Has the Stanley Cup ever been dropped? Looking back at unfortunate incidents with the covered NHL silverware

The coveted NHL Stanley Cup has endured its fair share of adventures and mishaps since its first award in 1893. There have been instances where the cup was dropped, mistreated, misplaced, or even used in unusual ways.

From being used as a cereal bowl to being left at the side of the road, the Cup has had quite a few interesting stories. One such unfortunate incident with the Cup took place in 1962.

When Toronto Maple Leafs won their 11th Stanley Cup, what began as a celebration went wrong when the trophy fell into a fire, causing major damage to it. The team realized how serious the matter was and therefore took responsibility for all expenses incurred in repairing the trophy back to its original state.

There was an incident involving Colorado Avalanche's Nicolas Aube-Kubel and the trophy after the hus team's Stanley Cup win against the Lightning in 2022. It's a recent example of a little mishap with that fancy trophy. Aube-Kubel took a tumble while skating with the Cup toward the team photo, and unfortunately, it caused some damage to the iconic trophy.

"I guess it’s a new record today, five minutes into the presentation it has happened. It’s the first time it’s ever happened on the ice," said Phil Pritchard, the Hockey Hall of Fame's keeper of the Cup.

Other instances when the Stanley Cup was damaged

During the days of the Edmonton Oilers dynasty back in 1987, something pretty wild went down. Mark Messier, one of the team's legendary players, decided to bring the Stanley Cup to a local bar to celebrate with the die-hard fans. As fans were happily drinking from the cup, it ended up getting a big ol' dent.

Fast forward to 2011 when the Boston Bruins clinched the Cup victory over the Vancouver Canucks, there was an incident when the Cup was damaged. During the celebration, the cup fell from Michael Ryder's table and got damaged.

Back in 2008, something similar happened during the Detroit Red Wings parade. It all went down at this spot called Chris Chelios' Chilli Bar in Detroit. The Cup accidentally fell off the table and got a dent.

However, following the NHL Awards that year, it was discovered that the damage was more extensive than initially thought.