Panthers in five games.

Foley brought the Cup to Whitefish on Dec. 29 for the community to enjoy. Whitefish Mountain Resort hosted the Cup in the morning and the Base Lodge filled with hundreds of fans wanting to get a photo with the oldest trophy in professional sports.

In the afternoon, the Cup was on the rink at the Stumptown Ice Den. Teams of young players were allotted time with the Cup before the doors opened to fans who had formed a line that spanned the parking lot. Later, Lord Stanley’s Cup visited the Craggy Range Bar and Grill.

Foley is the majority owner of Winter Sports Inc. which owns and operates Whitefish Mountain Resort and also Glacier Restaurant Group which includes Craggy Range Bar and Grill as well as several other establishments in Whitefish. 

Before its scheduled appearances, the Stanley Cup took a ride on Chair 1 to the summit of the Big Mountain where it stood majestically in the light of a beautiful sunrise. 

Wherever the Cup goes, it is accompanied by Cup Keepers who are entrusted with keeping the iconic trophy safe.

Mario Della-Savia is part of a team of Cup Keepers with the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, Canada, who travels with and protects the Stanley Cup wherever it goes, all around the world. He was in Whitefish, keeping an eye on the cup as it moved around town.

The players and staff of the winning team each get the cup for 24 hours, their Cup Day. The captain gets it for two days. Since NHL players hail from all over the world, Della-Savia and the Cup have journeyed far and wide.

For 13 years, Della-Savia has traveled with the Cup and other artifacts, having started his job when the Chicago Blackhawks won the Cup in 2010.  He said Prague, capital city of the Czech Republic, is his favorite place to go and Sweden is a close second.

“I’ve been as far as Siberia with the Stanley Cup,” he said. “I was with the boys from Tampa Bay. Wherever they live, we go.”

Della-Savia is Canadian and said it was cool that there are many Canadians on many of the NHL teams. This year, the Vegas Golden Knights had 25 Canadian players, many of whom are from Western Canada.

While the players are free to enjoy the famed trophy on their Cup Day, there are some limits to what they can do. For instance, they cannot wash their dog in the cup, but eating and drinking are allowed.

“They eat out of it – poutine, hot dogs, hamburgers, spaghetti and meatballs, but we put a bowl in the bowl so it doesn’t scratch the names that are engraved in the bowl,” Della-Savia said. “Chicken wings, beer, of course, champagne.”

He said red wine is discouraged as it stains the silver.

The 1907 Montreal Wanderers are engraved inside the bowl and the top three bands represent the first 100 years of the Stanley Cup winning teams.

The band on the bottom has room for seven more years’ worth of team names. Once it is filled, the top big band will be removed and placed in the Hockey Hall of Fame and a new band added at the bottom.

Of the thousands of fans who came out to see the Cup in Whitefish, many touched the trophy freely but others kept their distance.

“That’s the superstition of a lot of players, that they don’t want to touch it until they win it,” Della-Savia said. “Well, Pat Maroon, matter of fact, was at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, touched it, and won [the Cup] three times, so you can throw that right out the door.”

According to the Hockey Hall of Fame, “the legend and glory of the Stanley Cup continues to live in the dreams of hockey players and fans alike.” In Whitefish, the Cup’s enduring glory was made evident by the long lines of fans and the shining smiles on everyone who came to see it.

    A local girls hockey team, the Glacier Lady Avalanche, is thrilled to see the cup. (Photo provided)
  

    A hockey fan took a break from skiing to see the Stanley Cup up close at the base lodge of the Whitefish Mountain Resort. (Julie Engler/Whitefish Pilot)
  

    A family poses with the Stanley Cup at the Whitefish Mountain Resort. (Julie Engler/Whitefish Pilot).
  

    A pair of fans pose with the Stanley Cup on Friday at the Whitefish Mountain Resort. (Julie Engler/Whitefish Pilot)
  

    The Stanley Cup on display at the base lodge at Whitefish Mountain Resort. (Julie Engler/Whitefish Pilot)
  

    A young hockey player poses with the Stanley Cup at the Stumptown Ice Den while two Cup Keepers stand nearby. (Julie Engler/Whitefish Pilot)
  

    Rob Foley, chief business officer of the Vegas Golden Knights and board member of Winter Sports Inc., rides Chair 1 at the Whitefish Mountain Resort with the Stanley Cup and two Keepers of the Cup from the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, Canada. (Photo courtesy Whitefish Mountain Resort)