The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) announced on Friday that the Walter Cup, the trophy belonging to the Montreal Victoire, is currently missing. The league stated that the trophy did not arrive at its intended destination as scheduled and is collaborating with the shipping company to track it down.
Reportedly, the trophy was supposed to be sent to Lethbridge, Alberta, for a day with Victoire forward Dara Greig. However, upon the container’s arrival, the Walter Cup was missing, prompting Greig to postpone her planned activities with the trophy, including a public event at VisitLethbridge.com Arena.
Unlike the NHL’s Stanley Cup, the PWHL does not assign a dedicated person to accompany the trophy when it travels to be with players. The missing Walter Cup is a version given to championship-winning teams for their possession, not the one presented on the ice during the victory celebration, which resides permanently at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.
Both the original and team versions of the Walter Cup are crafted from sterling silver by Tiffany & Co., weighing around 35 pounds and standing at approximately 24 inches in height and 13 inches wide. The cup features six engraved W’s symbolizing the league’s original franchises, resting on two hockey stick-shaped rods, with the base representing a puck showcasing past championship teams.
Montreal secured the cup by defeating Ottawa in Game 4 of a best-of-five series in May, becoming the first Canadian team to win the PWHL title. The trophy honors PWHL founder Mark Walter and his wife Kimbra, who serve as its primary financiers.