Which US city is famously misspelled on the Stanley Cup? Tracing a history of errors that went uncorrected

The Stanley Cup, the oldest trophy awarded to the NHL champions, has a distinctive tradition. It engraves the names of players, coaches, trainers and owners from the victorious teams onto its 35-pound silver surface.

However, this practice has resulted in a number of memorable mistakes, which have added to the trophy's rich and storied history.

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Misspelled US City names on the Stanley Cup

The US city name most famously misspelled on the Stanley Cup belongs to the 1971-72 Boston Bruins, whose city was comically engraved as "BQSTQN BRUINS."

The New York Islanders also fell victim to a spelling error during their second of four consecutive championships in 1980-81, with their team’s name appearing as "NEW YORK ILANDERS."

Even Canadian teams have not been immune to these blunders, as evidenced by the 1962-63 Toronto Maple Leafs, whose name was immortalized on the cup as the "TORONTO MAPLE LEAES."

These mistakes were common up until the 1980s, after which correcting such errors became a more regular practice.

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History of errors in the Stanley Cup

One of the earliest recorded mistakes occurred in the 1937-38 season when Pete Palangio of the Chicago Blackhawks had his name engraved twice, one instance spelled incorrectly as "PALAGIO." Such duplications and misspellings have been a recurring theme.

For instance, in the 1941-42 season, Toronto Maple Leafs' Turk Broda was listed twice, under "TURK BRODA" and "WALTER BRODA," reflecting his full name and nickname.

Other players have also fallen victim to engraving errors. In the 1946-47 season, Gaye Stewart of the Toronto Maple Leafs had his name misspelled as "GAVE STEWART," while his teammate Ted Kennedy's name was incorrectly engraved as "TED KENNEDYY" in the 1950-51 season.

In 1951-52, Tommy Ivan, the Detroit Red Wings coach's name was misspelled as TOMMY NIVAN, while Alex Delvecchio's name was spelled as ALEX BELVECCHIO.

One of the most notable instances of misspelling occurred with Jacques Plante, the legendary goaltender who won the Stanley Cup five consecutive years with the Montreal Canadiens from 1956 to 1960.

Remarkably, his name was spelled differently each and every time it was engraved on the Cup during that period. In 1976-77, Bob Gainey, a player of the Montreal Canadiens, was misspelled as GAINY.

In more recent years, the NHL has taken steps to correct these errors. In the 1995-96 season, Adam Deadmarsh's name was initially misspelled as "ADAM DEADMARCH" on the Cup when the Colorado Avalanche won the championship. It marked the first time a correction was made to a name on the Stanley Cup.

Since then, other corrections have been made, including "MANNY LAGASE" to "MANNY LEGACE" for the Detroit Red Wings in 2001-02, "ERIC STAAAL" to "ERIC STAAL" for the Carolina Hurricanes in 2005-06, and "TOMAS HOMSTROM" to "TOMAS HOLMSTROM" for the Red Wings in 2007-08.

In 2009-10, Chicago Blackhawks, “KRIS VERTSEEG” to “KRIS VERSTEEG”. Brad Aldrich's name was covered with Xs in 2021 following revelations of his illegal actions.

Perhaps the most infamous incident involving the Stanley Cup occurred in 1983-84 when Edmonton Oilers owner Peter Pocklington included the name of his father, Basil Pocklington, who was unaffiliated with the team. On discovering the same, the NHL ordered the name to be removed, and it's now covered by 16 X's on the Cup.

These misspellings and corrections serve as a reminder of the human touch behind the Stanley Cup's rich history, adding to the unique character and charm of hockey's ultimate prize.