QUESTION:
Has Ovi used up his time with the Cup?
ANSWER:
Nope, the five days touring Vegas, New York and Washington, D.C. with the cup is considered 'promotional' time. Players' 'day with the cup' officially begins sometime after the NHL draft ends on June 23.
SOURCES:
Sergey Kocharov- Washington Capitals- Vice President of Communications
Josh Bernstein- National Hockey League- Communications Manager
Kelly Masse- Hockey Hall of Fame and Museum- Director of Corporate and Media Relations
Stanley Cup Journal- Hockey Hall of Fame
PROCESS:
Ovechkin definitely deserves the Cup, but he's been seen with it more than any other Washington Capitals player.
After tucking it into bed, balancing on it for a keg stand, flashing it on Jimmy Fallon and parading it down Constitution Ave., has the Caps Captain used up his time with the Cup?
Nope. Caps' VP of Communications tells Verify that each of the 27 players gets one day with the cup, but that doesn't start until after the NHL draft, which officially ends June 23. The captain gets 48 hours.
We also checked with the NHL. They say absolutely not.
"I can tell you 100% that the past few days do not count as Ovechkin’s time with the Stanley Cup," Josh Bernstein, communications manger at the NHL, said.
We cross-checked with the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, home of the Stanley Cup. A spokesperson for the museum says the time you've seen Ovi with the cup are promotional and don't count against his personal day with the cup.
Each player gets one full day to do whatever they want....well...almost whatever.
"We have on the rare occasion said no to what the player wanted to do, ie. jump out of a plane with it," Kelly Masse, a Hockey Hall of Fame spokesperson said.
The tradition of circulating the trophy among its champions began in 1995 with the New Jersey Devils.
The Caps gets the trophy for a hundred days, and will circulate between players, coaches, staff and management, according to the Bernstein.
The Hockey Hall of Fame keeps a meticulous journal of Stanley Cup adventures: everything from children eating Froot Loops from the Cup to wedding proposals and traveling to 25 countries in the past decade.
We'll wait to see when Ovechkin brings the cup to Russia-- the Capitals are already making plans for the cup to visit Putin, according to Kocharov.
So we can Verify, no, our hometown hero Ovi hasn't used up his time with the Cup.
#ALL CAPS