Colorado Avalanche: Top 3 Stanley Cup Commercials
Though the Colorado Avalanche didn’t even make the playoffs this season, players have a way of turning up in Stanley Cup commercials.
The Colorado Avalanche have won the Stanley Cup twice. Some of their players are particularly famous for their Cup wins, so they get featured in Stanley Cup commercials.
Personally, I love Stanley Cup commercials even when they don’t feature Colorado Avalanche players. For me they’re like those old Hallmark commercials — they get me right in the feels.
This year the NHL has released more than one commercial about the Stanley Cup.
One is called “Perfectly Imperfect” and highlights the dents and scratches all over the surface of the Cup itself:
Watching this commercial reminded me that the Stanley Cup has sunk to the bottom of a couple swimming pools (Mario Lemieux’s and Patrick Roy’s), got left by the side of the road (1924 Montreal Canadiens), and even got booted into a canal (1905 Ottawa — also, wtf).
Also this happened:
That’s one hella dent in the bowl.
A second commercial is titled “If This Cup Could Talk.” It highlights the joy and awe the Stanley Cup brings to both players and fans:
It’s a really touching commercial. However, for some reason while watching the legendary Ray Bourque lift the Cup over his head, I wondered if anyone had ever dropped it on his head. (Blame the above commercial.) I haven’t found the answer to that question.
The 2017 Stanley Cup commercial called “Spelling” is a little more feels-worthy:
I love seeing Patrick Roy spell out his name, though it’s slightly annoying that they spliced Steve Yzerman into the commercial for the “y.”
Ok, those were this year’s commercials. They’re all good, but they don’t make my top 3 list.
The three commercials I chose as tops for Stanley Cup commercials are all touching in their own way.
As we all know, players who’ve won the Stanley Cup get their names engraved on the surface. The 2016 Stanley Cup commercial does a fantastic job of painting the pride the players feel in getting thus immortalized:
Some noteworthies about this commercial. Two Colorado Avalanche players appear in it — Ray Bourque at the 0:10 mark and Joe Sakic at the 0:51 mark. Patrick Roy as a Montreal Canadien appears at the 0:44 mark when the voiceover talks about commanding “immediate respect.” I love that.
For the longest time the 2015 Stanley Cup commercial was my favorite:
There aren’t any Colorado Avalanche players in the commercial, but that’s not why it’s been usurped. The gentlemanly proposition that “It’s not yours until you shake on it” is a powerful message. It drives home the reason the teams shake hands at the end of a playoff series.
It’s also intense to see a team’s dejection when they’ve been eliminated from the playoffs.
Anyway, moving on.
The 2010 Stanley Cup commercial gets the top spot, and it should be obvious why:
This commercial does a perfect job of showing the emotion that players feel right after winning the Stanley Cup. A special note that Ray Bourque appears at the 0:10 mark. The euphoric look on his face says it all.
Even though those were my top three Stanley Cup commercials, there were a couple runners up. The first is the 2012 commercial called “Boys:”
It turns the traditional adage of “making boys into men” on its head. Winning the Stanley Cup brings the pure joy of being a boy back to these embattled men.
Both Patrick Roy (0:26 and he’s next to Bourque with the Colorado Avalanche) and Ray Bourque (0:34) make an appearance in the commercial.
I’d be hard-pressed to say which player appears in more Stanley Cup commercials. Bourque was famous for having waited longer (1,612 regular season and 214 playoff games) to win the Cup than any other Cup winner. Patrick Roy is infamous for his Stanley Cup attitude — and for being the only player to have won the Stanley Cup across three different decades (1986, 1993, 1996, 2001).
The second runner up is the 2008 Stanley Cup commercial:
It highlights the long history of the Stanley Cup — it was first awarded in 1893. That’s now 124 years of teams winning the Stanley Cup. The above commercial also shows the generational connection the Cup represents. The Cup Raise is a tradition that hockey players have been practicing for decades.
That tradition is going to happen again soon. The Nashville Predators and the () are facing off for their chance to lose their words, raise the Cup and get it inscribed with their names. Hopefully no one drops it on his head — or anywhere else for that matter.
Next: Cody McLeod is Going to the Cup Finals
Here’s the Stanley Cup Finals schedule:
Game 1: Monday, May 29, at Pittsburgh
Game 2: Wednesday, May 31, at Pittsburgh
Game 3: Saturday, June 3, at Nashville
Game 4: Monday, June 5, at Nashville
Game 5: Thursday, June 8, at Pittsburgh (if needed)
Game 6: Sunday, June 11, at Nashville (if needed)
Game 7: Wednesday, June 14, at Pittsburgh (if needed)