TORONTO — The Toronto Maple Leafs have 12 years to win a Stanley Cup before their name is removed from the iconic trophy.
The Hockey Hall of Fame announced Wednesday that it has placed the latest band removed from the barrel-shaped cup — featuring 12 championship teams from the 1953-54 season through the 1964-65 campaign — on permanent display.
The next band on the trophy will be removed in 2030 and replaced with a fresh one to accommodate the engraving of future championship teams. That band includes the Maple Leafs' last Stanley Cup win from the 1966-67 season.
While the championship teams removed are no longer part of the physical trophy, the bands they are on are still permanently enshrined at the Hall of Fame.
The latest retired band includes six Montreal Canadiens championships and three Maple Leafs titles. Two Detroit Cup wins and a Chicago title make up the rest of the removed champions.
The names of 16 Hall of Famers appear on the band, including Maurice Richard, Gordie Howe, Alex Delvecchio, Bernie Geoffrion, Stan Mikita, Jacques Plante and Ted Lindsay.
The decision to remove old bands and replace them with fresh ones, rather than simply adding additional bands, was made prior to the New York Rangers' 1993-94 championship season.
A new band was added on the bottom row of the Stanley Cup earlier this season to include the engraving of the 2017-2018 Washington Capitals. The next band to be removed and retired features the 1965-66 to 1977-78 Stanley Cup champions.
The Maple Leafs are the only Original Six team in danger of being removed from the Stanley Cup in the not-too-distant future. The Canadiens are next but hardly in any immediate danger with a Cup title in 1993. Next would be the Rangers (1994), Red Wings (2008), Bruins (2011) and Blackhawks (2015)
The Canadian Press