Gene Principe

Ray Bourque and Joe Sakic with the Cup in 2001.

Who should a team captain hand the Stanley Cup to after hoisting the trophy?

I was having lunch with Sportsnet cameramen Mike Bradley and Mario Fontana at the Stanley Cup final when one of them started the conversation of who should get the Cup after it's presented to the captain. I thought that's a great topic for debate.

Let's start with the Chicago Blackhawks since they are just one win away from having it happen. If the Hawks defeat the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 6 on Wednesday night and Jonathan Toews gets handed the trophy that's the hardest to win in sports, who should he hand it off to next?

Should it be Marian Hossa? He's just a first-year Hawk but everyone knows he's at his third consecutive final and doesn't have anything but a second-place ribbon to show for it. He might be a sentimental favourite. However, wouldn't Patrick Kane be a logical choice? He and Toews are the Hawks’ top two players and should be anchors on this team for a long time to come.

You could also slide down the list to the player who has the most NHL games without winning a Cup. If that was the case, then it would be Hossa again at over 800 games. After that, Brent Sopel would be the next choice as he's nearing 600. Or do you go with the assistant captains? In that case, it would be Duncan Keith or Patrick Sharp.

For the Flyers, who would be second in command if Mike Richards were to get his hands on the chalice for hockey greatness? Does he go with the teamates who wear the 'A' on their jerseys or, again, with the longest-serving player whose never won the Cup? If that were the case, then Ian Laperriere would be hands down the choice at almost 1,100 games. That would be a tough one to pass up.

There's always Chris Pronger, who could be holding the Conn Smythe Trophy at the end of the final, or the most unlikely of heroes taken off the scrap heap like Michael Leighton.

For either team, I doubt the decision will be a spur of the moment choice by the captain. This has become a bigger issue of recent years with Ray Bourque winning in Colorado. After a 20-year wait, he was the first to get the Cup from Joe Sakic.

I remember when Anaheim won in 2007 and Scott Neidermayer passed it to his brother Rob. Hard to argue with that but part of me was pulling for Teemu Selanne to get it. It will be interesting to see what Toews or Richards will do. One more victory for Chicago or two for Philadelphia and we'll find out.