Monkey Number 1 Says

The NHL has reached a settlement with a group of recreational hockey players over the Stanley Cup.

Gard Shelley and David Burt, members of a Toronto pickup hockey league called the Wednesday Nighters, filed a claim against the NHL and the trophy's trustees in Ontario Superior Court last April, seeking clarification of the terms under which Lord Stanley provided the Cup and how it is to be awarded.
The Stanley Cup is shown here with a young fan and former coach Scotty Bowman. (CP File Photo)

The group challenged the NHL's claim that it had exclusive control of the Cup and contended that Lord Stanley wanted the best hockey teams to compete for the trophy every year when he donated the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup in 1892.

The cancellation of the 2004-05 NHL season meant the Stanley Cup was not awarded last season, but Shelley and David Burt filed its claim seeking to ensure that the trophy is contested for even in the event of another labour dispute.

Shelley and David Burt argued that the Cup's trustees – Ian (Scotty) Morrison, former head of the Hockey Hall of Fame, and former NHL official Brian O'Neill – should be able to award it to someone else if another lockout or strike wipes out an NHL season..

A court hearing on the case was scheduled for Tuesday, but Tim Gilbert, the lawyer for Shelley and Burt, confirmed Tuesday that a settlement has been reached with the NHL.

"A David and Goliath story," Gilbert said Tuesday morning.

Under the terms of the deal, the NHL acknowledges that the trustees who control the Cup can award it to a non-NHL team in a year where the league doesn't operate.

Also, the NHL must donate $100,000 a year into hockey leagues for women and underprivileged children for the next five years.

The settlement does not mean the trustees have to award the Cup if there is another work stoppage, only that they now have the option to do so.

"In a lot of respects, the litigation was the sole remaining vestige of a year-long labour dispute that was difficult for us and for our fans," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said. "It was time to turn the page and move on.

"We're satisfied that the terms of the settlement adequately protect the league's interests."