Getty Images
Phil Pritchard, the white-gloved guardian of the Stanley Cup, wasn t at the Montreal Forum in June 1993 to witness that rarest of recent NHL sights: a Canadian team raising the silver chalice overhead.
Pritchard was on the job at the time, but in Los Angeles, waiting to see if that season s Canadiens-Kings title series would extend past a fifth game. It didn t - Wayne Gretzky was no match for Patrick Roy - and Pritchard flew to Quebec to facilitate the Habs championship summer shortly thereafter. He ushered the Cup to some of the players hometowns in neighboring Ontario and Vermont, and team and trophy toured La Belle Province, basking in the kind of rave reception from grateful fans that no northerly franchise has enjoyed for the past 28 years.