Getting your name on the Cup



Shane Hnidy



With the Boston Bruins in the midst of their summer long celebration with Lord Stanley's Cup, I am curious as to whether any of the Boston players who did NOT qualify to have their names inscribed on the Cup will in fact end up having that honor of being forever engraved. Today, and since the late 1970s, in order for a player to qualify for having his named inscribed on the Cup that player must have played at least 41-regular season games (which equates to exactly half of the regular season games in an NHL season) or has to have appeared in at least one game in the Stanley Cup Finals. Championship teams are able to lobby for players who don't meet the criteria, but whom they still want included on the Cup-engraving for the team by petitioning the League for their inclusion. Usually a team will argue that the player was unable to meet the requirements due to injury or some other extenuating circumstances that limited the number of games that they played.

I always hope that the winning team will petition to have that long-time veteran who has typically been around the game for years but tends to teeter between being in the "Big League" and the minors. That player on the cusp who works hard day-in and day-out but who doesn't quite have the talent to solidify himself a permanent spot on the active roster. With the Bruins having won the 2011 Stanley Cup, I have to route for veteran defenseman Shane Hnidy to have his name included with the rest of his teammates. Hnidy only played 3-regular season games and 3-playoff games in Boston's run to the Cup, after being signed in February '11 as a free agent to be used as a depth defenseman. But here is a guy who is 35-years old, is a veteran of 590 NHL games (regular season and playoffs combined) and is an all-around hard-working, rugged player. I think it would be rather unfair that after all his years of playing the game that Hnidy would not be included in the name engraving. Let's hope that Boston does go ahead and acknowledge his efforts, and that the League approves of Hnidy's inclusion.



Stanislav Neckar



It seems to me that sometimes the NHL is a little more laid back some seasons more than others when it comes to being accepting of championship team petitions. For example, I remember being ecstatic in 2004 when the Tampa Bay Lightning won the Cup and that veterans Darren Rumble (a guy who had spent most of his professional career in the AHL) and Stanislav Neckar had their names included on the Cup despite not even coming close to meeting the requirements for name engraving. Rumble, who had bounced in and out of the NHL for years and years, never quite being able to land a permanent spot in Philaldelphia, Ottawa, St. Louis or Tampa Bay, played a mere 5-games the season that the Lightning became champions. Stan Neckar played even less; only 2-games in the Semi-Finals and not a single regular season game for the team (he did in fact play ONE regular season game with Nashville that year before being acquired by Tampa later that season). I readily admit that I had always been a fan of both Rumble and Neckar (I have their autographed photos hanging on the wall in one of our rooms at home). I remember e-mailing the NHL, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Hockey Hall of Fame that summer after the Lightning won the Cup to find out if their names would in fact be included on the Cup. The Hockey Hall of Fame eventually e-mailed me back and stated that both Rumble and Neckar would in fact be included, along with rookie Eric Perrin, who as well only played 4-regular season games plus 12 more in the playoffs. I also remember coach John Tortorella (the Lightning's coach for that championship run) stating adamantly to the NHL that Neckar's, Rumble's and Perrin's names MUST be included because they were each a part of that team and they were there for the practices and traveling with the team even if they did not play in all of the games that season. The league seemed to be relatively relaxed and allowed for them to be included on the Cup.



Eddie Olczyk



However, when the New York Rangers won the Cup in 1994, ending a 54-year drought, they really had to fight hard to make sure that both veterans Eddie Olczyk and Mike Hartman would have their names engraved with their teammates despite neither playing enough games (Olczyk played in 37-games that season and 1-playoff game; Hartman played in 35-games, but none in the playoffs). The NHL relented, but took their time in deciding as both Olczyk's and Hartman's names were added after the engraving had already been completed; they were tacked on at the end. The League eventually accepted the fact that both Olczyk and Hartman WOULD have played in more games that season and met the requirements if it were not for injuries.



Kim Johnsson

 And while some teams really seem to go to bat for their players to have them included, others do not really seem too concerned about the sentiments of their veterans. When the Chicago Blackhawks won the Cup in 2010, they picked up long time veteran defenseman Kim Johnsson from the Minnesota Wild to be used as an additional experienced player on their blueline. Johnsson, who had well over 700-NHL regular season games to his credit and had also played 52-games that season with Minnesota prior to being traded to Chicago, was NOT(!) included on the engraving as he had only played 8-regular season games with the Blackhawks after the trade. Chicago did not even request to have his name on the Cup, despite the fact that they could have argued that Johnsson had missed games from a concussion and even the fact that he had played 52-regular season games that year, albeit with another team. At the very least, you would think that Chicago would have asked for Johnsson's inclusion for sentimental reasons because he had played for so long in the NHL. But alas, the Cup is engraved with the Chicago Blackhawks championship players from that season, minus Johnsson.



Ivan Boldirev

 And some Stanley Cup engravings don't make any sense whatsoever. Look at Ivan Boldirev. When the Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup during the 1969-70 season, Boldirev's name was engraved on the Cup with the rest of the Bruins despite the fact that Boldirev had not even played a single NHL game at that point! Boldirev had been called up as a spare player for the playoffs that season and despite not playing a single game still was able to get his name on the Cup. Boldirev would eventually play his first two NHL games with Boston the next season, and would go on to over 1,000 games total and record nearly as many points (866-points in 1,052-regular season games). But still - to have his name included on the Stanley Cup when he had never played an NHL game at that point is just absurd!



Marc Savard



Considering at how lax the NHL can be with name engravings, I truly hope that Shane Hnidy will end up having his name engraved on the Cup. And for that matter, talented veteran Marc Savard too. I see no reason why Savard, who only managed 25-games with Boston last season due to numerous problems from concussions, should not be included on the Cup. Due to his serious and career-threatening injuries, it should be a no-brainer that the NHL would grant that Marc Savard's name be included on the Cup. I do know that fortunately Boston's general manager Peter Chiarelli has stated that he will petition for Savard's name to be included.