How much does the Stanley Cup weigh?
THE Stanley Cup is the championship trophy of the National Hockey League. It is considered the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America. The Stanley Cup, made of silver and nickel alloy, weighs 34.5 pounds. The trophy is topped with a replica of the original bowl which was originally made of silver. A new Stanley Cup is not made each year, unlike many other trophies in professional sports. The winners originally kept the Stanley Cup until a new champion was crowned, however, winning teams currently get the trophy during the summer and a limited number of days during the season. 3 Pouring champagne into the Stanley Cup is a tradition that the winning team follows Credit: Library and Archives Canada  Every season since 1924, a select few winning players, coaches, management, and staff names get engraved on the bands of the trophy. The Stanley Cup was an idea created by Lord Stanley of Preston after he was appointed as governor-general of Canada by Queen Victoria in 1888. He and his family were avid hockey fans and he became a supporter of the Montreal Victorias after watching them play at a winter carnival. His sons Arthur and Algernon became hockey players and convinced him to donate a trophy to the Ottawa Hockey Club. 3 The first Stanley Cup Credit: Library and Archives Canada  Lord Stanley eventually purchased a punch bowl and engraved the words Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup and From Stanley of Preston on each side. The trophy became known as the Stanley Cup after a journalist referred to it as such in an Ottawa Journal article. The Stanley Cup is awarded to the team that wins 16 playoff games, four in each of the four rounds. Each of the four rounds has a best of seven series which means that the teams must play seven games until one team wins four. The first three rounds decide what teams from each conference will advance to the last round, known as the Stanley Cup Finals. Ultimately, the winner of the Stanley Cup Finals wins the Stanley Cup.