Scott Radley: 'I think we’re at the wrong house': How the Stanley Cup shocked Denver residents

The Stanley Cup was already in Denver the other day so it was no problem to drive it by the Colorado Avalanche captain's house for a few photos.

Burlington's Phil Pritchard - the guy in white gloves who's the curator of the Hockey Hall of Fame but better known as the Keeper of the Cup - got the address from Gabriel Landeskog and then headed to his tree-lined street to make it happen. Sure, the house looked a little understated for an NHL star, but, whatever.

When he knocked on the door as his colleague popped the trunk and opened the box containing the Cup, the reaction was immediate.

Holy crap," the guy at the door said. There's the Stanley Cup."

One small problem. It was the wrong house.

Dmitri Rudenko and Kit Karbler are not the captains of the Avs. They aren't professional hockey players. They just happen to live on the same street and have an address that happens to be one digit off from Landeskog's.

Lemons, meet lemonade.

I said, I think we're at the wrong house," Pritchard says. But while we're here, you might as well see the Cup."

So they did.

This has already been an interesting summer for the big mug.

During the team photo at centre ice after the Avalanche won, winger Nicolas Aube-Kubel tripped and pounded a dent into the base of the trophy. Thankfully, the silver itself was OK.

Then a few days ago, a team celebration that began at the restaurant of former Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway - which included NFL legend Peyton Manning - ended up with the Cup at a bar called Whiskey Row.

The guys were partying upstairs when country star Dierks Bentley (who owns the place) arrived and joined the house band downstairs for a few tunes. Which led a few players to decide they should join the people down below. With the Cup.

What could possibly go wrong?

Didn't take long to find out. As defenceman Kurtis MacDermid hoisted Stanley overhead, he lost his balance and crashed backwards.

He went down like a ton of bricks," Pritchard says. But somehow he managed to hold the Cup on his body as he went down. So he gets the respect. He knew he had to take one for the team."

Compared to all this, the annual summertime Cup tour isn't just one of the cool perks of Pritchard's job but a relatively relaxed activity. Day after day, he shows up at a winning player's house - as everyone now knows, each player on the winning team gets to spend a day with Stanley - for low-key photos and incredible moments.

Each time he or his colleague arrives, they're the most popular guy in the world. Nobody's ever upset to see them and their cargo. Their appearance kicks off one of the best days of the players' lives.

It's a grind, however.

This year's festivities officially begin Saturday after he and the Cup make a quick stop in Montreal for the NHL draft. How long will he then be on the road this summer?

I dunno," he says. I'm not sure."

This part of the job has taken him everywhere. Literally around the world. Usually without a hiccup. He gets the address, arrives at his destination, oversees the festivities and moves on to the next place.

Of course, there was the time a few years back in Toronto they were supposed to be on Something Street and ended up on Something Avenue. And there was the oopsie in the Czech Republic a couple decades ago.

That was 1999. The Cup was going home with Dallas Stars goalie Roman Turek. It was the first time it was ever going to that country. Thousands of people and all the national media were waiting in the town square for the silver chalice to arrive.

As we're landing, the flight attendant comes up to me and says, Sir, your package is not on the flight.'"

What?

It hadn't been loaded. It arrived five or six hours later on another plane so all ended up being OK. Except that national reception wasn't exactly as flashy as planned.

Was that the only time it didn't show up?

On my watch," Pritchard laughs.

Though it has been late. Like the night in 2015 that the Chicago Blackhawks won at home, but the presentation of the trophy had to be delayed by 30 minutes because he and the trophy were stuck in traffic thanks to a Mother Nature situation" he called it. Rains so heavy roads were flooded and impassable.

Anyway, this visit to Landeskog's place was supposed to be simple. But it turns out the trees were obscuring the addresses in front of the houses. One number looked like another. So two shocked Denver residents got a visit instead.

They were gentlemen, completely. They were eager to share the experience of the Cup," Karbler told NBC News about Pritchard and his colleague, Mike Bolt. I had no idea that I would find it so fascinating myself."

As Pritchard petted their golden retriever, the two homeowners lifted the historic mug and touched the engravings, then handed it back. The SUV with the Cup then headed a few houses down the block to the proper place. Where Landeskog was waiting.

So all good? You bet, Pritchard says.

I think we gained a new hockey fan out of all this."

Scott Radley is a Hamilton-based columnist at The Spectator. Reach him via email: sradley@thespec.com