The Chronicles of Stanley is an occasional series this summer that tracks the�Boston Bruins as they each get their special alone time with the Stanley Cup.
Well, in their defense, the "H" in "Recchi" is silent.
After Cam Neely brought the Stanley Cup to Maple Ridge, now-retired Boston Bruins star Mark Recchi had his time with the Chalice in Kamloops. The image above is from a charity luncheon ($500 per ticket) to help support Royal Inland Hospital, which Recchi had supported throughout his career.
Along with the usual mobbing of the Cup for photos, Recchi's time with Stanley yielded two aesthetic milestones for him.
First was the unveiling of Mark Recchi Way in Kamloops, which NESN reports was named in his honor over the weekend. (Update: According to a few readers, the road's been named for Rex for quite a while.) One imagines it's a rough-looking road that goes on much longer than anyone ever imagined it would.
The other unveiling was on Recchi himself: a new tattoo to commemorate his third (and final) Stanley Cup championship.
As you heard in the clip, Recchi has now entered the tattoo phase of his life. And if Andrew Ference is the influence, there's chance he could end up looking like the Jigsaw Man from the Jim Rose Traveling Circus by the time he's 45.
Looch Is Gone Daddy Gondola
Milan Lucic's return home with the Stanley Cup was not without its controversy, as a minority of Vancouver fans left Lucic's family weary of having a public display with the Cup like a parade.
Instead, Lucic kept things as little more low key. Well, save for the giant banner on his childhood home.
He started his day off at the airport to pick up the Stanley Cup and then headed to the St. Archangel Michael Serbian Church. The East Vancouverite also stopped for a few minutes at Vancouver Fire Hall 4 to take pictures with some of the firefighters.
"Being in Vancouver and Boston winning, I guess it wasn't a big thing for Milan to pronounce as it as anything big," said Cpt. Al Chorney at Fire Hall 4.� "He didn't want it to look like he was rubbing it in everyone's faces. Milan Lucic is a wonderful man."
But the real highlight was Lucic lifting the Cup. On a gondola.
Lucic finished his day with another private function at the top of Grouse Mountain. This one was especially important to him because it's where he and his teammates from the WHL's Vancouver Giants brought the Memorial Cup after they won it in 2007.
"I don't think in Vancouver you can get any higher than this, so it's a great experience," Lucic said. "I got to spend time up here with the Memorial Cup, and now I'm spending it four years later with the Stanley Cup. I wanted to relive that experience, and it's actually been better with the Stanley Cup."
Even though the event was private and limited to 120 people, Lucic still had to walk through a crowd of amazed onlookers who couldn't believe they were within an arm's length of the Stanley Cup. There were more mountain climbers stunned to see Lucic and the Cup when he carried it off the motorized gondola that brought him to the peak of the mountain.
At which point Zdeno Chara reached down to his feet and picked it up off the top of the mountain ?
Here's Lucic on the mountain and around Vancouver:
Stanley Hits Boardwalk Empire
With the proper tools and the right patience, you could probably turn the Stanley Cup into the world's most elaborate roulette wheel.
Those thoughts and many more crossed our minds as we watched Bruins defenseman Dennis Seidenberg bring the Stanley Cup to Atlantic City, as he has a summer home in nearby Margate.
Seidenberg's Atlantic City adventure included a VIP cocktail party for about 100 people at Caesars ? and one party foul, via NHL.com:
There was one scary moment. A collective gasp swept the room when the Cup was slightly mishandled by the Caesars staffer handling it, and the champagne poured all over the stage. It was promptly cleaned up, though, and the drinking resumed.
Here's Seidenberg with the Cup inside Caesars Atlantic City:
The Cup was noticeably smaller when it left Atlantic City, as Nucky Thompson took his mandatory 40 percent. Hey, his boardwalk, his rules.
Finally, a Stanley Cup for the Nordiques
Stanley Cup in Quebec City is a rather momentous occasion, given that the beloved Nordiques never made the Stanley Cup Final before moving to Denver (and then, of course, winning two of them).
Fans started lining up as early as 6 a.m. to see Patrice Bergeron bring the Stanley Cup back home last Sunday despite some rain. From CBC News:
Bergeron said he's been getting a great deal of attention from Quebec hockey fans since winning the cup.
"It's been pretty crazy. It's been going on pretty fast. A lot of people are recognizing me a bit more ... approaching me but in a respectful way," said Bergeron.� "They're always saying they're a Canadiens fan but they're happy for me."
Surrrrre they are. Bergeron also brought the Cup to a children's hospital, his alma mater Seminaire Saint-Francois (where he surprised some hockey players with the Chalice) and around Quebec.
Among those who met Patrice Bergeron? Shellene! She waited four hours, but it was worth it.
It's always a good day when you see the Stanley Cup.
The coolest moment? Bergeron joining a rather exclusive club. No, not the multiple concussion club ? everyone's in that. We're talking about the Triple Gold Club:
Pretty impressive. In the sense that when NHL players usually enter something called the Triple Gold Club, they leave smelling of glitter and shame.
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