Did Carbo dent the Cup?

Excerpted from
A well-traveled trophy

August 1, 1999

BY CAROL SLEZAK, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST

Pity poor Stanley Cup, destined to be oohed, aahed and ogled, followed closely by dented, cracked and bent. Not to mention jet lagged. It's true, you always hurt the one you love.

The well-traveled Stanley took a Lear jet from North Dakota to Chicago on Saturday afternoon with Dallas Stars goalie--make that Stanley Cup-winning goalie--Eddie Belfour. Considering all he has endured this summer, Stanley looked mighty fine.

What about the rumor that Stars center Guy Carbonneau threw Stanley off a balcony into a swimming pool at the home of Vinnie Paul, the drummer for a Dallas rock band? What about the resulting three-inch dent in Stanley's base we've heard about?

"None of that's true," Belfour said. "I was there. The Cup was in the pool, but Guy didn't throw it in the pool. It was handed to Guy and he transported it down to the pool. The dent was already there."

According to the Stars organization, Stanley was accidentally dropped or banged in the locker room immediately after the Stars won their championship. Or else Stanley was dropped when the team was getting off its plane after returning home from the series finale in Buffalo. Either or. But Stanley was not, I repeat not, thrown into a rock star's pool by Carbonneau. Although it sure makes for a better story.

In any event, a visit to a repair shop left Stanley looking none the worse for wear. It's a good thing, too, because Belfour threw a party for 350 of his friends--that's roughly 35 friends for each year he spent with the Blackhawks organization--at a downtown hotel Saturday night, and Stanley was the guest of honor. Shiny and majestic looking, Stanley posed for picture after picture. There was no clue as to the torture he has endured in his lifetime.

When the '94 Rangers became too rambunctious, poor Stanley was assigned protection. Today the Hall of Fame provides Stanley with a full-time traveling companion. That has been Paul Oke's job for three summers now. He's been everywhere with Stanley. Finland, Carman and some places you would never dream of, such as earlier this summer when he went to Carbonneau's father's gravesite in Quebec. And as for reports of Stanley being mistreated, Oke insists they are not true. At least not this year.

"Really, we've been very lucky this summer," Oke said. "We've only had to take it in that one time to get him fixed."