One of the great traditions of the awarding of the Stanley Cup is the handoff from the captain to the second person to skate the Cup around. Sunday night, after the Pittsburgh Penguins became the first team in nearly 20 years to win consecutive Cups, Sidney Crosby had a decision to make between two former Hurricanes, both of whom had a legitimate claim to the honor:
Ron Hainsey or Matt Cullen?
And the answer is...
Captain Crosby hands the #StanleyCup to Ron Hainsey! pic.twitter.com/64iTpSlWMW
— NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) June 12, 2017
The former Canes defenseman then did the honor, passing it to the soon-to-be-retired Cullen.
Hainsey, as most everyone knows by now, had never played a playoff game in a 15-year career that started in 2002. He surely doesn’t mind the wait tonight.